Pray For Heavenly Guidance And Get Cary Grant

It's the most wonderful time of the year! And what better way to get into the holiday spirit than by watching some classic black and white Christmas movies? There's something special about black and white Christmas movies. They're classics for a reason. In this video, Alonso Duralde, film critic and author of the book “Have Yourself A Movie Little Christmas,” tells us his list of must see black and white Christmas movies. There will be movies you're familiar with and some that may become new members of your Christmas movie cannon.

The movie list and where to watch them:
-Miracle on 34th Street: Disney+ & Amazon Prime
-The Shop Around the Corner: HBO Max, Hulu & Sling TV
-Christmas in Connecticut: HBO Max
-A Christmas Carol (1951): Amazon Prime & Plex
-The Bishop's Wife: YouTube, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Sling TV, Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, Plex, Tubi
-It Happened on Fifth Avenue: HBO Max
-Holiday Affair:  Rent for $2.99 on Vudu, Amazon Prime or Apple TV
-Remember the Night: Fawesome
-I'll Be Seeing You: Retro Reels app on Roku

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Transcript

Todd: 0:00

Well, hello everybody and welcome to Christmas Clatter. It is as recording. It is the 30th of November. Tomorrow will be December the first. So if you're listening to this just podcast only, it releases on the first. So happy December. We made it all the way through the year, and it is upon us. If you're listening to just the podcast, head over to YouTube. You can catch the livestream version of this. And we also are bringing back a fan favorite from last year. That will be a short video on YouTube because we are starting our advent calendar. Yep. Last year I did a Christmas story, advent calendar, where I unboxed each piece, each and every day. On, on YouTube. Just recorded a, a short video. Nothing real grand, real spectacular, but you know, just kind of two, three minutes. You know, popped open a, a, a new door and revealed the little mini figure of something to do with the Christmas story. So this year we have something a little different than that. It's not quite Christmas related, but is Christmas related? So it's toys, you know, so I guess that is Christmas related. This at the, uh, request of my, uh, 10 year old daughter. We have the five surprise mini brands, toys, and, uh, there's some nostalgic toys that'll be in this box. There'll be some new, like, modern toys that'll be in this box. I have no idea. So we will work through this, uh, advent calendar together. It'll be on YouTube, uh, for those listening to the podcast. So keep an eye out for that. I will try to have those videos out about the same time every day. Um, That's, I think like nine in the morning, nine central standard time was about when I had 'em out last year. I tried to do the same. So, uh, be on the lookout for that. We'll work through the advent calendar together as we check off these last, um, few days of the Christmas season and really of the year, just a month to go. So, trying to think of some other announcements. Um, you know, like I said, I always do this. Just think, but I think we're, I think we're good if we don't, we have some episodes coming up. We have cookie day coming up in a couple weeks, well, a week from Friday. So December 9th will be cookie day. We'll be, uh, doing some live streams from there at, uh, my parents' house and, uh, and talking about that. But let's move on with our episode. We have a wonderful. Alonzo Riley. He's been on here, uh, I don't know, three, four times maybe. And, uh, always enjoy talking with him. Uh, and if Christmas Clater ever had a Hall of Fame, he would be first bout Christmas, clatter Hall of Famer for sure. And, uh, you could find him eating some chocolate covered pine nuts and enjoying a good movie. And if he's not enjoying the movie, then you can find him looking at the lamps. Hey, Alonzo, how are you?

Alonso: 3:14

I'm good, sir.

Todd: 3:14

How you doing? Fine like that. Uh, looking at the lamps reference, I, I, I've never forgotten of that.. Alonso: Very funny. I, uh, I, which I stole that from John Waters, but I stand by. It's, it's a good thing to do when a boring movie. I need to know if the Snoopy mug, like, does it, does the liquid go all the way into the snout or it it goes all the way into the snout and then the back. Angled downwards and

Alonso: 3:36

back. Okay. So, yeah, I can see the s a little, that's a little

Todd: 3:41

tricky. And then when the, the liquid gets down so far, it, uh, cup over this part of the mug and splashy right in the nose,, Alonso: you know, maybe, maybe that You know, I think sometimes mugs are just good for that. I, I've used it a few times before and every time I do, I'm like, I shouldn't use that one. When, when people are gonna watch me drink

Alonso: 4:03

and Yes. Off camera. I think you're right. Probably. And then it's like, but

Todd: 4:09

it's a good looking mug, , its, its, it is a handsome, I figure if I take a drink, people will get a crack out of seeing Snoopy, you know, and enjoy it. Yeah, it's just not that great of a drinking mug, so,

Alonso: 4:23

well, you could turn to a whole thing next year, get the Bon Ma on Advent calendar, and you know, every day you have a nice piece of toast with a different, you know, jam or jelly or honey on it, and then you take a swig and, you know, see where it all goes.

Todd: 4:35

Yep. That, that sounds good. Uh, that sounds like a great idea. I think Charlie Brown has a better head shape for mug, so maybe There you go. For sure. That, that, that direction. So, but so before we get into the movies, you know what, if you've been up to this holiday season, I know you're big Christmas nut, you wrote a book called, uh, have Yourself a Movie, low Christmas, and have the Facebook page. If you don't, if guys, if you're out there, go to Facebook, like have yourself a movie, low Christmas and you'll enjoy it. So you are, thank you. You are a resident

Alonso: 5:08

movie. Yeah. And then, you know, last year I co-wrote, uh, I'll Be Home for Christmas movies with the guys from Deck The Hallmark, which has reviews of more than a hundred Hallmark movies. So yeah, this is the time of year where. All of this is happening, you know, it's like the, the year drags on and then suddenly we get to what tomorrow is December? How did that happen? You know? Yeah. Uh, but yeah, so I've been chatting with folks like you and, and, uh, you know, trying to keep up with the onslaught of new movies. Um, I think according to the, uh, sleepy Kitty Pause, Tumblr, where it's something like 255 new Christmas movies. Oh, wow. Just on like TV and streaming this year? Yes, it's bananas.

Todd: 5:46

Have you watched the one on QVC yet?

Alonso: 5:48

Not yet, but it's on the list., I'm gonna be watching these well, until like March, I think. At least. If not, you know, July. I

Todd: 5:55

didn't realize they had one until just like a week or so ago, and the trailer looked pretty good.

Alonso: 6:02

I, I'm hearing Okay. Things about it. The fact that 66 minutes is a real selling point for me at this point, frankly. So

Todd: 6:08

that is fantastic. You know, I've been not to get way off subject here right at the beginning. I've been telling people for a year and a half now. What's missing in Hollywood is the solid 90 minute movie. Oh yeah.

Alonso: 6:22

look, especially this time of year, cuz like I, I as a, as my other hat, as an actual film critic, all the like, important awards, movies feel like they have to be at least two and a half hours or they aren't really, you know, uh, deserving of nominations. So yeah, there's a lot of length at this time of year.

Todd: 6:38

Yeah, there is. And there's, it's, it's hard when there's a movie that's two, two and a half hours long and you feel every second of it , you know, tell me about it. It's one thing if you walk into it and you're like, wow, that movie was that long. That didn't seem like it. But you know, like we just saw a Wakanda forever and enjoyed it and it's fairly lengthy run runtime, but, uh, it's been big MCU fans. It didn't feel like it, but if you're not in the mcu, I could see where it probably did, you know, so For sure. Yeah. Yeah. So, well we are here and I want to clarify the rules. I put use loosely that we, that I, and not we, but I just kind of put on you, I wanted to talk about black and white Christmas movies because it seems like anything from a Christmas story forward in the timeline really gets, you know, a lot of love. And I really think it's Christmas vacation forward because Christmas story really didn't take off until, to me until the ninth. True, true. So it, it doesn't feel like it's as old as Christmas vacation, even though it, it is. And you know, other than it's a wonderful life, it's like, uh, those mo black and white movies kind of get. Forgotten

Alonso: 7:54

there's, yeah. Well, there's a weird thing about black white movies. Like I grew up watching them and loving them because, you know, I, my mom was a big movie fan and we would have, you know, we would watch movies on TV and, and, you know, so I grew up, you know, yeah, watching a lot of color movies too, obviously, but you know, like old Alfred Hitchcock and old, you know, Fred Este musicals and stuff, like all these great movies that are in black and white. And so it never occurred to me that they were less than in any way. But I'm constantly encountering people who it's like you're asking them to watch. I don't even know, like, you know, a four hour, you know, Slovenian opera with no subtitles or something. They just Oh, what black and white. Yeah. You know, and I don't get it. Cuz I think black and white movies can be gorgeous in their own way. And, and you know, they, they're still movies, you know, they're good, they're good and if they're bad, they're bad. But like, the fact that they aren't in colors shouldn't be a deal

Todd: 8:47

breaker. Right, right. And uh, so what I told, what I told Alonzo is let's do black and white and let's, we're gonna leave off. It's a wonderful life. Yeah. Both. That's the one. Love that pieces. And it would be on this list, but it's like I had a feeling that like, Everybody knows

Alonso: 9:05

about that one. Yeah. That's the one black and white movie to this day that like NBC will devote three hours of prime time to, you know, and so it doesn't need the boost. Like we, we, we could take it as red as that everybody in America watches for the most part, it's a wonderful life and they don't mind that it's in black and white, but that's like, that's the one that got through. Yeah.

Todd: 9:23

That, that's the one that, uh, you know, a lot of people know. And I see Sean hearing the comments. He, he mentioned, uh, miracle on 34th Street. We will get to, we will get to that one. Don't cool your

Alonso: 9:32

jets, Sean. We haven't gotten to the list yet. Relaxed. We're here all night because

Todd: 9:38

there's an interesting side story on that for me that I, I didn't even let Alonzo know, but when we get there, we'll get there and, and, uh, and let everybody know. But, uh, but, and also kind of wanted to bring out some movies. You know, that are good, that people would enjoy, that maybe would become a part of, you know, the Christmas can. And, uh, sure. You know, that say, you know, that something that really resonates. So, um, so let's, uh, let's go with our first movie now for, um, you know, it's a wonderful Life. There's a name in this that, uh, that everybody knows, uh, very well, uh, and Shop Around the Corner, which is a 1940 movie. But, uh, there's a guy named James Stewart in here, uh, that, uh, people might recognize. And, uh, Margaret Sullivan. And this is a, um, I have not seen this movie. There's, there's several in here I have not seen, but after reading the description, it's like, it's, it's, my goal was to watch all these movies before I talk to you. However life happens, uh,

Alonso: 10:46

finds a way. I get it.

Todd: 10:49

get in the way, you know, so, um, But after reading the descriptions and some of the critics reviews and things on this, this will definitely, this one is definitely on my short list to check out for sure.

Alonso: 11:02

So, yeah, this was probably, I, I would imagine for a modern audience, it's probably best known as the source material for, you've got mail. Mm-hmm., uh, which is a direct remake of this movie. In fact, it's the name of, uh, the, the name of Meg Ryan's bookstore in that movie is the shopper on the corner. Uh, but this is, uh, a 1940 film from Ernst Lubi, who is still to this day considered like one of the great sort of cinema stylists and craftsmen. Um, Billy Wilder, who got his career started, you know, writing screenplays for Lubi for the rest of his career. And his office had a giant banner that said, how would Lubi do it? You know, so like, he's, he's very influential. His films, um, you know, are, are still revered. And this movie in particular, I think not just being the sort of direct, uh, uh, source for, you've got mail and for the Judy Garland movie in the good old summertime and the stage musical, she loves me. Um, but I think in a lot of ways it's kind of the. Raw material blueprint for just the American romcom? Yeah. In general, you know, the, the, I think there's so much here in terms of the misunderstandings and the, they hate each other, but they love each other and like, uh, a lot of the elements here really, you know, are still carried on in, you know, modern romcoms. You know, I think a lot of Hallmark movies, you know, to varying degrees owe their existence to shop around the corner. But yeah, it's just, it's a very charming movie. It's funny because obviously it's an 80 year old film, so it is a, it's a nostalgic thing for us, but it was nostalgic when they made it even because you know, we're, the war is already raging in Europe in 1940 and this is set in this sort of like, Kind of storybook, charming Budapest, you know? Yeah. Which I'm sure when the movie was first playing was probably being shelled on a regular basis. But, you know, here it's just this very sort of continental European city and, uh, and yeah, it's a story about these two coworkers in a store. And so, you know, and a store Christmas time is inherently a great setting for anything. Uh, and they do not get along. They, they, they are rivals at work and they're always kind of trying to undercut each other and they don't get along at all. But they do not know that they are also pen pals. Right. And in their letters, they're constantly pouring forth, you know, the, this deep affection for one another. And then obviously one of them figures out what's going on and, you know, do they tell the other one? Uh, it's a, it's a, it's a lovely movie.

Todd: 13:30

Oh, yeah. Well, like I said, reading through the descriptions and some of the critics reviews and stuff, it's like there was so many different, you, you listed a few of the movies that kind of. Brought to my mind, and I'm like, I'm surprised that, you know, homework hasn't, and I'm sure they have. I'm sure

Alonso: 13:44

they have. Uh, there's a couple, there are a couple movies I could point you to. They're like, okay. It's the, it is like, there's one called Bottled with Love with Andrew Walker, where it's literally the same plot. Like they're emailing each other, but they don't know, and then he figures it out and, you know.

Todd: 13:57

Yeah. So this is kind of like that, the, the, the genesis of all, all those things. It's kind of like the, uh,

Alonso: 14:04

uh, it's the Dead Sea Scrolls of Rob. There

Todd: 14:06

you go. There you go. That's a good analogy. It's, it's, it's the thing that, uh, you know, you can, you can trace, you know, the 23 me all the way back to Exactly. To Jimmy Stewart in, in 19. And this was, you know, what's cool about this and what I'm interested in is, is seeing, uh, pre, uh, world War Jimmy Stewart on the screen. Mm. Uh, you know, And seeing how, how that, you know, translate. Cause just looking at the, the, the one sheet here, you know, he looks so young, even compared to, it's a wonderful life.

Alonso: 14:37

Yeah. I mean, you know, he is definitely the sort of male ingenue here and, you know, it, it's a, there's some edge to the performance, but there's a market difference between, as you say, pre World War ii Jimmy Stewart and post World War ii, Jimmy Stewart. Like, you look at a movie like the Philadelphia story or you know, just a lot of the films where he was kind of this, you know, big, tall, gangly, auks, charming guy. And then, You know, you see a lot of the later films like, you know, your Anatomy of a Murders or your Winchester 76 s and um, you know, that's, there's a, there's an intensity there that wasn't there before. And, and, and you know, it's a Wonderful Life is that kind of pivot point I think where part of the, part of the performance as George Bailey is sort of, you know, old Jimmy Stewart and part of it is new Jimmy Stewart and, you know, it's sort of commonly known now that he came back from World War II with PTSD from combat and really, you know, cap is capturing so much of that, you know, there, there's that one close up. I always think about at the very end when like, I, I think he's either just found out that like, that Harry died or whatever, but you know it, well, you know the one I'm talking about. Yeah. There's there's close with him and his head turns. Yeah. Yeah. And it's so chilling and intense. And this is not that guy. This is the old like just sweetheart Jimmy support.

Todd: 15:57

Yeah. Was that rear window where he had the close up.

Alonso: 16:01

No, no, no. It's in it, it's in, it's a wonderful life.

Todd: 16:03

Oh, it's, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I, I had rear window in my head and cuz I was thinking of when you were talking about that kinda separately I was thinking about like my favorite Jimmy Stewart movie in the movies. There was this, this I, and it wasn't, it's Wonderful Life cuz it was a colored, colored movie and uh, and it was like the close up of his eyes and him just kind of like, he doesn't say a word, but his eyes are just kind of got this crazed, figuring it out, doesn't know what's going on. At

Alonso: 16:32

the same time thing might be, might be Vertigo, which I think is, yeah, I think that's really, takes just a dark

Todd: 16:36

place. Both are Hitchcock. So it's probably why I kind of get, you know, sure. Be mixed and, and stuff, so, but yeah, this one I'm real excited to see and, uh, and can't wait for. So, uh, guys, if, um, If the, you know, if you love Jimmy Stewart and who doesn't, it seems like he, he was one of those guys that everybody loves, you know, kinda like Dolly Parton, you know? So,

Alonso: 17:00

exactly. I, I think also this is kind of the birthplace of the workplace comedy, like, you know, something like the Marit War show or The Office where like, because it's not just their romance, like there's all these supporting characters who have their own little side bits of business going on to kind of come in and out of the story. The boss is played by Frank Morgan, who people recognize as the Wizard of Oz. Yeah. Um, so, you know, yeah. It's, it, it's a, it's a really just, it's a, it's, it's a real delight and it's, it's one of those movies where I always quote the old Ebert line of like, I envy you getting to see it for the first time. Right,

Todd: 17:33

right. So, uh, one last thing on this, uh, we had a question roll in here. Uh, as a critic, do you feel that, uh, Jimmy Stewart's overrated or underrated as an actor?

Alonso: 17:44

I'd say he's rated properly rated. Yeah. I, I think he deserves the, the praise that he gets. And you know, you look at that career and it's like, this is a guy who could do romantic comedy. He could do action, he could do these brooding, you know, sort of psychologically intense, I mean like, he worked with Hitchcock like four or five times, so it's, you know, he's not just the one thing that you might sort of wanna pigeonhole him as. Yeah.

Todd: 18:08

Yeah. It, it's funny that, you know, you mentioned, uh, you got mail, which is Tom Hanks cuz I've, I've told people for a long time that Tom Hanks is Jimmy Stewart because he can be in the silliest comedy or the, or an action movie or a high drama, you know, like Philadelphia or something, and you believe it each and every. You

Alonso: 18:29

know? Yeah, no, I, I, I think it's, it's an apt comparison. And he's somebody who, again, like in a different way, but you look at early Tom Hanks like, oh, he's so funny. He's so goofy and charming. And then, you know, he unpacks up Philadelphia or Saving Private Ryan or something. It's like, oh, okay. You can do that too.

Todd: 18:45

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And, uh, right guys, let's move on to our, our next movie we have here. And, uh, again, these aren't like a list of, this one's better than this one. This is just a list of movies you need to see, you know, um, you know, as far as the rankings, we'll leave that to some other people. This is just a list of movies you need to see, you know, and we have, uh, Christmas in Connecticut, and, uh, it's a 1945, and this is one I've seen, but it's been. I might as well say I haven't because , it's been so long, you know,

Alonso: 19:19

so by the way, I forgot to mention, shop Around the corner is streaming on HBO Max and so is Christmas in Connecticut. Yes. So these are very handy to watch.

Todd: 19:27

And for those in the, in the show note. Um, for those in the show, for those listening in the show notes, in the video description, if you're watching live, it's, it's not there now because I kind of want to keep the list, uh, low key, uh, in the show notes and the description, A list of these movies along with where they're streaming at, uh, will be there too, so you can, uh, reference that if need be. So, but, uh, Christmas in Connecticut, uh, you know, directed by a Peter Godfrey in 1945, why, why is this one that made your list of must see black and.

Alonso: 20:03

Uh, this is just, uh, again, a really delightful romantic comedy and, and one that I think is really influential. And you, you sort of see the bits of it popping up like there last week, I think, as part of their big, like, barrage of Thanksgiving week movies. Uh, hallmark had a film called hashtag Exus about a woman who kind of fakes having a, a husband and a baby and this perfect life to become like a social media influencer. And that's the plot of this movie, basically. But this is the 1945 version where Barbara Stanwick is sort of the Martha Stewart of her day, where she writes about her beautiful home in Connecticut and her husband and her baby, and her cooking tips and her housekeeping tips. And, you know, she lives in a one bedroom apartment in Manhattan and all of her food comes from the restaurant downstairs. She has a complete phony, uh, you know, but, but what happens is there's a soldier. And again, I think this, this movie, I'll tell you, I don't know what World War II did to America, but this is a 1945 comedy in which the initiating action is that a U-boat sinks a troop ship, and there are only two survivors, And it's a comedy. Oh my goodness. Yeah. Anyway, so one of those two survivors is a guy named Jefferson Jones, played by Dennis Morgan and. While he is in the hospital recuperating after having been on like a life draft for 90 days and not eating solid food while he is given nothing but like milk and bread or whatever. He reads her articles and about these amazing meals and these lavish feasts that she throws. And he is like, oh, he writes her a fan letter, he wants to meet her. So the publisher played by Sydney Green. So who's like, ah, I've got, this is gonna be great for publicity. This guy's gonna come and spend Christmas with you in your beautiful home in Connecticut with your husband or your baby. And of course now she has to come up with the home, the husband and the baby and like not get caught for the fact that she doesn't cooking anything cuz she doesn't know how. Uh, so, you know, wackiness and Sues. Yeah. Uh, but she falls in love with the soldier and it's Christmasy and it's gorgeous and it's a lot of fun. Oh yeah.

Todd: 22:06

Yeah. This is like one of those movies that's kind of kind of like, uh, shop around the corner. It's kind of like, Genesis of that. I know what I'm doing, but I really don't and I'm faking it till I make it kind of thing. Exactly.

Alonso: 22:16

Yeah. Yeah. And I, I've got away with it this long, but now suddenly all these people are looking and I have to, you know, escalate. Yeah. And

Todd: 22:23

it's, it's good to know that, uh, all these years later, some things have never, never changed about people putting on that false front and in front of everybody else, you know? Cause for those that haven't, uh, figured it out, the social media is not real., you know, what people post is, is usually not, not the case. So, you know, for sure that happiness and, you know, and, and things. But yeah, this, this, I remember this movie. I don't know, I don't have a good answer Why I haven't returned to it from the first time I seen it. It, it just, I guess it's kind of like, uh, never been front of mind for some reason. And I remember enjoying it and, you know, once it made the list, I'm like, I gotta watch it again and see it, because I went through, I went through this phase, uh, where I watched a whole lot of classic movies when I was in college. Um, I had to take a literature credit, so it was either, and there, all the classes were regular literature classes are full. So I could either take Shakespeare or the Art of Film Ah, . So I took the art of film, like I'll just watch movies rather than read Shakespeare. And I, um, the first movie we watched was the Mals Falcon and I fell in love with, with black and white movies. And the second one we watched was Adam's Rib. You know, it was just, I was just love both those movies and, and this fell in love with classic movies. And, and so I went through this phase where I just. Everything I could get ahold of. Of course, this was, you know, um, prime video store era, you know, through the mid late nineties, and so just trying to grab everything you can. Then the Turner Classic movies came, was coming around and throwing everything on VHS tape and that it could, so that, that really helped. But, uh, yeah, I don't know really know why. It's kind of like that restaurant you like, but you never think about driving down that block to, to go eat there.

Alonso: 24:16

Well, I mean, like, I think part of the reason I became one of those people who listens to Christmas music and watches Christmas movies all year is because if I limit it to, you know, the prescribed moment, I'll never fit 'em all in. Yeah. You know, so Yeah. If you're, if you're only watching Christmas movies for a couple weeks a year, then yeah, it's, it's, it's hard to keep track of, you know, catching up with some new ones maybe, but at the same time wanting to revisit, you know, the old ones. Speaking of Turner Classic movies, I think pretty much all of the movies we're talking about tonight will pop up on the network sometime in the next four weeks. Yeah.

Todd: 24:47

Yeah. This is a good time for. For Turner Classic movies. Yeah. To to, to stream it there. But, uh, let's move on to our, um, third movie here. Um, A Christmas Carol 1951. You know, this is a plot that needs no introduction, , and, uh, this is one I have seen a few times and it's one of the better adaptations of a Christmas carol still, even though, you know, this is a 1951 movie all these years, it's still one of the better adaptations. And, um, kind of doing some, um, I guess research on this, I, I thought, I thought to myself was like, cause I, I looked at it before. I was like, well, when's the first Christmas movie that came, came out and was a movie called Santa Claus in 1898 or something, I believe . And so then I started looking and, and like, well, when was the first 10 Christmas movies? And it was from 1898 to, it was like 1910. Did you know that three of the first 10 Christmas movies ever made were adaptations of a Christmas Carol? Alonso: Uh, I'm actually reading a me as an early Christmas present, and it's, it is all about, uh, TV and movie adaptations of a Christmas Carol Uhhuh. And so they don't even just start at silent films, they go back to. The, the sort of, you know, um, shadow box, you know, kind of those, these sort of touring puppeteer things, you know, where they would have like the slides and the, so yeah, this is, it is the most adapted work of literature in the English language. And yeah, it goes all the way back to the dawn of cinema and all the way up to, you know, this Friday when the animated version drops on Netflix. Like, uh, or the latest animated version I should say. So yeah, it's, it. It, it, it, it keeps on ticking like that Christmas Carol. Uh, but I picked this one specifically because I think of the black and white ones, it is probably the most beloved by the most people, mainly because of Ster SIM's, amazing performance. And, um, you know, he's somebody who's actually best known as a, uh, comic actor. Like, you know, you see him in these old eing comedies like, you know, the Lady Killers. And, um, you know, he, he, he in drag, he plays the head mistress of a, of a school for criminals in, in the bells of Saint Tris. Um, but so, you know, I think that allows a certain. Looseness to Scrooge because it, you know, there are comic moments and I think there is a big transformation and you have to sort of be not afraid to go big playing this character. And, and he certainly isn't. And so I think that makes him one of the greats. Um, this version, uh, has a couple of interesting things going on. First of all, if, uh, if you ever watched the sitcom mod. Her second housekeeper, Mrs. Nauck, uh, after Florida, Evans played by Esther Row, uh, was played by Hermione Badly, and she plays Mrs. Crot in this version. Okay. Um, Patrick Magne from, uh, the Avengers, uh, the, not, not the superhero one, but the one with, you know, Emma Peel. Uh, he played John Steed on The Avengers, and he plays, I think Young Marley in this. Um, and the editor of this version, uh, and I don't have his name in front of me, went on to direct the 1984, made for TV A Christmas Carol with, uh, George C. Scott, this Scrooge. Mm-hmm.. Um, another thing that I like about this version a lot is, You know, it, it, it, when I was, when I was writing the book and watching so many Christmas Carol adaptations, you really get attuned to, like, do they include ignorance? And what do they include? The guys in the lighthouse? Do they include the poor couple who's glad that Scrooge is dead? You know, there's all these little bits in the book that do or don't make into the movies. And this would actually, uh, kind of diverts from the text, but in a way that I think really works in that, uh, you know, Scrooge falls in love with fig's daughter, you know, becomes obsessed with money. She leaves him. That's always kind of the thing. Um, but in this one, Scrooge and Marley actually put Feig out of business. Like they ruin him financially. So there's this added thing of like, oh, you, you're not just like destroying the livelihood of the man who gave you a job, who was your first mentor, but also your fiance's father. Wow. You really suck. Ezer.. Todd: Yeah. Yeah. They go outta their way. Uh, That's one thing I liked about that twist because a lot of times they, they tried to make Ebeneezer, um, so wretched as far as just being a grouch and grumpy. Yeah. And, and, and stuff. And they always say what, what a cunning kind of business man was. But sometimes you just never really see it, you know? But with this one, you kind of see it and that that's more slime. Than any kind of grouchy remarks you can make, you

Alonso: 29:36

know? Yeah, totally. I mean, and I think the Albert F one is good because you see him like shaking down the people that owe him money, and it's like, okay, fine, I'll give you two more days, but now it's gonna be this much more interest. You know, like, yeah, you're right. It's, it's one thing to talk about him being this sort of, you know, greedy, grasping, rapacious old soul, but if you actually watch it in action, it really, you know Yeah. Adds a little something. Yeah.

Todd: 29:57

Uh, me and my wife a couple years were in a, uh, ab adaptation of a Christmas Carol, a musical version Oh, nice. For, uh, local here. Uh, it was put on by our, our, our church. We were going to at the time, and, and we got to play what we called the, the, the moochers, the the poor people. And that's one way we got scr to be a little bit more sinister, is he went to collect money from them. And when they didn't have money to pay, he gave them more time, but then he demanded so much more money. It was right. And, uh, it was a quick way to kind of get that, you know, you know, more, uh, A more scry, scrooge, , . But, uh, yeah, guys, I've seen a lot of people that, uh, in here that really like this and, and, uh, some that haven't seen it in the comments. And then for those, uh, listening to the podcast, if you have not seen, uh, Christmas Girl, and I know everybody's seen lots of versions, check out this, uh, 1951. Uh, the, I think the, the, the com, um, what's the word I'm looking for here? The, the transition, the, the, uh, enlightening that the Scrooge takes is that scene alone, I believe is what's kept this version really have legs, uh, you know, still, you know, good lord, what is it? 70, uh, two years later. 71. Yeah, 71 years later, you know, so it's, it's kind of like. You know, it, it's, you've seen that scene, even if you don't know, you've seen it. Alonso: And uh, it's a, I think it's scary maybe for little, little kids. But like, I'd say if you're, if you're showing this movie to kids, like there are, and there are obviously, you know, there's Muppets and there's even the MGM one, which is okay, it's short, which is to its favor, you know, and there's Mickey. But I think, like, I think I seem to recall watching this one on 16 millimeter in like my sixth grade classroom. And so I'm pretty sure this was, this version was my intro to a Christmas Carol. Yeah. That's cool. I forgot we used to have those, uh, real reels when I was still in school in the elementary and what, we never got to watch this, but watched a few things, but Right. Let's,

Alonso: 32:08

uh, move on. And it's streaming on, sorry, it's streaming on

Todd: 32:11

Plex. On Plex. Yeah. Plex is cool service. We'll talk about that sometime. Now. This is a movie I really, really like. And let's go back to, um, My, my art film literature, credit, Alonso: which still cracks me up, that one of the movies we watched there, uh, was Notorious, um, Ock with Carrie Grant and, and I became a huge Carrie Grant fan and watched everything he made and just was like, you know, he just was kind of like my guy for a while cuz he was so good and so cool. And I don't know what it is about Carrie Grant. You just say Carrie Grant, people kind of pay attention.

Alonso: 32:54

even to this day.

Todd: 32:56

And uh, and, and, um, uh, you joined me last year when we talked to, uh, Caroline Grimes from Life, life Bailey and she was also in this movie Yes. And had great things to say about Carrie Grant, which I was happy to hear. And uh, and this is a movie that. Um, probably most people are familiar with the remake that came out in the, the mid nineties with, uh, Benzel Washington and, uh, Whitney Houston. And, uh, but I love this version so much better than that, than that one . And, uh, just because it's Carrie Grant, but, uh, what, what do you like about this movie?

Alonso: 33:33

Uh, yeah, I, you know, I, this is, it's funny, you know, um, people especially I think now with, you know, online chatter film, Twitter, you know, in it cool news back when that was the thing people get really obsessed with. Like, oh, I hear this production's in trouble. And oh, they had to do reshoots and, oh, the, and this is a movie that was trouble. And they actually stopped production entirely and like started over. Uh, so when this movie originally started shooting, Kerry Grant was playing, the Bishop, David Nevin was playing the angel and the wife was played by there Wright. Um, and then it wasn't working for whatever reason, and they just, they shut down. I think they may even switched directors. And then by the time they came back and Grant was now the angel David knew was the bishop, which I think works much better. Yes. And Loretta Young is the, uh, is the wife in question and. You know, I, I, I do like, I don't, I don't go for the whole angels thing usually cuz it can be, you know, kind of, kind of gross. But, uh, what I like in this movie is the idea of somebody coming in like fixing everybody's lives and then nobody remembering he was there. Yeah. And just assuming that they did it themselves or that they, that they acted on their best impulses on their own and not with any sort of outside guidance or whatever. Um, but this is just a really sweet movie. So, um, David Nivan is the bishop and he is trying to raise money to build this huge cathedral. And, uh, you know, it is, it is, it is throwing, you know, distance between him and his wife. It's throwing distance between him and his congregation and he prays for heavenly guidance. He gets Carrie Grant as Dudley and you know, is shocked to learn. The Dudley is not just there to like snap his fingers and get him the money he needs for the cathedral. What actually does all these things that really annoy the bishop, but. What they do is sort of remind the bishop what's important and who's important and, you know, the, the, you know, sort of provides a, a, a beacon for him to, to go back to being the best version of himself that he was, which is, I think, a thing that we always get from Christmas movies. A lot of the, the, our favorite ones are these sort of redemption stories. And, you know, the bishop isn't, doesn't go through as big of one as Scrooge does, but it's definitely a thing where he, he kind of, you know, Checks himself, you know, and, and, and, and, and moves on. And this is just another one of these old movies with an incredible cast of character actors, including, of course, Carolyn Grimes, who plays their daughter, but like, you know, Monty Wooley and you know, Gladys Cooper, if you've ever seen Now Voyage or you know, nobody plays a mean old rich lady like Gladys Cooper. Um, yeah, it's just, it's a really delightful film. And, and I, I, I went back and watched that and the, the Preacher's wife this year back to back for, for Deck the Hallmark when we were doing 25 weeks of Christmas. And yeah, like preacher's wife has so many of these elements that are great. I mean, you know, come on, who doesn't wanna hear Whitney Houston sing in the movie? Uh, and, and I've always thought that Denzel Washington had a carry. Nest to him. You know, I remember seeing him in one of his very first films, Mississippi Messala, which is one of his few kind of like romantic comedies. And he's so charming and so sexy in that movie, in a, you know, not in the, the sort of tough guy way that we would come to know later from, from his films. And I remember at the time thinking, this guy's carry Grant, like this guy can do that sort of thing where you're just like, you're, yes. Tell me more. You know, . Um, and so I think he's well cast in that one, but yeah, that movie doesn't have the charm that this one does. And so I think if you only know the preacher's wife, you may really be surprised at how lovely this version is. Yeah.

Todd: 37:08

I never put that Zel and Carry Grant together, but that's so right, because it's like Benzo has like this sly smile kind of thing that he does that, that that carry Grant does as well. It's just kinda like, look

Alonso: 37:22

in preacher's life, if you put him in that monochromatic trench coat and hat, it's like, Okay, yes, I'm here for this. Yeah. And,

Todd: 37:29

uh, and you just named this episode on the podcast, you know, pray for Heavenly Guidance and you got Carrie Grant, so , you know, so, but yeah, if you guys haven't seen this one, this one is to me, um, of the li of the list is one of the top three that should kind of get a new breath of Christmas life blown into it that the people should start putting it up there with, uh, you know, it's a wonderful life and, and, uh, miracle on 34th Street and, and those kind of things. It's just, it's kind of like that, uh, forgotten cousin almost. But it really needs to be, be up there because the performances are so good and it's just a, just a charming.

Alonso: 38:11

Yeah, no, it definitely, it's a good one to go back to every year and it's very easy to stream. It is in like, pretty much so many sources. Like if you, if you wanna watch it for free, it's on like tuby with ads and YouTube with ads or it's on Canopy. If your library has that, it's on, uh, you know, a bunch of places you can get it. Yeah. It's, it's,

Todd: 38:28

it's everywhere on, on the streaming, especially the free ones and the like, it was a joke around with the Alonzo before we started. It's like the Colombo of, of movies. Cause Colombo's just everywhere. Yeah. Streaming services and, and uh, but yeah, this one's a easy one to find. And the great thing about those free streaming services is a lot of 'em are not like over at, they don't play the ads like way too much or anything. And like the network TV can, can do, but for sure. Yeah. So that's kind of a nice thing. But it is, uh, you know, some, some places like Amazon and things, I believe you probably stream it without any interruptions if you want. Or just How about go buy it? Because it's that. There you go, . It's so that good. So right. Let's, uh, hashtag physical media. Yes. Alonzo is a big physical media proponent you, if you don't own, uh, something you can stick in a player and play, then you don't own it at all. And, uh, that is absolutely true.

Alonso: 39:26

Yeah. Yeah. I think people learn that the hard way a lot of times when they Oh, I bought it on Amazon. Well, yeah, but the rights expired and so it now has dis it's disappeared from your queue or whatever, you know. But if you, if you have the disc, you have the

Todd: 39:37

disc forever. Yeah, that's, that's right. Or sometimes you can buy 'em from different places and you can't get 'em all on the same library. And so it's like, where did I buy that movie? What service are you doing? And, uh, I have some experience with that, but, uh, sounds like

Alonso: 39:52

it.. Yeah.

Todd: 39:54

So, oh, alright. Now we have moved on to our Honorable mentions. Um, we

Alonso: 40:00

won't spend quite, wait, did we skip, did we skip Miracle on

Todd: 40:02

34th Street? Uh, no. We're, we'll save that one for

Alonso: 40:05

the very, very first. Oh, okay. Okay. I don't know if we were punishing the chat room or what. Okay.

Todd: 40:09

We were that one for the very last. Okay. I blew it. I'm

Alonso: 40:13

sorry.

Todd: 40:13

That's okay. That's okay. Um, but, uh, these we won't spend quite as much time on, but they are some that, that are noteworthy enough. We need to at least mention them, uh, briefly so you guys check 'em out and again, A full list of these movies and where to stream 'em will be in the show notes and in the description, so

Alonso: 40:34

you can answer that. So a lot of these honorable mentions are, are hard to stream for whatever reason. There's always these weird rights things involved. But again, keep your, keep your eye out on TCM if you get cable. Cause a lot of them will pop up there and if not, you know, snag yourself a DVD or a blueray and, and you're not that problem. Yeah. Uh, so yeah, so remember the night is, this is a film that I had never heard of until I started researching the Christmas book. Uh, have Yourself a movie, little Christmas. And what had happened was it kind of went, like it was, it was released on VHS and then it just didn't. You know, it, it, it was not available and TCM really kind of started reviving it and showing it every year. And they eventually put out, like on their own label, put out a blueray. And it's a delightful, uh, romantic comedy with, again, Barbara Sandwick from, um, from from Chris in Connecticut and Fred McMurray. And of course, the two of them famously paired in double indemnity in a very, very different kind of movie, uh, where, you know, they're conspiring to murder her rich husband. But this is, uh, a, a comedy where, um, he's a da, she's a shoplifter. He's supposed to be putting her in jail, but winds up of course, instead falling in love with her, uh, and taking her home to, uh, to to Indiana for the holidays. And sort of seeing how, you know, the kind of person that she could have been had, she had, you know, some break. Go her way. Um, it's directed by Mitchell Leason, who's one of the great sort of screw all comedy directors. He did one of my absolute favorites, 1930 nines, midnight. And, um, it's just, uh, it's, it's, it's a lovely, lovely movie. Uh, Bule Bondi who plays, um, Harry Bay or, uh, George Bailey's mom, and it's wonderful life, uh, plays Fred Murray's mom. Um, yeah, this is one that I think a lot of people don't know about, but, uh, when I, a lot of folks that I've shown it to have always been like, oh, this is where, where's this movie been all my life.

Todd: 42:22

Yeah. Yeah. This is one I I have not seen and, and know very little about, but I will be catching up with it, uh, shortly here because it's just, well, all these movies, if I'm gonna go back and watch 'em, I don't know. I keep saying this, this is what I'm, I'm in, I'm interested in. And, uh, you know, for some reason, you know, this is 1940 really, for some reason, these, these pre-World War II movies just kind of. You know, pique my interest a little quicker sometimes than others. But yeah, I'll definitely check this out cuz it's kind of, of the honorable mentions to me this might be the most sleeper choice because it seems like it's, it's gonna be really, really great. So,

Alonso: 43:02

and, and written by the great Preston Surges. It was the, this was the last movie that he wrote, but didn't

Todd: 43:07

direct Ah, yeah, man writing and goes so much further than anything else in the

Alonso: 43:14

movie . It's,

Todd: 43:16

but, uh, our, our next arm will mention is, uh, holiday affair, uh, 1949. This is one that, uh, a lot of people are familiar with or. Big Christmas and, and movie fans are familiar with it. They might not seen it, but they know the name and Sure. And

Alonso: 43:33

things. So, yeah. This is another TCM fa and in fact, Warner put out a nice blueray a couple years ago. Um, this is, uh, Robert Mitchum who basically made this movie because he'd gotten arrested on a marijuana possession charge. And Howard Hughes, who was running Rka was like, all right, we're putting you in something nice We're gonna like, we need to rehab your image a little bit. Cuz he'd mainly been known for these sort of tough guy roles, right? So here he plays this guy who, uh, works in department store and winds up falling for Janet Lee, who plays a war widow with a young son. Um, And, uh, it's just this very lovely relationship and the way that he, the way he interacts with Janet Lee, the way he interacts with the kid, um, you know, played by, uh, Gordon Ga. Um, yeah. It, it, and it's, uh, again, I, I think, uh, Christmas movie be set in department stores. That is a smart move. Yeah. And, uh, that's, so yeah. It, it, it's a, it's a side of Mitchum you didn't really get to see a lot in movies and gently is like crazily young in this, like, this is, we're talking like a, a full decade before psycho. Uh, so yeah, it's, it's really terrific. Yeah.

Todd: 44:41

This would, yeah, 11 years before Psycho, something like that. Something like that. Yeah. Yeah. This is one I, it's kind of like Christmas in Connecticut. I, I've seen it, I've seen it this one, uh, two or three times and, and enjoy it. Um, it, it's, but it's kind, kind one of those, I need to go back, revisit it. You know, especially now, cuz well, in life in general. One thing I've learned, something you watched 20 plus years ago, you watch it again. It's, it, you have a totally different perspective on it, you know?

Alonso: 45:15

So, sure. Yeah. The movie hasn't changed, but you have . Yeah, yeah.

Todd: 45:18

It's like, oh, this is, this is really interesting. You know? Now I, I kind of understand what they're saying, you know, but , but yeah, let's go on to our, our next honorable mention here. I'll see you there. Um, and I'll be seeing you. Yeah, I'll be seeing you. I'm sorry I was, and, uh, 1944. This is one I'm. To be honest with you, I was completely unaware of,

Alonso: 45:42

and this was, yeah, this was another one I did not know about until I started, uh, doing some deeper research into Chris' movies and Keno. Laura put out a nice blueray a couple years ago. Uh, so this is a drama and it's, uh, you know, the, the, it's a pretty intense sort of, uh, uh, uh, scenario. So Ginger Rogers plays a woman who is in prison for having, um, committed manslaughter because her boss was, Basically trying to assault her and she pushes him out window. And so for that, she has to go to jail. Um, anyway, so she's on like a, a furlough basically for the holidays and she's visiting with her aunt and uncle. Uh, and on the train she meets Joseph Cotton, who is a service man. Uh, and he is, Kay has come back from the front with PTSD and has been in a, a, a psychiatric institution and is basically sort of using this trip as a figure as to figure out like, can I exist in the world? Can I interact with people or do I need to just like, commit myself, you know, forever. Mm-hmm.. And so, but they don't know that about each other. So they, they begin this, you know, lovely little tentative relationship, not knowing the heavy baggage that each of them is carrying. Um, and it's really moving and sweet and like the way that Rogers' family sort of, you know, is there for her. You know, she has a cousin played by Shirley Temple, who's like by, this was like 18 or 19, so it's a, a, an older role. And at first she's very suspicious of this like, you know, woman from jail. But once Ginger Rogers kind of tells her her story, she like breaks down weeping and apologizes that she hadn't been nicer. And so like, it's, you know, it's this movie about. People who have been Delta really hard hand and then kind of finding each other at Christmas and sensing the possibility that their lives could get better. Um, it's, it's really gorgeous and, uh, I think yeah, a movie that people, a lot of people don't know about but is very moving. Yeah.

Todd: 47:42

Uh, yeah, this is reading the, you know, descriptions and critics and, uh, you know, writeups about it. It's, it's definitely one that may be a little different as far as the subject matter than some of the others. But it, it sounds powerful. And when I saw Shirley Temp was in it, I was like, my momma was like trying to roll through all her movies and I was thinking of little dancing thing, right? That's like, no, no,

Alonso: 48:09

not realizing she's not good ship Lollipop. She temple a little older than that, you know? And so it's kinda like, this is more, she wore a yellow ribbon, Sher temple. Yeah. Yeah. So,

Todd: 48:19

so that kind of threw me, you know, for a loop there trying to, trying to. Put time where it goes in, in age because, you know, people get locked in at a certain age and Sure. In, in your mind. So, but yeah, this is, this is one I'm, I'm, I can't wait to see this one. I kind of, I, like I said, one be watching a few have like, are on the list for like before Christmas or like right away. And this is one that is on, on that part, but side of the list. And then, uh, let's, uh, move on to, it happened on Fifth Avenue and I had asked you when we were preparing this episode, which of the honor roll mentions you wanted to talk a little bit more about. And this was the, the one you chose here. Um, tell us why you wanted to really speak on. This one?

Alonso: 49:09

Well, first of all, it's, it's, it's, I think, the most streamable of this, of this batch. It's, it is, uh, on HBO Max and definitely gets a lot of TCM action. And again, this, this was a movie that I, I found because of tcm. I had never seen it. Uh, but it also has this really interesting history in that, um, the story, the script was one that Frank Capra had considered making, uh, as his first movie back after World War ii, but then instead decided to do, uh, it's a wonderful life. And so this was put out by a studio called Allied Artists, and that was sort of the. There was a, there was a studio called Monogram Pictures, which was considered like, uh, what they used to call Poverty row in Hollywood. Like they made very low budget movies, a lot of westerns, a lot of, you know, like gangster movies and stuff. But then they had certain films with a somewhat higher budget that they wanted people to take more seriously. So rather than put the name monogram on it, they put allied artists. And so that was their sort of like their art house, you know, uh, offshoot. And, um, this is a film about, uh, in a nutshell, there, there's a, there's a rich guy who, you know, has a big man on Fifth Avenue. Every year he goes away for the winter and this unhoused person, uh, and his dog move in. And, you know, that's how they, they ride out the winter and there's a gi uh, who's just come back from World War ii. His apartment building's been torn down by the rich guy who's putting up some skyscraper monstrosity. And so the poor guy says, oh, well here, come stay with me at this mans. The rich guy's daughter comes in at one point to to get some clothes and they catch her and they think that she's a thief and she immediately falls for the gi. So she pretends to also be poor so she can stay in the house with them. And it just gets more and more complicated. More people wind up moving in and uh, ultimately the rich guy and the rich guy's wife who are estranged, both have to pretend to be poor so they can come into their own house and they have to like do housework and chores and stuff. It's very sweet. It's very funny. There, there are a couple of really great sort of like physical comedy se segments, but I think it also kind of, um, it's an interesting companion piece with its wonderful life because again, you have this very sort of post World War II thing about like figuring out where this country's gonna go and what people are gonna do with themselves and how we're gonna treat each other. And the same sense of collectivism that you see. And it's a wonderful life where, you know, everybody in, in, uh, Bedford Falls that George has helped out over the years, comes through and a pinch to help him out. The fact that he, you know, thinks that building housing for working class people is a good idea, even if Mr. Potter doesn't, you know, that same thing is happening here because you have all these gis, like the, the, the, the veteran winds up inviting like four of his friends and their families to move in because they can't find the department in New York City. And at one point they try to like, Get all these soldiers to pool their money to buy an unused army base to turn it into low cost housing. And of course the rich guy wants to swoop in and buy that from, from under them as well. And so it's about kind of the power of collectivism and the power of the little guy against, you know, the oblivious billionaire. Um, so yeah, it's just, it, it's, it's really, uh, it's, it's really charming. And again, I think a movie that maybe people don't know about because it kind of was under the radar for such a long time. It's only about the last 10 or 15 years that it's become like a staple on cable television and, you know, the, that people see it more on the regular. Yeah.

Todd: 52:35

Yeah. And this is kind of up there in that same level to me as, as, uh, the bishop's wife. It kind of needs a little bit more that, uh, Christmas time love to it, because like you said, there is some, there is some si to this day, some laugh out loud, funny moments in this movie. And, uh, and to have, you know, comedy pieces, you know, trans, you know, last, that amount of time is, is kind, kind of rare.

Alonso: 53:02

True. Yeah. Uh, it, it's, it, it's, it's still notable when it happens cuz so many times you watch old movies and like just the timing is different or like it's references to things. You don't know what they're talking about or Yeah. But like there are some, there's just some, some physical bits here. Like there's a thing involving going to a restaurant where the tables are wobbly. That is, I roar laughing every

Todd: 53:22

time I say it. It it is cause everybody's been there with the wobbly table. Yeah. You know, that's what makes it, what makes it so, um,

Alonso: 53:31

so funny and it and it builds Yeah.

Todd: 53:34

Yeah. So if you haven't checked, if you haven't seen it, it happened on Fifth Avenue, go check it out and, and uh, I guarantee you guys will enjoy it and let's get to our final movie. And like I said, this isn't a list of best, best, worst things you have to see. And it is miracle, worst.

Alonso: 53:53

And we got there, y'all. Yep. And,

Todd: 53:55

uh, there's a reason this is on the list because when, when I'm a Christmas fan, I love Christmas movies and music and stuff, but when I gave Alonzo the list and I was like, well, let's leave off. It's a wonderful life because everybody knows it. And, uh, then he sent me a list of his movies. I saw this on there and I'm like, I should have left that one off too, because everybody knows it. Then I thought, then I thought about messaging and say, let's take that one off because everybody knows it. And then I said, no, I'm supposed to be like one of the Christmas guys and I forgot

Alonso: 54:25

about it. Well, and I'm not, and I'll tell you, you know, again, going back to that series of that I did with Bra on Deck, the Hallmark Uhhuh, he had seen the 1994 remake. Yeah. But he had never seen this version. Right. Because again, I think, I think the, the black and white just scares people off or just makes them think it's gonna be like old fashioned and crusty or whatever. And it's like, no, no, these movies still work. You

Todd: 54:52

know? Yeah. They do. I, I prefer this version over, over. Oh, no

Alonso: 54:56

question.

Todd: 54:58

Um, but like I said, You know, as, as a guy that does Christmas clatter be five years this May that I've been doing Christmas clatter. I forgot, oh, congrat, I forget, I forgot this movie. You know, , you know, that's, so that's like, you know, if I forgot it, then we're leaving it on the list, you know? And, uh, it could have just been a, a, a senior moment or, you know, or, or what have you. But when I was thinking of black and white, you take it for

Alonso: 55:22

granted that exists. You know, you just, it's there. It's always been there for you. It's dependable. But if, if you

Todd: 55:27

guys have not seen this movie, this is just a delightful movie through and through with, with great performances. And

Alonso: 55:35

probably one of the few, one of the few Christmas movies to win an Academy Award for acting. Yeah. Edmund Gwen as Chris Cringle. Yeah. And well deserved.

Todd: 55:42

And that's why I was getting ready to say probably, if not the best onscreen Chris Cringle, you know, uh,

Alonso: 55:50

undoubtedly a top five, no question. Definitely,

Todd: 55:53

definitely. I, I would be hard pressed to find. Four better

Alonso: 55:57

than him. Oh no, he's my favorite too. But I'm just saying even even people who, who want throw in somebody more contemporary like you, you, you can't, you have to throw him in the top there cuz he is just amazing.

Todd: 56:08

The only other acceptable answer, I guess would be Ed Ner, maybe

Alonso: 56:12

just off top. Yes. In multiple movies. Actually., he, he Santa it a lot. I I, yeah. I I always say like, love the Santa, hate the movie, but, uh, Paul Gati and uh, uh, Fred Claus. Todd: Right, right. And, uh, but this, you know, this has, um, I believe. And I'm gonna get these all mixed up. Uh, this has the scene where he doesn't do sign language for the little girl. He puts Dutch. Dutch, yes. Well, again, it's, it's 1947. The war has just ended and there are refugees, you know, living in this country and, and elsewhere. And that, oh God, that moment just lands so well. Like I, I. I get reclaimed every time I see this movie. So yeah, if you, in, in, in the nineties version, it's asl, but here it's like, it's this Dutch girl and, uh, uh, the, the woman comes up and says, oh, you know, she, she, she doesn't speak English, but you know, she's a, she, she's a war refugee. We've taken her in and she just wanted to see Sy Claus. Mm-hmm.. And then he like speaks to her in perfect colloquial Dutch, and they sing a song together. And you see Natalie Wood, who's been very skeptical about this guy, see it all go down. It's like, huh, okay. There's, he's, you know, he's, there's more here than I thought, maybe. Yeah. But yeah. That's, that's such a great scene and, and very timely. I mean, I, I think, you know, uh, I don't know if, did you see the t the season special on CNN that just. I don't,

Todd: 57:38

no, I didn't see

Alonso: 57:39

that so, well. I, I'm hoping they rerun it in December. I got to do some interviews on it, but they, there's a section where they talk about, I think Ben Minowitz talks about how, like, you know, world War II is over, we had all just gone through this collectively horrible thing. And so the, you have these, this, these spate of movies like, you know, it's a wonderful Life and Miracle 34 student. It happened on Fifth Avenue where we're, we're trying to sort of reestablish our definition of, uh, uh, who we are as Americans and how we're going to, you know, treat other people and how we're gonna exist in the world. And obviously through the, the prism of Christmas, there's all that, more of an encouragement to sort of find our best selves. Um, and so yeah, this is a movie. I think that's very much of its time while also being timeless. Yeah,

Todd: 58:25

it, it is. And it kind of has, it kinda establishes a little bit too of that, uh, uh, hallmark Col. I, I don't wanna say cliche because this role does so much more, but of that, you know, hardworking, you know, uh, uh, actress that just, you know, just works to the bone and just, you know, needs to, to discover a little bit of Christmas magic, you know, which was kind of, uh, believe it or not, controversial at the time, you know, to. To have a divorced

Alonso: 58:52

single mom. A divorced woman. Yes. I know. That was, that was a thing. And, and also the fact that apparently Darrell Xanax, who was the president of Fox at the time, didn't think that people went to movies enough at Christmas time, or didn't think that Christmas was enough of a selling point. So they put this movie out in the summer, and if you go like, go here on YouTube and watch the trailer, the original trailer is this like roving reporter going around the fox lot and talking to like Ann Baxter and different sort of like Fox contract players. And they've all just seen this movie. And like one person says, oh, I such a wonderful love story. And somebody's like, oh, hilarious comedy. And somebody's like, oh, it's a movie drama. But like, nobody says Christmas. Nobody says Santa Laws. Right. And that's what this movie's about, you know, but they, they were trying to sort of stealth market it as anything else but what it is. Uh, but it was a hit anyway, thankfully. And, uh, and it endures to this day. It

Todd: 59:44

it sure does. And, uh, To let everybody know when you have the scene of the post office in the mail room, there's a lot of that equipment in there that we still use

Alonso: 59:55

today,. Todd: Cause I remember watching this I started working with post service and I was like, we still have all that stuff and use it on a daily basis, you know, , so what's, what's 75 years, you know? Yeah.. Todd: Well, we feel every minute of a lot of equipment in there that, uh, still gets used to, to, to this day. But, uh, yeah, if you guys haven't seen this as a cla this has a, a really great, you know, couple scenes in a courtroom and, and, uh, you know, some, some drama and it actually kind of ends on kind of like a almost, I wouldn't wanna say a cliff hanger, but. Almost ambiguity. Yeah. Just kind of like a fill in the blank of what really happened. Yeah. You get to decide for yourself. The movie doesn't like give you the, the, the solution, which is great. And, and I think that, you know, it, it works either way, you know? Yeah. Like if, if he thinks he's Santa Claus, he's certainly behaving like Santa Claus and providing to people the things that Santa would bring them, you know? Uh, so yeah, I, I, I like the fact that they don't sort of, you know, uh, dot every I and cross every t for you and let you sort of figure it out on your own. That's something

Todd: 1:01:12

else that's missing in modern movies. Try to smart, you know, , but yeah. Um, And Alonzo, I really appreciate you taking time and running through these, these nine movies. My pleasure, sir. And, and again, guys, the, the list and where you can stream them will be in the show notes and description. And, um, Alonzo, if you could let everybody know where, uh, they can find you and follow you and listen to you, um, please do.

Alonso: 1:01:39

Sure. Uh, you can follow me at as long as there's a Twitter, uh, you can follow me there at a Dal d a d u r a l d E. Um, I am the film reviews editor at the rap, and you can read reviews of mine there. I just posted one for, uh, violent Night, which is a Christmas movie. Uh, maybe not like the kind we talked about the night. Uh, and I liked it a lot. Um, I am the co-host of the Linoleum Knife podcast with my husband Dave White. We've been doing it for 12 years. You can also hear me on the podcast Breakfast All Day, maximum film and deck Hallmark, where I I pop in on, pretty much on the regular. Uh, please. Pick up my books on Christmas movies, which are still available in all the places where you buy books. Uh, have yourself a movie, little Christmas. And the one that I co-wrote with the deck, the Hallmark Guys. Uh, I'll be home for Christmas movies. And again, the, the, that CCM special, uh, sorry, tcm, the CNN Special t the season, it's a two hour special. Tom Hanks produced it, uh, from the people that made the, the, the CNN show, uh, the movies. And it's all about, uh, holiday films. And I pop up

Todd: 1:02:42

every so often. All right, well, I'll, I'll hunt down that, uh, CNN special, and if it's streaming anywhere, I'll, I'll put a link to that. If,

Alonso: 1:02:49

if Yeah, if you have cable, your cable on demand should have it at the moment. Yeah.

Todd: 1:02:53

Yeah. And I'll put that in there. Uh, the links to all his social. We'll be in the, in the show notes, so you'll, you'll be a tap, tap away plus two links to the books will be there as well. Thank you, sir.

Alonso: 1:03:04

Before I forget, on Instagram, if you wanna see all of, uh, our holiday decorations, uh, we have a, an account called dx, a x tree, t r e e. And, uh, and that's got all of our ornaments and all of our, like, everything, all of our Christmas stuff. So if you, this is your jam, you will enjoy that Instagram

Todd: 1:03:22

account. Yeah. And, uh, guys, if you are a, a movie fan and especially a Christmas movie fan, if you do not have, have yourself a movie, little Christmas, you rush to Amazon to get a copy because it is a must have, you know, for movie fans, Christmas fans, because it's one of those, you, every time I flip it open and flip through the pages, there's a movie that for some reason escape me the first hundred times. I look through it and then I read it, oh, thank you. I gotta see that movie. And so leak to that and his other book, I'll Be Home for Christmas movies, which he helped, which. Basically the Hallmark guys called Alonzo and said, Hey, we need you to do this for us because we can do . And he's, it's just too kind to say no. And,

Alonso: 1:04:04

uh, well, I, I had a blast doing it, but I mean, like, the, the content is mostly them. It's, they're very funny and the stuff they have to say about these movies is a real

Todd: 1:04:12

treat. But, uh, you know, go out and support Alonzo. He's got a Kind heart. I know there's some, some other books that he's helped with that came out recently that, uh, that he won't get a lot of credit for. But, uh, he was very instrumental in helping and, uh, and him and, and Dave and Leno, uh, knife podcast are like secret OG podcasters, 12 years in the podcast world is, is amazing. And it, they still are today my go-to like movie podcast. Oh, thank you, sir. Yeah. And, uh, retro, no Girl, the Chat's. Big fan of breakfast all day. Oh yeah, thanks. And, uh, and uh, you know, just to kind of like I said before, I. There's some movies they'll review that I'll never see cuz I just don't have the time or interest. But at least if they come up in conversation, I got , you know?

Alonso: 1:05:00

So, and uh, I'll take it,

Todd: 1:05:04

and I'll say this too, and I hope he doesn't ever get offended, but Dave is like the perfect amount of grumpy, you know, that makes me laugh.

Alonso: 1:05:11

I've always felt,

Todd: 1:05:12

you know, and, uh, but thank you so much and for those just listening to the podcast, if you have the chance to make it on a Wednesday night, eight central ti

8: 1:05:20

00 PM Central time, please do and hop in the chat with us because yeah, as, as we, as we close the podcast, we're gonna stay just for a little bit and have a little q and a with those in the chat. And I'm going to, I'm gonna, uh, ask Alonzo a question, like, what was his favorite movie, just movie in general from, from this year of 2022. And I'm also gonna ask him if he's still collecting fruit ornaments. So, uh, so if you want the answers to those, head to YouTube and join us. But, uh, in the meantime, keep Christmas Hope alive. Every day.