The movie “White Christmas” is on ABC Family tonight, and I see from my blog stats that someone looked for, and found, a post I did last year about the difference between the movies “Holiday Inn” and “White Christmas.” I direct your attention there, and below, in case the subject should pop up this holiday season.
I think the “war on Christmas” brouhaha from a couple of years ago was way overblown, and overhyped by talk show hosts and religious broadcasters who thrive on controversy, but I couldn’t help laughing at this quote from comedy writer Mike McIntee, who does the “Wahoo Gazette” blog at the “Late Show with David Letterman” web site:
Lowe’s is calling their Christmas Trees “Family Trees.” Hmmm. From now on, I think I’ll call Lowe’s “Home Depot.”
Too frequently, I will see a great old movie on TCM and blog about either after it’s aired or on the same day it’s scheduled to air, which is of little help to you the loyal reader. I did that last year with a great little movie called “Christmas In Connecticut” (1945). A week or so ago, I blogged about another Barbara Stanwyck comedy, and that got me to thinking about “Christmas In Connecticut.” I decided that this year, I would get out ahead of the curve and tell you in advance to look for this movie in the listings, or put it on your TiVo wish list, or what have you. It’s a great addition to your holiday season.
It’s a romantic comedy with a holiday setting. Elizabeth Lane (Stanwyck) is a Martha Stewart-style contributor to a Good Housekeeping-like magazine. She writes beautifully about the Connecticut farm she shares with her husband and baby. Homemakers can’t wait to clip out her latest recipes and entertaining tips.
It’s all a fraud. Stanwyck is single, childless, and lives in a cramped Manhattan apartment. She can hardly boil water; all the recipes come from a restaurateur friend (the always-lovable S.Z. Sakall). But the publisher of the magazine (Sydney Greenstreet) doesn’t know this, and when he reads about a war hero with no family and no place to spend the holidays he cheerfully suggests, as only a boss can, that Stanwyck and her husband have him over — as both a publicity stunt and their patriotic duty.
So Stanwyck must produce a fake farm, a fake husband and even a fake baby — all of which get in the way when she starts falling for the real war hero (Dennis Morgan).
It would make a nice double feature with “While You Were Sleeping,” another holiday-themed movie where the heroine must extract herself from a fabricated relationship in order to pursue a real one.
There was a 1992 TV movie staring Dyan Cannon and Kris Kristofferson and directed by Arnold Schwarzenegger (!), which I haven’t seen. IMDb also indicates that there’s a new remake being readied for release in 2009, but there are no details except on IMDb Pro, which I don’t get. But I doubt either can compare to this original holiday classic.
Keep your eyes out for it once the holiday movie season starts on TV, which should be any day now.
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