The past several years the Hallmark station has filled the airways with remade holiday movies of the same theme and most people enjoy watching them. I am not a fan of these popular kinds of movies that include the TV star of the year in the angst of loneliness and holiday depression until that special someone comes along to give them the faith and hope the season represents. Besides, many of these movies are remakes of classic Xmas movies from the 1930s and 1940s.

I was surprised to learn that a lot of young people have never seen "It's A Wonderful Life," and it saddened me. This classic is a must-see for me at least a few times in the month of December ( and never the colorized version.) Jimmy Stewart plays George Bailey, a man facing many challenges in his life as he tries desperately to leave his home town of Bedford to be a successfully traveled man. Circumstances beyond his control prevent him from his goal, yet his life proceeds with a wife and family and a successful business at the Bailey Building and Loan. However, this begins to fall apart when Uncle Billy makes a monumental mistake that can take down the business and shame his family.

George grapples with a tragic option and along comes a saintly angel with "the soul of a child" named Clarence and helps George see the reason for his life. It's a must-see, not a boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy wins the girl back, but a timeless story for many. It is produced by Frank Capra and is by far one of his best movies.

My second go-to holiday movie is a sweet story called "The Bishop's Wife." It stars one of my favorite leading men of that era, Cary Grant and the two main co-stars are Loretta Young and David Niven. Grant plays an angel that appears upon request from the Bishop played by Niven. Niven is the only one in the movie that knows he is an angel and as Grant falls in love with the Bishop's wife; all the characters come to terms not only with the religion of Christmas but the importance of their marriage. I learned a few years ago on the TCM channel that the original version had Grant and Niven in opposite roles and the movie was missing its mark. I am sure many of you have seen this version on Hallmark, however, none of them won an academy award.

"The Shop Around the Corner," is an obscure movie starring Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullivan. It is a boy meets girl kind of story with a twist and was remade several times. The most recent movie many may be more familiar with is "You've Got Mail." Now, I am a huge fan of Tom Hanks, so I can't help but watch both movies. In the first version, Stewart is a manager of a retail store in Budapest and Sullivan tricks the owner of the store into hiring her during the holiday season. The two employees argue even though they are anonymous pen pals with each other. They agree to meet at a coffee shop and Stewart learns she is his pen pal. Like the Hanks version, Stewart takes steps to slowly convince Sullivan she might be falling for him. This version also shows the relationship with employees in a small retail shop and the way they come together as a family to support their boss in a time of depression. This movie is normally shown a few times in the month of December on TCM. If you have the time and the channel, I recommend viewing it.

"Miracle on 34th Street," is a must-see and not the colorized version or the remake. The original has the very young Natalie Wood and Maureen O'Hara, but the supporting actor that played Santa, Edmund Gwenn won a Golden Globe and an Academy Award. This also is a boy meets girl movie and O'Hara plays a single parent in 1947. O'Hara is a working Mom in New York City and manager of Macy's and hires Gwenn to be Santa in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Gwenn meets the young Wood and they form an instant bond and though Wood and O'Hara don't believe in Santa, by the end of the movie they do.

Now the comedy of "Christmas in Connecticut" starring Barbara Stanwick ad Dennis Morgan is pure boy meets girl as Stanwick is a working woman pretending to be a gourmet chef for a prominent New York magazine. Morgan is a sailor that was lost at sea for months and recuperates reading Stanwick's articles and his only wish is to have a holiday meal cooked by her.

"Holiday Inn" with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire is the first time Crosby sang "White Christmas." However, the movie "White Christmas" with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen is also an awesome holiday classic and the dresses and songs in this movie are iconic. I love the song "Sisters" sang by Clooney and Ellen.

But don't take my word for it, if you love the movies on Hallmark or holiday movies in any form, go outside the box and watch some of the original themed movies for your holiday entertainment.