List Rules Vote up your favorite Xmas films that were released in the 1970s
The best 1970s Christmas movies are an interesting mix of lighthearted family films, zany comedies, and even a little holiday horror. On this list, you will find all of the Christmas characters you’ve come to expect from a December movie release: Santa Claus, Rudolph, Jack Frost, and many more!
What are the greatest ‘70s Christmas movies? Let’s start with A Christmas Carol, the 1971 animated adaptation of Charles Dickens’s famous tale. The film starred Alastair Sim as the voice of Scrooge, reprising his role from the live-action adaptation twenty years prior. Produced by animation titan Chuck Jones, A Christmas Carolearned an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. Other notable films on this list include Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, A Flintstone Christmas, and the Star Wars Holiday Special. One of the top ‘70s Christmas movies has a much darker tone. Black Christmas, the story of a series of grizzly murders in a sorority house around Christmas time, was a low-budget Canadian horror movie that is credited with being one of the first slasher films ever made. If dark flicks are your thing around the holiday season, definitely check it out.
Vote up the best Christmas movies from the 1970's, and be sure to let us know what you think in the comment section.
list ordered by
1
18 1
The Year Without a Santa ClausMickey Rooney, Shirley Booth, Dick Shawn Mrs. Claus shares the story about the year Santa decided to take a vacation when he becomes convinced that there is no more Christmas spirit and people no longer care. Mrs. Claus sends Jingle ...more
2
21 2
Santa Claus Is Comin' to TownMickey Rooney, Fred Astaire, Keenan Wynn Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town is a 1970 stop motion television special, made by Rankin-Bass. The film stars actor Fred Astaire as the narrator S.D. Kluger, Mickey Rooney as Kris Kringle/Santa ...more
3
13 1
Jack FrostBuddy Hackett, Don Messick, Paul Frees Watch for Free with Amazon Prime Free Trial Jack Frost is a 1979 animation family fantasy musical film written by Romeo Muller and directed by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr.
4
16 4
ScroogeAlec Guinness, Albert Finney, Kenneth More Scrooge is a 1970 musical film adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic 1843 story, A Christmas Carol. It was filmed in London between January and May 1970 and directed by Ronald Neame, and ...more
5
13 3
'Twas the Night Before ChristmasPaul Lynde, Anne Meara, Martha Raye 'Twas the Night Before Christmas is a 1977 made-for-television special loosely inspired by the 1823 poem A Visit from St. Nicholas by Clement Clarke Moore.
6
9 1
Rudolph's Shiny New YearRed Skelton In this television special, Rudolph has just come back from delivering Christmas presents with Santa Claus when he is asked by Father Time to find the next Baby New Year before midnight on New ...more
7
15 7
A Christmas CarolMichael Redgrave, Joan Sims, Alastair Sim A Christmas Carol is an Academy Award-winning animated adaptation of Charles Dickens's venerable 1843 novella. It was a made-for-television production originally broadcast on ABC in the United ...more
8
9 2
The Little Drummer Boy Book II The special picks up where The Little Drummer Boy left off-- at the little stable in Bethlehem, shortly after the birth of Jesus. Melchior, one of the three kings from the first movie, invites ...more
9
10 3
A Flintstone ChristmasMel Blanc, Henry Corden, Hal Smith A Flintstone Christmas is a 60-minute animated Christmas television special featuring The Flintstones. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and aired on NBC on Wednesday December 7, ...more
10
10 4
Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in JulyMickey Rooney, Shelley Winters, Red Buttons Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July is a 90-minute crossover television film by Rankin Bass filmed in stop-motion animation in the style of its 1964 Christmas special Rudolph the Red-Nosed ...more
The House Without a Christmas TreeMildred Natwick The House Without a Christmas Tree is a 1972 television movie, novelized into a children's book by Gail Rock in 1974, that centers on the relationship between Adelaide "Addie" Mills, a ...more
The GatheringEd Asner, Stephanie Zimbalist, Bruce Davison The Gathering is a 1977 ABC made for television drama film. A rare live-action drama film from the Hanna-Barbera studios, it was directed by Randal Kleiser and starring Edward Asner and Maureen ...more
14
9 6
Star Wars Holiday SpecialHarrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill The Star Wars Holiday Special is a 1978 American television film set in the Star Wars galaxy. It starred the film's main cast while introducing the character Boba Fett, who would appear in later ...more
15
9 7
Black ChristmasMargot Kidder, Andrea Martin, Olivia Hussey Black Christmas is a 1974 Canadian independent horror film directed by Bob Clark and written by A. Roy Moore. It stars Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, Andrea Martin, Marian Waldman ...more
16
5 3
An American Christmas CarolHenry Winkler, Dorian Harewood, Michael Wincott Watch for Free with Amazon Prime Free Trial A U.S. made-for-TV movie based upon Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol set in Concord, New Hampshire during the Great Depression of the 1930's .
17
5 3
Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas DonkeyRoger Miller, Brenda Vaccaro, Don Messick Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey is a Christmas television special produced in stop motion animation by Rankin-Bass. It was first aired on ABC in 1977.
18
3 3
Home for the HolidaysSally Field, Eleanor Parker, Walter Brennan Home for the Holidays is a 1972 American television slasher film from ABC, directed by John Llewellyn Moxey and produced by Aaron Spelling, and starring Sally Field, Eleanor Parker, Julie ...more
19
4 5
The Christmas Martian
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3 4
Journey To The Christmas StarAnders Baasmo Christiansen, Agnes Kittelsen, Jakob Oftebro The Journey To The Christmas Star is a 2012 adventure family film written by Kamilla Krogsveen and directed by Nils Gaup.
21
2 5
Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny is a 1972 children's fantasy film made by R. Winer to frame Barry Mahon's Childhood Productions films for a Christmas release. The threadbare plot concerns Santa ...more
22
1 4
Quincy's QuestPatsy Kensit, Roy Kinnear, Lance Percival Quincy's Quest is a 1979 British family film directed by Robert Reed, and starring Tommy Steele, Mel Martin and Charles Morgan. In a department store the unwanted toys are set to be destroyed. ...more
