Warm Chestnuts, New ‘Classics’ for the Holidays

Sometimes it’s hard to get into the Christmas spirit with all the hustle and bustle. If you need a little yuletide lift, head to your local video store and check out some of these holiday tapes.

Cary Grant is at his most Cary Grant charming in the heartfelt 1947 fantasy “The Bishop’s Wife” (HBO, $15). Grant plays a handsome angel named Dudley who is sent to earth to help a troubled young bishop (David Niven) and his vivacious wife (Loretta Young). Monty Woolley, Elsa Lanchester and Gladys Cooper head the fine supporting cast. Nominated for the best film Oscar. Avoid the 1996 remake “The Preacher’s Wife.”

Barbara Stanwyck and Dennis Morgan star in “Christmas in Connecticut” (MGM, $15), a breezy 1945 comedy about a successful magazine columnist who passes herself off as a Martha Stewart-type. But when a handsome war veteran is invited to her home for the holidays as a publicity stunt, she is forced to master the fine art of homemaking. Reginald Gardiner and Sydney Greenstreet also star. Don’t rent the dreadful 1992 TV remake.

Bob Clark directed the laugh-out-loud funny “A Christmas Story” (MGM, $15), the acclaimed 1983 adaptation of Jean Shepherd’s autobiographical story about a young boy’s pursuit to get a Red Ryder BB-Gun for Christmas. Peter Billingsley plays the determined lad and Darren McGavin and Melinda Dillon are a hoot as his rather strange parents. Shepherd narrates.

If you’re in the mood for an offbeat Christmas movie, there’s 1984’s “Gremlins” (Warner, $15)--sort of a perverted “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Joe Dante directed this box-office smash about a small town being trashed on Christmas Eve by hundreds of nasty, vile gremlins. Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton and Polly Holliday are the human stars.

Boris Karloff narrates the 1966 cartoon classic “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (MGM, $13), a magical adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ tale about the green, slimy Christmas-hating Grinch who tries to steal Christmas from the Whos of Whoville.

Robert Mitchum didn’t always play the sleepy-eyed tough guy. In the 1949 romantic comedy “Holiday Affair” (Turner, $15), he gives a sweet performance as kind, gentle salesman who falls for a pretty widow (Janet Leigh) with a young son and a jealous fiance (Wendell Corey). Lightweight but enjoyable.

Christmas movies don’t come much more romantic and charming than 1940’s “The Shop Around the Corner” (MGM, $20). Directed by the master Ernst Lubitsch, this frothy delight finds James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan as two feuding clerks at a Budapest store who fall in love as pen pals. Stewart and Sullavan, who made several films together, are wonderful and the splendid supporting cast includes Joseph Schildkraut and Frank Morgan.

Albert Finney is perfectly cast as Charles Dickens’ miserly “Scrooge” (Fox, $15), a lavish but uneven 1970 musical version of the yuletide classic. However, Finney can’t sing his way out of a paper bag, so you may want to turn the sound down during his musical numbers. The score, penned by Leslie Bricusse, includes the Oscar-nominated “Thank You Very Much.” Alec Guinness plays a particularly gruesome Marley’s ghost. Edith Evans and Kenneth More also star.

The perfect Christmas movie to watch with your entire family is 1994’s “Little Women” (Columbia TriStar, $20), Gillian Armstrong’s exquisite adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s endearing novel about the tightly knit, loving March family. Winona Ryder is luminous as the independent-minded Jo March. Christian Bale, Susan Sarandon and Claire Danes also star. Thomas Newman’s score is haunting.

Also available is the enchanting 1933 version (MGM, $20), starring Katharine Hepburn as Jo. George Cukor directed the stylish production, which features Jean Parker and Paul Lukas.

Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without the 1954 cornball delight “White Christmas” (Paramount, $15). Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Vera Ellen and Rosemary Clooney star in this cheery Technicolor musical, which features a slew of wonderful Irving Berlin ditties, including the title tune, “Count Your Blessings” and “Sisters.”

And of course, there’s Der Bingle’s “Holiday Inn” (Universal, $15), the 1942 classic in which he introduced the Oscar-winning tune “White Christmas.” Crosby plays an entertainer who owns an inn that’s only open on the holidays. Fred Astaire also stars. Just fast forward through the very politically incorrect blackface musical numbers.