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Description
Don't waste a second of your valuable holiday time on another boring Christmas movie. In this merry and informative guide, film critic Alonso Duralde takes us on a tinsel-bedecked tour of the best-and worst-films of the Yuletide season. Whether you're looking for the classics, family favorites, holiday horror, seasonally themed crime epics, or the most wonderfully awful cinematic lumps of coal, Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas serves up delightful recommendations in prose as brisk as a winter sleighride. From White Christmas to Bad Santa, Eyes Wide Shut to Gremlins, you'll find a marvelously electic selection of holiday fare and a thorough breakdown of the many screen Scrooges, including Alistair Sim, Jim Carrey, and ...Tori Spelling? And get ready to encounter movies you may never have heard of, from the gritty noir Blast of SIlence (filmed in New York City over Christmas 1959 without a single permit), to the loony Santa Claus, a Mexican kiddie movie in which St. Nick teams up with Merlin to fight the devil! Fun facts abound-did you know the actor cast as Uncle Billy in It's a Wonderful Life was also in the running to play mean old Mr. Potter?-making this a stocking stuffed with goodies you'll turn to every Christmas season.
This fully revised and updated edition includes all Christmas movies of note to have been released in the fifteen years since the first edition was published, as well as gems omitted from the first edition.
Table of Contents
Preface
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1: With the Kids Jingle-Belling: Movies for Kids
Chapter 2: Nestled All Snug In Their Beds: Christmas Movies for Grown Ups
Chapter 3: Like A Bowlful of Jelly: Christmas Comedies
Chapter 4: A Blue, Blue, Blue Christmas: Holiday Tearjerkers
Chapter 5: Putting the Heist Back in Christmas: Crime and Action Extravaganzas
Chapter 6: There'll Be Scary Ghost Stories: Holiday Horror
Chapter 7: Scrooge-a-Palooza: 'A Christmas Carol' on Film
Chapter 8: Lumps of Coal in Your Stocking: The Worst Christmas (Movies) Ever
Chapter 9: Just Like the ones I Used to Know: Christmas Classics
Appendix
Index of Names
Index of Movies
Product details

Published | Sep 04 2025 |
---|---|
Format | Ebook (Epub & Mobi) |
Edition | 2nd |
Extent | 248 |
ISBN | 9781493087457 |
Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
Illustrations | 10 BW Photos |
Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
About the contributors
Reviews
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Alonso Duralde is no Scrooge when it comes to updating his useful and entertaining book on Christmas movies. What's more, he has added write-ups of three personal favorites: Arthur Christmas, Mrs. Santa Claus, and The Holdovers. His writing remains as sharp and perceptive as ever-a gift that keeps on giving.
Leonard Maltin, film critic and historian
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Alonso and I have been a part of many engaging movie arguments. We usually agree. Never more than on whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie (of course it is). Turns out I have the right guy in my corner. Alonso is America's foremost expert on Christmas movies - on why we love them, why they matter, and yes, why they qualify.
Ben Mankiewicz, host, Turner Classic Movies
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On the first day of Christmas, Alonso Duralde was there to chronicle every holiday movie worth knowing about. He's the great master of a genre that's snowballed into an industry juggernaut, and a witty guide through everything from gems to stinkers -- even the forgotten flops that are so terrible he suggests spinning them into an eggnog drinking game. If he's hosting, I'm there.
Amy Nicholson, film critic, Los Angeles Times
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Unless you're a grinch, 'tis always the season for Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas, Alonso Duralde's enjoyable, encyclopedic and exuberant celebration of all films Yuletide and Yuletide-adjacent. As for me, I savored it over a couple of hours accompanied by a roaring fire in the hearth, a hot toddy, and a warm batch of Italian holiday cookies.
Stephen Rebello, author, Criss Cross: The Making of Strangers on a Train, Hitchcock's Dazzling, Subversive Masterpiece
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No one knows Christmas movies like Alonso Duralde. With wit and insight, Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas isn't just a guide; it's a behind-the-scenes pass to the heart of holiday cinema. Whether you're searching for a hidden gem or revisiting a beloved classic, Alonso delivers the perfect blend of expertise and Christmas spirit. Consider your holiday watchlist officially upgraded!
Brian Earl, author and podcast host, Christmas Past
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Ever wish you had a friend you could ask about literally any kind of Christmas movie? Well, you do…his name is Alonso Duralde, and he wrote it all down for you!
Tim Babb, host, Can't Wait for Christmas podcast