Christmas at the Movies : Images of Christmas in American, British and European Cinema

Edited by Mark Connelly
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Whether we love it or hate it, Christmas has always played a special role in the cinema, and Christmas movies like It's a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street have a special place in popular affections. Christmas at the Movies takes a good look at these popular films, decoding the messages they convey about popular preoccupations and attitudes and about the different societies that produce them. Written in an entertaining and illuminating style, this book gives a brand new view of Christmas and its rituals.
(Excerpt from amazon.com)

During the nineteenth century the family reading of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol was one of the rituals of Christmas. In the latter part of the twentieth century, the ritual television showing of Frank Capra’s film It’s a Wonderful Life took its place. This is symptomatic of the process by which cinema became an integral part of the celebration of Christmas in the twentieth century …
We can read about the role of the Christmas film in wartime both in Britain and America, the cinematic career of Santa Claus and the rise and rise in popular esteem of It’s a Wonderful Life. But all is not just joy to the world and peace and goodwill to all men in the cinematic Christmas. There is a darker side, gleefully analyzed by Kim Newman, in which the schmaltz and saccharine conventions of White Christmas are undercut by the depredations of a parade of psycho santas and Christmas slashers …
(Excerpt from “General Editor’s Introduction” of the book by Jeffrey Richards)