Every December always brings with it a deluge of Christmas movies old and new, with streaming services filled with categories dedicated to the season. As well as classics, each year heralds new Christmas films, and 2022 is no different with films like Violent Night.
Along with newer fare come old Christmas Classics that people have been watching for years. Films like The Muppet Christmas Carol help define the season, but the stories of Santa Claus and the holidays have been around much longer than those films. Starting as early as the late 19th-century, films were made about Christmas and the traditions surrounding them. Many of these films ended up being the precursors to well-known Christmas classics. Here are 10 early versions of Christmas classics many audiences may not have seen.
10 A Christmas Carol (1938)
There are dozens of film and theater adaptations of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol; it would be a feat to somehow see them all. But one of the earliest versions of a film adaptation is definitely worth watching. 1938's A Christmas Carol is a brisk 69-minute film that was one of the first to excise some of the more mature scenes, to make the film more family-friendly.
The film made a number of changes to the source material that subsequent films have kept. The expanded romance between Scrooge's nephew and his fiancée, a more "normal" looking Ghost of Christmas Past, and Scrooge actually firing Cratchit rather than threatening him were all first done here to make the film more cinematic for the MGM producers.
9 Babes In Toyland (1934)
Babes in Toyland first appeared as an operetta in 1903 and since then has been made into three films as well as several television specials. The 1934 version was the first adaptation and stars the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy, with production by MGM Studios.
While the film used character names as well as the songs from the operetta, the story of the show was almost completely changed. Unlike in the stage production, the film takes place almost entirely in Toyland. Up until the 70s, this film was a staple of cable programming around the holidays and can still be viewed on classic movie channels.
8 The Night Before Christmas (1905)
The Night Before Christmas is a silent, short film from 1905 that uses the lines from the 1823 poem Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore as the title cards for the film. It adheres closely to the poem only adding a pillow fight as its one creative license.
Real reindeer are used at the beginning of the short and Harry Eytinge, who plays Santa Claus, actually feeds them. The scene of Santa traversing across a winter landscape on reindeer towed sleigh was shot using miniatures of the characters across a painted backdrop. It's a very early film, but Santa Claus' design and the tropes in the film are fairly modern and influential.
7 The Snow Queen (1957)
Hans Christian Andersen wrote The Snow Queen in 1844, and it is one of most popular children's fairy tales, often appearing in collections of his work. Its popularity surged again when, in 1957, an animated version of the tale was produced by Soviet animation studio, Soyuzmultfilm.
The film is a fairly standard adventure about a young girl who sets off to save her friend from an evil Snow Queen who lives in the Finnish north. But the success and importance of the film goes beyond its story. The film was released during the Cold War so when Universal Pictures acquired the Soviet film, it was a significant moment on international cultural exchange and helped to thaw tensions between the countries.
6 Nutcracker: The Motion Picture (1986)
The history of Nutcracker: The Motion Picture, takes much of its influence from the ballet. It is, in fact, a filmed stage production. The play was seen by film producers who encouraged choreographer Kent Stowell and production designer Maurice Sendak, of Where the Wild Things Are, to turn their play into a film.
5 Hell's Heroes (1929)
The Three Godfathers may not be a well known story in American entertainment culture, but there have been eight films based on the story, that is itself based on the Biblical Christmas story. Hell's Heroes is one of these early adaptations of the Western-themed story. In it, three outlaws come across a dying woman giving birth in the middle of the desert. And her final wish is that they return the child to town. The arduous journey kills two of the men who prove themselves to be good men before the end of the film and the final scene is of the last bandit stumbling into a church on Christmas Day, presenting the rescued orphaned baby.
4 Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Meet Me in St. Louis was the first adaptation of the 1942 classic short story collection of the same name by Sally Benson that spawned one film, two television specials, and one Broadway play. The film is about a family in St. Louis, Missouri faced with leaving their friends and lovers after Christmas when the father gets a job in New York City. The film stars Judy Garland and is considered one of the greatest financial and critical successes of the era. And even more indicative of its importance, the song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", the same song made world-famous by Frank Sinatra and Michael Bublé, was written for this film.
3 Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (1948)
Before the stop-motion animation of Rankin/Bass made Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer a staple of the holiday season, Max Fleischer, the inventor of the rotoscope, animated the 1948 short film, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, a classic G-rated Christmas movie. Unlike the Rankin/Bass special, this film was based on the 1939 story rather than the song. The famous children's song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" came out one year later. So the film lacks that piece of Christmas history, but subsequent re-releases included a chorus singing the song over the end credits.
2 The Lion in Winter (1968)
While it is not a Christmas film in all the traditional senses, The Lion in Winter actually puts forth many important themes of the season without making them obvious. Forgiveness, celebration, and love are all major aspects of the film that was remade in 2003 for television with Patrick Stewart playing King Henry II rather than Peter O'Toole.
The story is of King Henry II planning his succession amid court politics and romantic intrigue in the year 1183 on Christmas Day. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won for Best Actress (Katherine Hepburn) and Best Screenplay (James Goldman). It's an emotional film that, while at times serious, has a certain warmth and "trouble with in-laws"-moodiness that is attached to the holiday season.
1 Santa Claus (1898)
The very first Christmas film of all time, Santa Claus in 1898 is a silent, short film from England. It is only a little over a minute and a half, with Santa Claus coming down the chimney, trimming a tree, and leaving presents in the stockings of the sleeping children. It may not seem much, but it is an incredible achievement for the time.
The film is one of the first instances of "parallel action" which simply refers to things happening in two different settings on screen at the same time. Director George Albert Smith used double-exposure techniques to accomplish the action and show Santa on the roof and the children in bed at the same time, an unheard-of feat in the 19th century. This makes Santa Claus a prime example of a Christmas classic that's perfect for cinephiles.
