Christmas movies | Hollywood Yesterday

Christmas in Connecticut: One of the Best Christmas Classics of All Time

December 5, 2020 By Joi Leave a Comment

Christmas in Connecticut

Those of us who love old movies and classic television, each, often have our own personal missions – stars, films, genres, music, and/or television shows we’d love to help become more popular and more celebrated. I have quite a few stars, genres, music, and movies that fall under my own personal missions heading, including Westerns, Jazz, Dorothy Dandridge, Maureen O’Hara, etc.

One of the movies I desperately want to see become better known and more celebrated is Christmas in Connecticut. It’s so fun, festive, beautiful, and boasts such an extraordinary cast – it deserves to be mentioned alongside other greats such as It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, and White Christmas.

I believe that if it were shown on television as frequently as the others, it’d soon become a household name as well.

The wonderful movie stars Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Godfrey, and one of my favorite character actors ever, the always delightful S.Z. “Cuddles” Sakall.

You can find Christmas in Connecticut (link to the dvd) on Amazon or watch it on Prime Video.

Speaking of Christmas… please forgive me for not having as many updates during the time from Thanksgiving to Christmas as usual. I stay so crazy busy during this time (online shopping, wrapping, baking, cooking, baking, baking, baking…) that it doesn’t leave me much time for anything else!

Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, and Natalie Wood in the Wonderful Classic, Miracle on 34th Street

November 3, 2020 By Joi Leave a Comment

Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, and Natalie Wood in Miracle on 34th Street

Halloween has come and gone, so my heart and eyes are fully on Thanksgiving and Christmas! Actually, I’ll let you in on a little secret… my eyes and heart are on them year-round. I experiment with recipes I’ll use at Thanksgiving and Christmas throughout the year and buy gifts and decorations 12 months a year and keep them safely hidden in totes until it’s time to wrap them.

When you have a large family, it might just be the only way from having a mental breakdown when December 1st rolls around!

Since I can finally own up to my all-consuming love of Christmas now, without looking like a complete fruitcake, I decided to go with a scene from one of my absolute favorite movies ever – Miracle on 34th Street. I’ll soon be in my den… visiting Susan, Fred, Doris, and of course Kris Kringle for the first time in 2020.

For as long as I can remember, I kick off the “official” Christmas season with this film, followed by It’s a Wonderful Life and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I’m so anal about it all that I also “end” the official season with the same three.

Yes, as a matter of fact, I do know that I’m as mad as a hatter… but I see no reason to change at this stage of the game!

You can find the wonderful, black and white 1947 Miracle on 34th Street (link to the dvd on Amazon) on Amazon for less than $10. Much easier than waiting for it to show up on television.

Maureen O’Hara: The Christmas Box (1995)

December 15, 2019 By Joi Leave a Comment

Maureen O’Hara, Kelsey Mulrooney, Richard Thomas, and Annette O’Toole The Christmas Box

The Christmas Box (TV Movie, 1995) was Maureen O’Hara’s first TV film role since The Red Pony in ’73. The film starred Maureen O’Hara, Richard Thomas, Kelsey Mulrooney, and Annette O’Toole.

When asked if anything had changed in the business since she’d last worked, Maureen replied, “I’ll tell you what hasn’t changed. You’re still waiting for the gift of a great writer giving you a great script. And I think The Christmas Box is a wonderful gift.”

It’s a wonderful movie – each of the stars are outstanding. Each time I see it, I always wish Richard Thomas and Annette O’Toole made more movies. I’m a huge fan of both of theirs.

Miracle on 34th Street: Memorable Scenes from One of the Greatest Christmas Movies of All Time

December 22, 2018 By Joi Leave a Comment

Lobby Card for Miracle on 34th Street

In a funny little twist of irony, some of my absolute favorite stars have starred in the absolute best Christmas movies:

Jimmy Stewart: It’s a Wonderful Life
Maureen O’Hara: Miracle on 34th Street
Barbara Stanwyck: Christmas in Connecticut
Bing Crosby: White Christmas

I’m not sure why, but Miracle on 34th Street (1947) doesn’t seem to get the attention some of the other Christmas movies do. Yes, the others are outstanding… but so is Miracle on 34th Street.

This has been one of my favorite movies since I was around the age of Natalie Wood’s adorable character Susan. The movie is filled with love, laughter, emotion, and hope – who can ask for more than that from a Christmas movie?

The fact that you often hear people talk about Die Hard as a Christmas movie more than this one is enough to make you as nutty as the cookies you leave out for Santa.

Okay, ranting over. Let’s just celebrate this wonderful, beautiful movie.

Did You Know?

According to a Natalie Wood biography, young Natalie believed that Edmund Gwenn was actually Santa Claus! In fact, it wasn’t until she saw him out of costume at the wrap party that she realized he wasn’t Santa.
Natalie Wood was eight years old when filming Miracle on 34th Street.
Maureen O’Hara had this to say about Edmund Gwenn, “By the time we were halfway through the shoot, we all believed Edmund really was Santa Claus. I’ve never seen an actor more naturally suited for a role.”
The department stores (Macy’s and Gimbel’s) depicted in the movie had to grant permission in order for the producers to use their names. Both stores wanted to see the finished film first before they gave this approval. Fortunately (and for obvious reasons), both stores loved the film and gave their permission!
From Maureen O’Hara’s autobiography: “Everyone felt the magic on the set and we all knew we were creating something special. I am very proud to have been part of a film that has been continually shown and loved all over the world for nearly sixty years. Miracle on 34th Street (1947) has endured all this time because of the special relationship of the cast and crew, the uplifting story and its message of hope and love, which steals hearts all over the world every year. I don’t think I will ever tire of children asking me, ‘Are you the lady who knows Santa Claus?’ I always answer, ‘Yes, I am. What would you like me to tell him?'”

Below are just a few special scenes from this extra special movie.

Santa Won’t Lie to Susan:

Susan Believes:

The One and Only Santa Claus!

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: Fun Facts About The Christmas Classic

November 26, 2013 By Joi Leave a Comment

I’m going to let you in on a little secret (but only because I like you so much): I’m more obsessed with the classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Amazon dvd link) and its adorable characters than most kids are with Santa Claus.

The movie came out the year I was born (1964), so I guess it’s fitting that I’m its biggest fan. I’d hate to even try to count the number of times I’ve seen it because not only have I watched it every year, In the VCR’s heyday, I recorded it and watched it multiple times and since getting the dvd, I’ve been known to pop it in several times during the Christmas season.

In fact, I think it’s high time I watch it today…

I’ve also been collecting Rudolph memorabilia over the years and its one of the funnest collections I have going. People get almost as big a kick shopping for these collectibles as I get receiving them.

Below are some cool facts about this classic and the people who made the magic happen.

Santa’s reindeer are all seen and even mentioned, by name, in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The three reindeer with “speaking roles” are all voiced by Paul Kligman. These reindeer (along with their roles) are:

Donner – Rudolph’s father
Comet – Coach of the infamous Reindeer Games
Dasher – One of the other buck’s (at the games) dad

Sam the Snowman is the Narrator of the movie. Burl Ives was the speaking and singing voice behind Sam. The face of Sam the Snowman was designed to resemble Mr. Ives.

The Abominable Snow Monster of the North is also called The Bumble in the movie.

Rudolph was voiced by Billie Mae Richards and, yes, this was a female. In addition to voice overs in quite a few Care Bear movies, she was also the voice of Rudolph in the movies Rudolph’s Shiny New Year and Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July.

Yukon Cornelius was voiced by Larry D. Mann. In the 1964 TV movie Return to Oz, Mann was Rusty the Tin Man. He was also in episodes of Get Smart, The Big Valley, Bewitched, and several other classic television series. Watch for him, it’s a real hoot to hear Yukon Cornelius’ voice coming out of someone else.

Corinne Conley provided the voice for the adorable doll on the Island of Misfit Toys. She (the actress… not the doll) went on to play the second Phyllis Anderson on Days of Our Lives.

The original Misfit Toys didn’t have their happy ending. Although it’s hard to imagine, in the original TV version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Rudolph, Hermey the elf (who wants to be a dentist instead of an elf), and Yukon Cornelius visit the Island of Misfit Toys and promise to help them. However, the original movie ended without the Misfits ever being seen again… let alone helped.After it aired, the producers were SWARMED with letters from upset children who wanted to know why the Misfit Toys weren’t helped! A new scene was produced and added to the end of the show – the adorable scene where Santa and his reindeer (led, of course, by Rudolph) land on the Island of Misfit Toys, pick them up and take them to their new homes.

The main Misfit Toys were comprised of:

Charlie in the Box – a Misfit simply because he’s named Charlie instead of Jack.
Spotted Elephant – Seemingly a misfit because of the spots?
A Toy Train – The back wheels were square instead of round.
A Bird – Able to swim but not fly.
“Dolly for Sue…” or just “Dolly” – One of the questions most people have always asked about Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is, “Why is the doll a misfit toy?” One of the producers, Arthur Rankin Jr., finally addressed the subject. He said Dolly’s “problem” was psychological! He said she was abandoned by her human and it left her feeling depressed and unloved. OK, is that priceless or what?

Santa’s magic works wonders. If you watch closely, at the end of the movie, when the toys are “delivered,” the train’s wheels are all round. Also, the bird doesn’t need a parachute like the other toys for his trip from the sky – he simply flies!

Rudolph isn’t as big as he appears. While the Rudolph puppet, on screen, appears to be about three feet tall, in reality “Rudolph” is actually much smaller. He’s really the size of a newborn kitten.

They used to laugh and call him names… and that’s never okay. Author and special education professor, George Giuliani, recognized the behavior of some of the characters toward Rudolph as qualifying for bullying. In In December 2011, he decided to wrote a book titled No More Bullies at the North Pole!