Here one final holiday scene that I love. I present to you the ending of the greatest psycho Santa movie ever made, 1980’s Christmas Evil! Needless to say, if you haven’t seen Christmas Evil, the scene below counts as a spoiler.
If you have seen Christmas Evil then you know that, even though it’s about a possibly psychotic gentleman who thinks that he’s Santa Claus, it’s also a surprisingly sweet-natured and sincere little Christmas horror film.
And the ending, to me, is simply holiday perfection. Even the grindhouse can occasionally can get in the Christmas spirit!
For the past week, we’ve been sharing some of our favorite holiday scenes! Myself, I shared two scenes from It’s A Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street. However, I just recently realized that we hadn’t shared any scenes from a film that has, particularly in this year, emerged as a holiday favorite!
So, without further ado, enjoy this scene from Die Hard!
At this very moment, NBC is broadcasting the classic 1946 film, It’s A Wonderful Life! They show it every Christmas Eve and every year, I watch.
Why?
Because I love this movie so much that I could watch it a million times and then a million times more! There is no movie that makes me happier than It’s A Wonderful Life. There is no movie that brings tears to my mismatched eyes as quickly as It’s A Wonderful Life. I love this film so much that I even watch it outside of December. If I’m depressed, this is the movie that I’m going to watch.
And who can blame me? The scene below is one that I love but, to be honest, there’s not a single scene in It’s A Wonderful Life that I don’t love. I even love those scenes with old Sam Wainwright going, “Hee haw!” Sam may have been a jackass but he was a good guy underneath it all.
(Plus, he made a fortune in plastics! Money can excuse all sorts of obnoxious behavior!)
As for the scene below, it’s the final ten minutes of It’s A Wonderful Life. To me, nothing exemplifies the joy of the holidays better than Jimmy Stewart running down the snow-filled streets of Bedford Falls and shouting “Merry Christmas” to everyone, even mean old Mr. Potter. (“And a happy new year to you — IN JAIL!”) This is a great scene and wonderfully acted by James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Ward Bond, and everyone else in the film!
This scene is from The Strike episode of Seinfeld. Believe it or not, it is based on a true story. Scriptwriter Dan O’Keefe, who wrote this episode, grew up celebrating Festivus, a holiday that was created by his father. In the real Festivus, the aluminum pole was replaced by a clock that O’Keefe’s father would put in a bag and nail to a wall. To quote O’Keefe:
“The real symbol of the holiday was a clock that my dad put in a bag and nailed to the wall every year…I don’t know why, I don’t know what it means, he would never tell me. He would always say, ‘That’s not for you to know.'”
Well, if you’ve ever seen the original 1947 Miracle on 34th Street than you already know the answer. There is a Santa Claus and he looks exactly like Edmund Gwenn!
In this scene, Kris Kringle is on trial. He swears that he is Santa Claus. The prosecution claims that not only isn’t he Santa Claus but Santa doesn’t exist at all. Fortunately, it’s the U.S. Post Service to the rescue!
Miracle on 34th Street is true Christmas classic and I hope you enjoy this holiday scene that I love.
(The remake with Richard Attenborough is also pretty good, as long as you can ignore the fact that Mara Wilson grew up to be one of the most annoying people on the planet.)
In this scene from Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas, David Bowie stops by the home of his old friend, Sir Percival Crosby, and meets Sir Percy’s long-lost American relative, Bing Crosby! A discussion of modern music and parenting techniques leads to them performing a duet of Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy.
This was Bing’s final Christmas special and he died just five weeks after filming completed. This scene is a holiday classic and has been described. by the Washington Post, as “one of the most successful duets in Christmas music history.”
When asked about David Bowie, Bing said he was “clean-cut kid and a real fine asset to the show. He sings well, has a great voice and reads lines well.”
Through the Shattered Lens