By Pierre Ratte
Wishing everyone Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and a joyous New Year—grateful for our blessings lest we take what we have for granted rather than count them each day. Thank you for subscribing to The Healdsburg Tribune and reading “Snapshot” each week. It’s a joy to bring no-news, fun facts and photos to lighten the mood.
Fun Facts: The 1940s, years hardened by World War II and the preceding Great Depression, produced several movies with deep looks into the spirit of Christmas:
I’ll Be Seeing You, 1944. Director William Dieterle; starring Ginger Rogers, Joseph Cotton and Shirley Temple. A Christmas movie tackling difficult subjects, including post-traumatic stress syndrome from war fatigue, and the plight of women sexually harassed and shamed.
It’s a Wonderful Life, 1946. Director Frank Capra; starring Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, and Henry Travers as Clarence Odbody. Jimmy Stewart, suffering from despair and suicidal depression, sees what the world would be without him and shouts: “I wanna live again!”—modeling a joyous transformation for a tired nation. And, who forgets Clarence’s bell?
The Bishop’s Wife, 1947. Director Henry Koster; starring Cary Grant, David Niven and Loretta Young. The angel Cary reminds the bishop that the spirit of Christmas transcends the need to build a cathedral, as “loving kindness, warm hearts and the stretched-out hand of tolerance” are more important than any building.
Miracle on 34th Street, 1947. Director George Seaton; starring Maureen O’Hara, Natalie Wood, William Frawley, and Edmund Gween as Kris Kringle. Kris is put on trial as a mentally imbalanced fraud. When letters from all over the country flood the courtroom, the judge dismisses the case against Santa Claus.
“In Hoc Anno Domini,” 1949. Though not a movie, Vermont Royster published an editorial in the Wall Street Journal which is reprinted every year on Christmas Eve—such is the power of his writing. Royster received the Medal of Freedom with a citation: “his common sense exploded pretension” and “his compelling eloquence warned of the evils of society loosed from its moorings of faith.” The essay asks and answers: “What was a man for but to serve Caesar?” It can be read at OldMagazineArticles.com at this link: oldmagazinearticles.com/1949-son-of-man-pdf.
