The Best Classic Christmas Movies of All Time
Have yourself a vintage little Christmas.
There’s nothing like the serenade of the dreamy melodies that accompany the classics. Pair those tunes with soul-stirring narratives and enchanting holiday scenes and you have the perfect formula for a cozy night spent at home with a nice bottle of red.
Ahead, we’re dishing on the best black-and-white classics and Technicolor charmers that have become the evergreen ornaments of our favorite holiday movies. From Bing Crosby behind the piano in The Bells of St. Mary’s to Julie Andrews celebrating the birth of Christ with the Von Trapps, each of the following films proves that the true magic of Christmas transcends time.
Looking for more movies to fill your mistletoe marathon? Check out the funniest Christmas movies
of all time and the best Netflix Original Christmas movies.
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
Better in color or no? That’s the only legit debate when it comes to Frank Capra’s classic, now a must-watch for the holiday season. It’s just too difficult to argue against five Oscars, an indelible message, James Stewart, and that amazing pool scene, am I right? WATCH
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Francie Nolan is growing up in Brooklyn in the 1900s, and though her family is struggling with the clutches of poverty and alcoholism, she is determined to make it out of her Brooklyn apartment—just like the single tree persevering outside her window. An adaptation of the classic novel, this one features a holiday scene so touching, it just might rival the Cratchits’ Christmas.
Since You Went Away
An all-star cast including Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones, and Shirley Temple team up for a familial drama about a wife who holds down the fort while her husband is away at war. Though this one isn't necessarily festive from start to finish, it does air on movie channels around the holidays due to its moving Christmas scene.
The Bells of St. Mary's
Starring Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman, this 1945 gem sees a priest and a nun butt heads before joining forces to save a big-city Catholic school with a new building around the holidays. It's a timeless tale that is elevated with tunes from Crosby, a charming performance from Bergman, and themes of faith, hope, and the spirit of community.
Bachelor Mother
Ginger Rogers spins through the unexpected follies of motherhood after agreeing to care for an orphan baby she "got for Christmas" in exchange for a job. If the synopsis sounds a little bit dated, it's because this Garson Kanin classic premiered way back in 1939. But don't worry: The comedy, the romance, and the razzle-dazzle are all timeless.
Penny Serenade
Irene Dunne and Cary Grant star as a married couple on the brink of divorce in this holiday-themed drama from George Stevens. After suffering a series tragedies, the two find their connection dwindling and struggle to find the love they once knew. Fair warning: This one is definitely a tissue movie, so keep that decorative box nearby while watching.
Scrooge
Also titled simply A Christmas Carol, this 1951 drama from Brian Desmond Hurst stars one of the best Ebenezer Scrooges in Alastair Sim to ever embody the role. Of course, it's based on the Charles Dickens's novella you know and love, and it joins a massive collection of Carol remakes, reimaginings, and retellings, but somehow, this version stands as a beacon of holiday compassion.
The Cheaters
Highly acclaimed yet lesser known, The Cheaters unravels around the daughter of a wealthy New York City family who brings a down-and-out former actor home for the holidays. Turns out, the family isn't doing so well either. On the verge of bankruptcy and plotting to steal an inheritance, the group spend Christmas all wrapped up in a comedy of errors.
The Sound of Music
Another one that isn't necessarily a Christmas movie, but is definitely the makings of a holiday tradition, The Sound of Music is tiptop Julie Andrews fare with a German accent. As the governess of a family with eight children, Andrews's Maria sings, chimes, and rhymes her way through the trials and tribulations of the Von Trapp family in the 1930s.
We're No Angels
One Christmas, three inmates escape from Devil's Island prison and hunker down with a kind family who take them in. Seeing that the fam isn’t doing so well, the trio (led by Humphrey Bogart) offer their charms in different ways to keep them afloat. Touted as the “three wise guys” in the movie trailer, this thieving trio will steal every heart in the room.
A Christmas Carol
Deciding which adaptation of Charles Dickens’s tale is your favorite is an entirely personal journey. For us, one is Edwin Marin’s family-friendly version of Scrooge and his ghost squad. Made during the Golden Age of Hollywood, it’s light on yuletide fear, heavy on Christmas cheer, and we’re okay with that. WATCH
Miracle on 34th Street
Winner of three Oscars, George Seaton’s Big Apple miracle, about Santa having to prove in a court of law he is actually Santa, was released on May 2, 1947—and has been played on a yearly loop ever since. Fun fact: Natalie Wood, who played nonbeliever Susan, was still a believer during filming. WATCH
A Dream for Christmas
Produced in the ‘70s but set in the ‘50s, A Dream for Christmas is a hallmark of classic Black holiday films. Starring Hari Rhodes, Beah Richards, and Lynn Hamilton, the movie follows a hardworking Southern minister who relocates his family to the West Coast to save a church. According to TCM, it was the extended pilot episode of what was supposed to be the next Waltons series. WATCH
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Technically a TV special that could never have known its 50+-year endurance, Rudolph plus Frosty and their companion holiday classics count as a feature-length affair in our book. Plus, what’s a holiday viewing roundup without a stop-motion tale narrated by Burl Ives? WATCH
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Not sure there’s a better fireside counterpart than chestnuts – except for Peanuts. And West Coast jazz. Both of which make Charles Schulz’s A Charlie Brown Christmas a holiday classic that’s as wonderful and modest as a certain top-heavy hero’s Christmas tree. WATCH
Babes in Toyland
This whimsical Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy classic, also known by its reissue title, March of the Wooden Soldiers, isn’t so much a Christmas movie in the traditional sense—but it is set in a child’s dreamland, and a certain jelly-bellied man in red indeed makes an appearance. That said, the storybook plot, charming interludes, and nutty comedic stylings make for an ideal festive watch for the entire family. WATCH
The Holly and the Ivy
A family gathering to celebrate the Christmas holiday are surprised when an unexpected member of the family shows up: the patriarch who’s given his loved ones the cold shoulder. It’s a heartwarming English tale that doesn’t skimp on all essentials that make up a holiday film: shots of heavy snowfall, close-ups of crackling fires, and endless notes of Christmas carols. Watch
Meet Me in St. Louis
Judy Garland stars as daughter Esther Smith in this Technicolor musical about a family preparing for a permanent move to New York. The story covers the entire year before their relocating, so Christmas is only a small part, but the sorrowful rendition of Garland singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is enough to land it a place on our list. Plus, the film is featured in another holiday fave: The Family Stone. Watch
Bundle of Joy
Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds take the lead in this delightful (albeit way outdated) musical about a department store clerk, the baby she finds at an orphanage, and the pickle her little one gets her into. Of course, there’s plenty of romance, show tunes, and dance numbers on the menu, but the real dish is beholding the chemistry between Reynolds and her real-life husband at the time, Mr. Fisher.
Christmas Lilies of the Field
There is no Sidney Poitier, but this small-screen follow-up to the 1963 hallmark film Lilies of the Field still holds its own. Starring Billy Dee Williams as Homer, the film is a gift that keeps on giving decades later. When Homer returns to the chapel he helped build years earlier, he sees that the nuns have opened their doors to homeless children. Moved, he rolls up his sleeves and gets to work on a school and orphanage. Hearts will be filled.
DeAnna Janes is a freelance writer and editor for a number of sites, including Harper’s BAZAAR, Tasting Table, Fast Company and Brit + Co, and is a passionate supporter of animal causes, copy savant, movie dork and reckless connoisseur of all holidays. A native Texan living in NYC since 2005, Janes has a degree in journalism from Texas A&M and got her start in media at US Weekly before moving on to O Magazine, and eventually becoming the entertainment editor of the once-loved, now-shuttered DailyCandy. She’s based on the Upper West Side.
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