Holiday Classics 2021
Holiday Classics returns to Gateway Film Center this December
Now in its eleventh year.
‘Tis the season to see the classics as they were meant to be seen—on the big screen with friends and family. Reconnect with iconic stories from our curated collection of Hollywood’s Golden Age alongside modern favorites, many presented on 35mm film. Whether starting a new tradition or continuing an old favorite, we are happy to host you and your loved ones this holiday season.
“But the main thing is … that we’re all going to be together, just like we’ve always been.”
—Judy Garland as Esther Smith in Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947)
Director: Roy Del Ruth Run Time: 116 min. Release Year: 1947
Starring: Ann Harding, Charles Ruggles, Don DeFore, Gale Storm, Victor Moore
Country: United States
Language: English, Spanish
About the film:
Each Christmas, an industrial tycoon and his family travel from New York City to Florida to spend the holiday season in the sun. While they are gone, a drifter and his friends take up residence in the millionaire’s Fifth Avenue mansion. When the tycoon’s daughter returns early and discovers the house has been taken over, she fakes a life of poverty to stay in the house.
Nominated for Best Original Story at the 1948 Academy Awards.
About the filmmaker:
Roy Del Ruth was an American filmmaker who worked with various stars, notably James Cagney, and directed a number of popular musicals in the 1930s including Kid Millions (1934), Folies Bergère de Paris (1935), and Born to Dance (1936).
Learn more about Holiday Classics See our upcoming filmsMAJOR SUPPORT
Ohio Arts Council
Greater Columbus Arts Council
The Columbus Foundation
Campus Partners
WITH HELP FROM
G&J Pepsi
WOSU Public Media
Elf (2003) on 35mm
Director: Jon Favreau Run Time: 97 min. Rating: PG Release Year: 2003
Starring: Bob Newhart, Ed Asner, James Caan, Mary Steenburgen, Will Ferrell
Country: United States, Canada
Language: English
“a breezily entertaining, perfectly cast family treat”
About the film:
Starring Will Ferrell as the titular elf, this instant holiday classic tells the story of a human baby raised amongst the hard working elves of Santa’s workshop. Struggling to fit in (literally) with his adopted family, he sets out on a magical journey to the island of Manhattan in search of his birth father (James Caan), a naughty-list lifer in desperate need of some Christmas spirit.
About the filmmaker:
Jon Favreau has made his mark as one of the most exciting blockbuster directors working today. Initially working as a successful character actor, Favreau transitioned into directing with his feature film debut Made and went on to create some of the biggest films in the last two decades. With nine movies under his belt as a director, the self-taught filmmaker has explored small indie gems like Chef as well as some of the biggest blockbusters ever made. With a style that blends humor and warmth with technological innovation, Favreau found success helping to launch the Marvel Universe with Iron Man, as well as spearheading Disney live action classics like The Jungle Book and The Lion King.
Learn more about Holiday Classics See our upcoming filmsMAJOR SUPPORT
Ohio Arts Council
Greater Columbus Arts Council
The Columbus Foundation
Campus Partners
WITH HELP FROM
G&J Pepsi
WOSU Public Media
Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
Director: Peter Godfrey Run Time: 102 min. Rating: NR Release Year: 1945
Starring: Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Reginald Gardiner, S.Z. Sakall, Sydney Greenstreet
Country: United States
Language: English, German
Receive two (2) free tickets to any Holiday Classics screening with a toy donation!
Tickets can be reserved at our Ticket Center, stop by to plan your holiday season celebration with Gateway Film Center. General admission for those without a toy donation, screenings included with a myGFC Membership.
About the film:
Barbara Stanwyck stars as a famous expert on marriage, cooking and homemaking who is asked by her publisher to host a national hero for Christmas dinner at her famous Connecticut home. It should be simple, but she must scramble to keep her big secrets: that she’s single, can’t cook and doesn’t own a home! With a lot of help, meticulous planning and split-second timing, the urban sophisticate may succeed… but the unforeseen happens when she falls in love with her guest.
About the filmmaker:
Peter Godfrey was an English actor and film director. He began his career as a conjuror, clown, actor and director in repertory theatres around the United Kingdom before coming to Hollywood as an actor in the late ’30s. By the late 1940s, Godfrey was a prominent director, working on films such as Christmas in Connecticut (1945), followed by Cry Wolf (1947) and Escape Me Never (1947) starring Errol Flynn.
See our upcoming filmsMAJOR SUPPORT
Ohio Arts Council
Greater Columbus Arts Council
The Columbus Foundation
Campus Partners
National Endowment for the Arts
WITH HELP FROM
G&J Pepsi
WOSU Public Media
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Director: Vincente Minnelli Run Time: 113 min. Rating: NR Release Year: 1944
Starring: Judy Garland, Leon Ames, Lucille Bremer, Margaret O'Brien, Mary Astor
Country: United States
Language: English
Receive two (2) free tickets to any Holiday Classics screening with a toy donation!
Tickets can be reserved at our Ticket Center, stop by to plan your holiday season celebration with Gateway Film Center. General admission for those without a toy donation, screenings included with a myGFC Membership.
About the film:
In the year before the 1904 St Louis World’s Fair, the four Smith daughters learn lessons of life and love, even as they prepare for a reluctant move to New York.
Nominated for four Academy Awards, Judy Garland and Margaret O’Brien star in this heartwarming tale famous for musical numbers seamlessly embedded into the narrative—an innovation at the time for Hollywood—including “The Trolley Song”, “The Boy Next Door”, and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” The film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 1994.
“a fine-tuned, pastel romp, worthy of its place among the best of the big brass Hollywood musicals”
—Luke Parker for Film Inquiry
About the filmmaker:
Vincente Minnelli was an American stage director and film director who helmed the classical musicals Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), An American in Paris (1951), The Band Wagon (1953), and Gigi (1958), which earned him the Academy Award for Best Director. Before he was one of the leading directors at MGM, Minnelli grew up performing with his family’s traveling theater company and settled in Delaware, Ohio, before attending the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He honed his craft as a photographer and costume designer before working his way up to stage director in New York City, catching the eye of major Hollywood studios.
Meet Me In St. Louis was adapted by Irving Brecher and Fred F. Finklehoffe from a series of short stories by Sally Benson originally published in The New Yorker magazine, and is a perfect introduction to the director described by French journal Cahiers du Cinéma as “an artist who could give substance to the world of dreams.”
See our upcoming filmsMAJOR SUPPORT
Ohio Arts Council
Greater Columbus Arts Council
The Columbus Foundation
Campus Partners
National Endowment for the Arts
WITH HELP FROM
G&J Pepsi
WOSU Public Media
The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Director: Ernst Lubitsch Run Time: 99 min. Rating: NR Release Year: 1940
Starring: Frank Morgan, James Stewart, Joseph Schildkraut, Margaret Sullavan, Sara Haden
Country: United States
Language: English
Receive two (2) free tickets to any Holiday Classics screening with a toy donation!
Tickets can be reserved at our Ticket Center, stop by to plan your holiday season celebration with Gateway Film Center. General admission for those without a toy donation, screenings included with a myGFC Membership.
About the film:
By night Alfred and Klara are pen pals who have never met but who are deeply devoted to each other. By day, Alfred and Klara are co-workers who, just as deeply, dislike each other. Academy Award winner Jimmy Stewart stars with Margaret Sullivan as Alfred and Klara in this classic romance directed by the great Ernst Lubitsch. This day/night – hate/love relationship cannot continue … but will it be loving or loathing when Alfred and Klara discover the identities of their cherished pen pals?
Based on the 1937 Hungarian play “Parfumerie” by Miklós László that later inspired writer-director Nora Ephron’s You’ve Got Mail (1998). In 1999, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
About the filmmaker:
Ernst Lubitsch was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. The pointed and patented “Lubitsch Touch”, his signature style of romantic comedy, was widely recognized by audiences and adored by critics. Some of Lubitsch’s best known works were Trouble in Paradise (1932), Ninotchka (1939), The Shop Around the Corner (1940), and Heaven Can Wait (1943). In 1946, he received an Honorary Academy Award for his distinguished contributions to the art of the motion picture. In 1958, renowned director Billy Wilder established the Ernst-Lubitsch-Prize, a German Comedy prize, in his friend’s honor.
See our upcoming filmsMAJOR SUPPORT
Ohio Arts Council
Greater Columbus Arts Council
The Columbus Foundation
Campus Partners
National Endowment for the Arts
WITH HELP FROM
G&J Pepsi
WOSU Public Media
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
Director: Frank Capra Run Time: 130 min. Rating: PG Release Year: 1947
Starring: Donna Reed, James Stewart, Lionel Barrymore
Country: United States
Language: English, French
Receive two (2) free tickets to any Holiday Classics screening with a toy donation!
Tickets can be reserved at our Ticket Center, stop by to plan your holiday season celebration with Gateway Film Center. General admission for those without a toy donation, screenings included with a myGFC Membership.
About the film:
George Bailey sets aside his dreams of world travel to run his father’s small community bank, and protect the people of Bedford Falls from greedy businessman Mr. Potter. When a costly mistake pushes George to the brink of despair, a visit from a kindly angel will show George how the life of one good man can change the world forever.
Considered one of the greatest and most inspirational films of all time, It’s A Wonderful Life (1946) was based on Philip Van Doren Stern’s short story “The Greatest Gift,” itself loosely based on Charles Dickens’ classic tale “A Christmas Carol.” The film was nominated for five Academy Awards—including Best Picture and Best Director—and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 1990.
About the filmmaker:
Frank Capra was an Italian-born American film director, producer and writer whose iconic stories often celebrate idealist underdogs who triumph against overwhelming odds. It Happened One Night (1934) was the first movie to ever sweep the five major Academy Award categories. Capra also won Best Director for Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) and You Can’t Take It with You (1938) and was nominated for Lady for a Day (1933) and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). One of the top directors in the industry, Capra served as the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and championed creative freedom as head of the Screen Directors’ Guild. He received a Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute in 1982.
Capra wanted his first film after serving during WWII, It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), to be special—
See our upcoming films“a celebration of the lives and dreams of America’s ordinary citizens, who tried the best they could to do the right thing by themselves and their neighbors”
MAJOR SUPPORT
Ohio Arts Council
Greater Columbus Arts Council
The Columbus Foundation
Campus Partners
National Endowment for the Arts
WITH HELP FROM
G&J Pepsi
WOSU Public Media
White Christmas (1954)
Director: Michael Curtiz Run Time: 120 min. Rating: NR Release Year: 1954
Starring: Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Dean Jagger, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen
Country: United States
Language: English
Receive two (2) free tickets to any Holiday Classics screening with a toy donation!
Tickets can be reserved at our Ticket Center, stop by to plan your holiday season celebration with Gateway Film Center. General admission for those without a toy donation, screenings included with a myGFC Membership.
About the film:
The romantic and humorous tale of two Army buddies who became a top-notch musical comedy team after the war and are now the toast of Broadway. When they find their old beloved general is in danger of losing his inn due to the lack of snow and lack of guests, the duo enlist the help of two singing sisters to perform their latest hit show and help save the inn.
“With wit, exuberance, and some show stopping hits, “White Christmas” is a cracking musical…warm, sweet, and perfect”
—Matt Ford for BBC
The first film released in Paramount’s innovative VistaVision, a process that provided sharper images by filming on twice the surface area as a standard 35mm film, White Christmas features the songs of Irving Berlin, including “Sisters”, the Academy Award nominated “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep,” and a new version of the Academy Award winning song “White Christmas” first introduced by Bing Crosby in the film Holiday Inn.
About the filmmaker:
A versatile storyteller who could handle any genre, Hungarian-born American film director Michael Curtiz began his career as a stage actor and circus pantomime—and as a fencer on Hungary’s 1912 Olympic team—before directing and starring in Hungary’s first feature film, Today and Tomorrow. One of the country’s most important directors, his unique visual style eventually caught the eye of film studios in the United States. He helmed over 100 films during his Hollywood career, including The Adventures of Robin Hood, Mildred Pierce, and Casablanca, which earned him the Academy Award for Best Director, and the musicals Yankee Doodle Dandy, This Is the Army, and White Christmas. He also earned the Academy Award for Best Short Subject for Sons of Liberty.
See our upcoming films