10 Feel-Good, Small Town Classic Movies to Binge Over the Holidays
The holidays are a perfect time to settle in for films that stress the small and important joys of family, community and country. Among the selections are a few cowboy classics and holiday mainstays, but they’re all good for setting a spell, shedding a tear or two and hugging the people you love most.
Cowboy Christmas
November/December 2024
Saddle up for some Holiday Cowboy fun with movies, music and your fav Christmas episodes of classic Westerns.
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Back in the day, some critics referred to Frank Capra’s optimistic fare as “Capra-corn,” but time has made quite clear the enduring appeal of entries such as this 1938 Best Picture Oscar winner. A wealthy banker’s son (a fresh-faced Jimmy Stewart) falls for a young stenographer (Jean Arthur) from a wildly eccentric family, headed by her beautifully idealistic grandfather (Lionel Barrymore). When that family interferes with the banker’s (Edward Arnold) greedy plans, it leads to a glorious lesson in the power of living your best life, regardless of how much coin you have in your pocket.
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3 Godfathers
John Wayne … biblical wise man? That’s the theme in John Ford’s Western about a trio of robbers (Pedro Armendáriz and Harry Carey Jr. round out the gang) who help a dying young mother give birth while they’re on the lam. After the mom names the child after the three helpful desperados and gets their word of honor to take care of the baby, they begin to consider themselves fated by God to protect the infant as they head to the Western town of New Jerusalem.
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Harvey
Hollywood’s embodiment of all that is good about small-town America, Jimmy Stewart, stars in this comedy based on the play about Elwood P. Dowd, who is convinced that his best friend Harvey — an invisible 6-foot-tall rabbit — is always accompanying him. To some, he’s a crackpot; to others, a dreamer. But after his sister is talked into having him committed to an institution, Elwood’s innocent charm — and insistent bond with Harvey — wins over folks who secretly wish they could be as kind and welcoming as he is. A joy, start to finish.
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Handyman Homer Smith (a perfect Sidney Poitier) stops to help a group of refugee nuns from Europe with some small repairs. Thus begins a growing bond between the expertly skilled artisan and the wily and determined nuns who come to believe Homer has been sent by God to build a church for them in the Arizona desert. All Homer wants is to be paid for his work, but he soon comes to realize — as does Mother Maria (Lilia Skala) — the greater lessons about faith, hope, charity and the value of overcoming differences.
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Groundhog Day
Is there ever an occasion where this film isn’t welcome as a hilarious reminder of doing good again and again (and again)? When it comes to being a better man, practice definitely makes perfect for egomaniacal weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray). Phil comes to sweet small-town Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, for the groundhog ceremony, only to find himself trapped in a time loop and repeating the same day endlessly … until he finds a way to be a better man and try to win the heart of his producer, Rita (Andie MacDowell).
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Tender Mercies
Robert Duvall won a much-deserved Oscar as former music star Mac Sledge, whose life and career were undone by drink. His slow, steady climb back to a semblance of success on both counts — past fear, tragedy and hesitation — is anchored by the love of a trusting young war widow (Tess Harper), an embrace of faith and the urging of a young country band. Good luck getting through Duvall’s performance without shedding a tear.
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Hoosiers
Does a local Indiana high school basketball team have what it takes to compete for the 1951 state championship? Only if they can come together under their once disgraced, embattled coach (Gene Hackman) and his alcoholic assistant (Dennis Hopper) in one of sports’ most inspiring underdog stories. Hackman’s Norman Dale winning the hearts of his players and overcoming the doubts of the townsfolk are beautifully played. The scene of him asking a player to measure the distance to the foul line and to the rim in the big arena — the same distance as at the gym back home — will always resonate.
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Field of Dreams
This film is so quintessential — about our national pastime, about the power of imagination … about the warm embrace of family — that Major League Baseball has adopted the heavenly Iowa location for annual games. Kevin Costner is ideal as Ray Kinsella, who hears voices, builds a baseball diamond in his cornfield and finds ghostly players from the past welcomed back to play. The late James Earl Jones’ monologue on the game still gives us chills.
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Meryl Streep and Western film legend Clint Eastwood brought a huge bestseller to passionate life in this romantic drama. A National Geographic photographer on assignment in Iowa meets a wife and mother enduring a loveless marriage, and they begin a four-day affair that alters the trajectory of their lives, creating a haven of memories for them both.
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The most un-Lynchian David Lynch film ever finds World War II vet Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth at his best) hoping to make peace with his ailing brother before the latter passes. Since poor eyesight prevents Alvin from getting a license, he instead rides a John Deere lawn tractor (maximum speed: 5 mph) 240 miles from Iowa to Wisconsin to make the visit. The adventure is a perfect example of a small film with giant meaning.
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What of your favorites did we miss? Sound off in the comments.