Watching a holiday movie is a great way to get into the spirit of the season and has become an annual tradition for many families. But what exactly makes a Christmas movie, a Christmas movie, what are some of the best ones ever made, and what makes these gems so classic?

Here to answer these questions and take us on a tour of the highlights of the holiday movie canon is Jeremy Arnold, a film historian and the author of Christmas in the Movies: 35 Classics to Celebrate the Season. Today on the show, we talk about what defines a Christmas movie, why we enjoy them so much, and why so many classics in the genre were released during the 1940s. Jeremy offers his take on the best version of A Chirstmas Carol, whether Holiday Inn or White Christmas is a better movie, why he thinks Die Hard is, in fact, a Christmas movie, what accounts for the staying power of Elf, and much more. At the end of the show, Jeremy offers several suggestions for lesser-known Christmas movies to check out when you’re tired of watching A Christmas Story for the fiftieth time.

Movies Mentioned in the Show

• Santa Claus (1898)
• Scrooge (1901)
• Scrooge (1935)
• Miracle on Main Street (1939)
• Remember the Night (1940)
• The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
• Holiday Inn (1942)
• The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942)
• Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
• It’s a Wonderful Life (1947)
• Scrooge/Christmas Carol (1951)
• We’re No Angels (1955)
• Cash on Demand (1961)
• Die Hard (1988)
• Home Alone (1990)
• Home Alone 2 (1992)
• The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
• Elf (2003)