Some seasonal movies to savour

A Christmas Carol aka Scrooge (1951):  Charles Dickens' story about the reformation of miser Ebenezer Scrooge after visitations by four ghosts has been adapted with greater or lesser fidelity many times since the earliest days of cinema. Live-action and animated versions  - both straight and musical -  for film and television have featured Mr Magoo, the Muppets, Patrick Stewart, Albert Finney, George C. Scott, Bill Murray, Jim Carrey, Kelsey Grammer, Disney characters and Warner Bros characters, among others. But this British film is an atmospheric, faithful adaptation  starring Alistair Sim as the miser.

Holiday Inn (1942) and White Christmas (1954): Both are musicals, both star Bing Crosby, both feature Irving Berlin's bestselling song White Christmas.  The title number, along with that of Easter Parade (1948), promoted Philip Roth's comment, “After Moses, the next great Jewish genius was Irving Berlin. He took Easter, took the blood out of it, and made it about fashion. He took Christmas, took Christ out of it, and made it about the weather."

It's A Wonderful Life

(1946): This Frank Capra-directed comedy-drama was James Stewart's first film after he served in World War II. While not very successful initially, it became a Christmas perennial in the US during a period when it fell into the public domain. But its appeal is wider than that. It's a variation on A Christmas Carol, with frustrated, disappointed small-town man George Bailey (Stewart), contemplating suicide on Christmas Eve before an angel (Henry Travers) shows him what his small town would have been like if he had never been born. A brilliant cast and a streak of darkness prevent the film becoming too sweet or maudlin.

Meet Me in St Louis (1944): The classic musical chronicling the ups and downs during a year in the life of a family in early 20th-century St Louis climaxes with Judy Garland singing Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.

Miracle on 34th Street (1947): In New York City, an old man (Edmund Gwenn) claims to be the real Santa Claus, a claim that lands him in court to determine his sanity. A charming comedy - that cleverly appeals to both believers and sceptics alike - also starring John Payne, Maureen O'Hara and the young Natalie Wood. Remade in 1994 with Richard Attenborough and a couple of times for television.

Home Alone

(1990): The box office smash that catapulted Macaulay Culkin to superstardom is an appealing comedy about a kid named Kevin whose family accidentally leave him behind when they rush to the airport to fly to Paris. Kevin has to defend the family home against a couple of inept burglars (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern). Lots of booby traps and slapstick ensue. Still appealing, though the sequels got progressively worse (the third and fourth had completely different casts).

Bad Santa (2003)

In this surprisingly effective dark comedy, Billy Bob Thornton plays Willie Soke, a sleazy, alcoholic thief. He and his dwarf partner Marcus pose as Santa and his Little Helper to rob stores on Christmas Eve. But then the "bad Santa" has a shot at redemption when he meets an unhappy kid. Followed by a less successful sequel, Bad Santa 2, in 2016, with Kathy Bates as Willie's mother.

Elf (2003): Will Ferrell stars as Buddy, a man raised as an elf at the North Pole who is eventually sent to redeem his "naughty" birth father.

Santa Claus (1985): Advertised as Santa Claus: The Movie, this film from the producers of Superman (1978) is also an origin story, telling how an ordinary man became Santa (David Huddleston of The Big Lebowski). Also featured are his assistant Patch (Dudley Moore) and a nasty toy-company executive (John Lithgow) who wants to take over Christmas. An expensive flop on initial release.

The Santa Clause 

(1994): Tim Allen (Home Improvement) plays a toy salesman who is accidentally responsible for the death of Santa and has to take his place at the North Pole. Despite its odd premise, this was a hit and spawned a couple of sequels.

Black Christmas  (1974): Bob Clark, who later made the much more family-friendly A Christmas Story (1983), directed this early slasher film in which the members of a sororority house are stalked by a killer at Christmas.  Atmosphere and mounting tension make this one of the better Christmas horrors. Remade in 2006.

Krampus (2015): Toni Colette, of all people, is one of the stars of this so-so horror movie about a disllusioned boy whose lack of Christmas spirit summons a vicious demon.

Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny (1972): So egregiously terrible it's fascinating. Santa and a bunch of kids try to free his sleigh which is stuck in the sand of a Florida Beach. The inexplicable presence of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, painfully bad songs and production values and (in some prints) the insertion of a completely different movie partway as a tale told by Santa to the kids add to the, uh, fun.

Santa Claus (1959): Bizarre 1959 Mexican film, badly dubbed into English -  in which an international array of children dressed in stereotypical "national" garb happily slave away in Santa's Toyland in space while the Devil instructa a minion named Pitch to corrupt Earth's children and turn them against Mr Claus.

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964):  Another so-bad-it's-mesmerising movie. The Martians kidnap Santa and two kids in order to show their children  (one played by Pia Zadora who appeared many years later in John Waters' Hairspray) have fun. It certainly wouldn't be by showing them this cheap, silly comedy. Also features the memorably irritating song Hooray for Santa Claus! and some of the same stock footage used in Dr Strangelove (1963).

Santa's Slay (2006): A movie for the masochistic bad-movie maven. In this horror comedy,  Santa (wrestler Bill Goldberg) is much more naughty than nice. He is the spawn of Satan and goes on a killing spree. Features appearances by Robert Culp, James Caan, Fran Drescher, and Chris Kattan, all of whom must have been desperate for the money.

Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984): Controversial slasher film in which a boy is traumatised by the murder of his parents by a man dressed as Santa. He grows up and, while playing  the character in a department store, snaps and goes on a murderous rampage. Followed by four sequels and a loose remake.  Years earlier, a killer Santa pursued Joan Collins in a segment of Tales from the Crypt (1972).

Santa With Muscles (1996): A comedy for the bad movie aficionado (and nobody else). Wrestler Hulk Hogan plays a millionaire who disguises himself as Santa while on the run from the police (it doesn't really matter why). After bumping his head he develops amnesia and believes he is the real Kris Kringle.

Around the World With Dot (1981): Young Dot joins Santa Claus in a visit to various Christmas celebrations while they search for a lost joey in Yoram Gross's first sequel to his 1977 Dot and the Kangaroo.

Bush Christmas (1947) starring Chips Rafferty and the 1983 movie of the same title featuring Nicole Kidman in her feature debut were both based on a book by Ralph Smart and Mary Cathcart Borer. The story is about children searching for a stolen horse.

PS - If  having a seasonal setting counts, even if it is somewhat tangential to the story, the action movie Die Hard (1988)  - released in July, using Beethoven's Ode to Joy as its main theme - and horror comedy Gremlins (1984) are both good entertainment.