Not ready for Christmas?
“A Christmas Carol” (1938) was released in time for Christmas, in mid-December 1938. A great deal of effort and planning by the studio was involved for this to happen. Oddly, most films we have come to regard as Christmas classics were never originally released to be shown in theaters at Christmastime.
“It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946) was released in January 1947, the month after Christmas.
“Christmas in Connecticut” (1945) came out in August of 1945, just as the war was ending and not reindeer in sight.
“White Christmas” (1954) came out in October.
“Holiday Inn” (1942) was released in August.
“Miracle on 34th Street” (1947) came out in not just in time for either Thanksgiving or Christmas, but in May.
Makes all those store gimmicks about “Christmas in July” seem not so stupid. That these films have become Christmas classics is due largely to more television, which bundles them all together at this time of year, than to the film industry.
2 comments:
That's so fascinating. I can't imagine watching Christmas in Connecticut in August!
Hi, Raquelle, thanks for stopping by. It is odd to think of people going to a movie theater to watch a Christmas film when it's not Christmas. Then again, since VHS and DVD have been invented, I wonder how many people do watch Christmas films at other times of the year. I confess to watching "White Christmas" in the summer.
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