12 Best Christmas Movies Movies for Grownups

12 Best Christmas Movies

For holiday cheer and sniffles here are 6 immortal old movies and 6 modern classics to stream

Something old and something new is not for weddings only — it's a good way to pick holiday movies. These six tried-and-true Christmas favorites and six lesser-known gems will bring love and light and happy tears to your video festivities. of

Vintage Classics

The Bishop s Wife  1948

When an Episcopal bishop (David Niven) prays for help, an angel (Cary Grant) is sent to ease the troubles in his marriage to Loretta Young and refocus him on what's important. (Amazon Prime, iTunes) of

It Happened on Fifth Avenue  1947

Squatters, among them Victor Moore, take up residence in a Fifth Avenue mansion while its owner (Charles Ruggles) winters down South. Rich and poor meet and celebrate as equals, to everyone's benefit. (Vudu, YouTube, Amazon Prime, and iTunes) of

It s a Wonderful Life  1947

Starring Jimmy Stewart as the infinitely generous banker whose savings and loan goes bust on Christmas Eve, this Frank Capra classic (with some clever uncredited dialogue by Dorothy Parker, Dalton Trumbo and Clifford Odets) never gets old. (YouTube, Amazon Prime, Vudu, iTunes, Google Play) of

Meet Me in St Louis  1944

In 1903, the Smith family (Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien) looks forward to the World's Fair, but may not attend because their father gets a job in New York. The Vincente Minnelli evergreen boasts the season's best song, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."(Google Play, iTunes, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Vudu) of

Penny Serenade  1941

On the eve of divorce (and the Christmas holidays), Cary Grant and Irene Dunne reconsider their troubled marriage when they receive a phone call that restores their faith — and love. (Tubi, Amazon Prime, Vudu) of

Remember the Night  1940

District attorney Fred MacMurray arranges a holiday furlough for shoplifter Barbara Stanwyck, who, though suspicious of his motives, is redeemed by the love of his mother and aunt. (Airs on TCM, Sunday December 15) of ADVERTISEMENT of

Modern Classics

About a Boy  2002

Hugh Grant is a selfish Londoner living off the royalties of his father's Christmas jingle when he meets a depressed woman and her son (Toni Collette, Nicholas Hoult) and learns how to give of himself to others — and become an adult. Also starring Rachel Weisz. (Netflix) of

Die Hard  1988

In what is surely the best — and perhaps the only — holiday action movie, is the NYPD cop who's visiting estranged wife Bonnie Bedelia for the holidays in L.A., when he discovers terrorists have infiltrated her company's Christmas party. Alan Rickman is Hans Gruber, German terrorist and all-around Grinch. (Amazon Prime, iTunes, YouTube, Fandango Now) of

Elf  2003

A sweet comic fantasy starring Will Ferrell as Buddy, the human adopted as a baby by elves who work the North Pole beat. When Buddy learns he's not an elf, he goes to Manhattan to work as one in a department store, where he meets human elf Zooey Deschanel and finds his father (James Caan). (Amazon Prime, iTunes, YouTube, Vudu) of

The Holiday  2006

L.A. film editor Cameron Diaz and London newspaper editor Kate Winslet, each jilted before the holidays, trade houses over Christmas break. And in this Nancy Meyers comedy, each meets a promising romantic prospect (Jude Law, Jack Black). Diaz befriends an octogenarian screenwriter (Eli Wallach) who recommends great old movies with strong female protagonists to give her gumption. It's touching when he gets a lifetime achievement award — and in 2010, he actually became the oldest winner of the Academy's lifetime achievement award at 94. (Amazon Prime, iTunes, YouTube, Vudu, Fandango) of

Last Holiday  2006

When that life force known as , a department store employee, learns she has a terminal illness, she spends her life savings on a European vacation during the holidays. She melts the hearts of everyone she encounters — but was she misdiagnosed? (Amazon Prime, Vudu, Youtube, Google Play, iTunes) of

Little Women  1994

Winona Ryder, Kirsten Dunst and Susan Sarandon costar in Gillian Armstrong's lovely adaptation of the Louisa May Alcott classic about the March family, who together — and singly — epitomize the spirit of Christmas. Compare it with the new version starring Meryl Streep, Laura Dern and Saoirse Ronan, which opens Christmas Day in theaters. (Amazon, Vudu, Google Play, YouTube, iTunes)

More Movies for Grownups

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