WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954)Christmas in Vermont with old friends

WW II vets Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye form a song and dance team. Ten years later, convinced that success has turned his partner into a workaholic, Kaye finangles an introduction to singing sisters Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen. When the girls travel to a Vermont lodge to perform a Christmas show, the boys follow, only to discover that their former C.O. is the owner of the picture postcard-perfect property which, due to a dearth of snow and guests, is foundering. A series of romantic mix-ups follows as the performers try to help the General. Of course all ends well with everybody singing the title song. WHITE CHRISTMAS brims with great stars and songs and dance routines, not to mention old-fashioned holiday spirit. For me, it’s an annual reunion with screen friends long gone, and a reminder of the unabashedly sentimental and romantic Hollywood musicals from my youth.

NO HIGHWAY IN THE SKY (1951)Stressed-out scientist stresses metal stress

Most of the cast of this little-known gem is British, as are the look and feel of the film, but the lead actor is Jimmy Stewart. Aeronautical engineer Theodore Honey is the quintessential absent-minded professor: eccentric, forgetful, brilliant – a sober version of Stewart’s Elwood P. Dowd, character in HARVEY. Honey’s math shows that the passenger aircraft Reindeer, manufactured by his employers, has a deadly structural design flaw that manifests itself without warning after a certain number of flying hours. Of course, nobody believes him despite the recent, unexplained crash of one of the planes. En route to the crash site to gather evidence, Honey discovers that he is aboard a Reindeer which is rapidly approaching the predicted deadline. He warns the crew and several passengers, but after a safe landing, Honey is ridiculed by almost everyone. Then, moments later, the tail of the Reindeer Honey has been testing falls off and proves him a hero. Mixed in with the suspenseful will-it-or-won’t-it-crash moments, NO HIGHWAY IN THE SKY is filled with others of gentle humor and tremendous warmth.

THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER (1941)Choose your soul benefactor wisely

Jabez Stone (James Craig) is a hard-working New England farmer with an adoring wife struggling to make an honest living. But a streak of bad luck tempts him to bargain with Scratch (Walter Huston), aka the Devil, and in return for seven years of good fortune, Jabez mortgages his soul. Time passes and Jabez prospers. But days away from the deadline, after he has gained a fortune yet lost his friends, wife and self-respect, he repents and enlists legal counsel from the one man who might save him in the trial for his soul: the legendary orator and politician Daniel Webster (Edward Arnold). Despite a rigged jury, unsympathetic judge and the wiliest of prosecutors, the Devil himself, Jabez wins and gets to keep his soul, albeit barely. As for Scratch, he’s momentarily defeated but ever the optimist, and in the final scene, he warns us as he points a bony finger directly at the camera that his quest foor new souls never ends, so we’d better keep a tight hold on ours. Directed with great flair by William Dieterle, THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER brings Stephen Vincent Benét’s classic short story to life with inspired, noirish visuals, an evocative Oscar-winning score by Bernard Herrmann, and an indelible performance by the great Huston as the diabolical, yet humorously impish, Scratch.
Jabez Stone sells his soul

THE OUTLAW (1943) Lusty, busty Western

THE OUTLAW, produced and directed by that billionaire who flew planes and wound up a hermit, Howard Hughes, is an odd take by an odd (and first-time) director on the legendary relationship of Doc Holliday (Walter Huston) and Billy the Kid (Jack Buetel) in which the two gunfighters evolve from outlaw enemies, to outlaw pals, to almost father and son, and finally, to a parting of ways over a woman played by buxom newcomer Jane Russell. (She was so buxom, in fact) that Hughes designed a special bra for her to skirt censorship.) This is another Huston gem and likely the strangest Western you’ll ever see. The direction is strange, the story is strange, the dialog is strange, the acting is strange, and the relationships among the characters, really strange. But all that strangeness is fascinating and fun to watch, if occasionally tedious due to the leisurely pacing.