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Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Arts: The Best Christmas Movie Ever Made

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The Best Christmas Movie Ever Made
By Colin Fleming
Posted Wednesday, Dec 21, 2011, at 06:30 PM ET

We've looked at the worst Christmas movies and the most underrated. This week, with the day in question almost upon us, I'll keep it simple: What is the best Christmas movie ever made? One you can fire up on the DVD player at Easter time, if you like, or in the dog days of the summer, and not feel like you've dislodged yourself from the holiday space-time continuum?

Even good Christmas movies tend to be so resolutely of their season that a TCM showing of, say, Christmas in Connecticut in late February can make you wonder if you pulled a Rip Van Winkle and missed a few months. But there is one that I can watch at any time of year, confident that the experience will be just as potent as it is this week, with the candles in the window, the frost on the lawn, and a glass of eggnog by my side. Just as the Ghost of Christmas Past advised Ebenezer Scrooge to come and know him better, I'd advise anyone who's not seen it to come and know the 1951 version of A Christmas Carol, the king of holiday films.

There have, of course, been many versions of the Dickens classic. The role of everybody's favorite miser has proven especially malleable, with everyone from Mr. Magoo to Albert Finney to George C. Scott putting in solid performances. For a long time, the 1938 version, starring Reginald Owen, was the one most ...

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