Kaboose - Holiday Guide - Best Classic Holiday Movies

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Kaboose - Holiday Guide - Best Classic Holiday Movies

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HOLIDAY GUIDE 2005

Best classic holiday movies

Our top 10 picks for your family time

by Jane Louise Boursaw

Winter weather, busy preparations, hectic holidays - ready to get away from it all? Rediscover these classic movies. Snuggle in with your family, let the wind howl, and start feeling great about the holidays again! Here�s our list of feel-good holiday movies.

	It's a Wonderful Life (1946) In this holiday classic, Jimmy Stewart plays George Bailey, a compassionate young man who gives up his dreams of travel and adventure to run the family business after his father dies. But things turn sour when $8,000 turns up missing, thanks to evil millionaire Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore). George is ready to jump off a bridge (literally) when his guardian angel, Clarence (Henry Travers), appears to show him what life would have been like had he never existed. The moral? Sure, life has its twists and turns, but it truly is wonderful if you have the right perspective. Who should watch: While there�s nothing objectionable in this movie, kids under six might not fully understand the themes of how precious life, love and family really are (but it�s never too early to get them clued in either!).
	A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) Christmas just isn�t Christmas until you�ve seen Snoopy decorate his doghouse and heard Linus recite the true meaning of the season. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the classic cartoon, and it gets more relevant every year. When Charlie Brown complains about all the materialism he sees during the Christmas season, Lucy suggests that he become director of the school Christmas pageant. He accepts, but it proves to be a frustrating struggle, and he tries to restore the proper holiday spirit with a forlorn little fir tree. A digitally re-mastered version will air Dec. 6, 8 - 9 p.m. on ABC. The hour will also include a series of animated stories entitled "Charlie Brown Christmas Tales," based on Charles Schulz�s work. Who should watch: Wonderful for all ages.
	White Christmas (1954) This fine musical is a must-see. After leaving the Army after WWII, Bob Wallace (Bing Crosby) and Phil Davis (Danny Kaye) team up to become a top song-and-dance act. Davis plays matchmaker and introduces Wallace to a pair of beautiful sisters (Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen), who also have a song-and-dance act. When the girls travel to a Vermont lodge to perform a Christmas show, Wallace and Davis follow, only to find that their former commander, General Waverly, is the lodge owner. Great tunes, great cast, and a feel-good ending, to boot. Who should watch: Although some kids might become restless with this musical, my kids loved it by the time they turned five.
	Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) Nobody tells - or sings - a story like the gentle Burl Ives. Characters that include an elf who wants to be a dentist, an abominable snowman, a prospector named Yukon Cornelius, and an island of misfit toys all add up to the best reindeer games we�ve ever seen. And here�s a bit of trivia: After an outcry of protest insisting on a happy ending for the Misfit Toys, new scenes were created to show Santa's sleigh rescuing them and finding homes for them all. Who should watch: A great holiday movie for all ages.
	Miracle on 34th Street (1947) Does Santa Claus really exist? This movie makes a pretty good case. Maureen O�Hara plays Doris Walker, a no-nonsense Macy's executive desperately searching for a new store Santa. She hires a nice old man named Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn), who insists that he's the real Santa Claus. After Kris is sent to an insane asylum, a young lawyer (John Payne) decides to defend him by arguing in court that he truly is the real thing. Still, Doris and her six-year-old daughter, Susan (scene-stealer Natalie Wood) are skeptical, until - well, I won�t give it away if you haven�t seen it yet! Who should watch: For very young kids, the idea that Santa ISN�T real might be disturbing - even though it appears that he truly is real at the end. Still, I think this movie is best suited for kids seven and up.

Next page: Movies 6-10

Jane Louise Boursaw is a freelance journalist specializing in the movie and television industries. Email her at jboursaw@charter.net.

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