Movies (Old Time Radio Adapations)

Old-time radio has a tradition of bringing Christmas Drama adaptations of popular movies to the listening audience. If you didn't see the movie, then you get the essence of the story and if you did see the movie you get to enjoy the story again, just in a shorter amount of time. Several Christmas favorites made it to radio such as Miracle on 34th Street, Holiday Inn, and It's a Wonderful Life. Enjoy these Christmas Movies on the radio:

Miracle on 34th Street

Is he Santa or is he just a nice, delusional old man who happens to look a lot like pictures of Santa.The story is as much about faith as it is about letting a child be a child. It's also about not letting the bad things that happen in life negatively affect everything in your life. The radio show distills the movie down to it's very core while maintaining the conflict in such a way as to move the story along, much like the movie.

 

"Miracle on 34th St"
compliments of Old Time Radio

Holiday Inn

Sometimes it isn't about how you deal with the easy things in life but how you deal with the difficulties. You can chose to stay down or you can chose to make a changes. In Holiday Inn, After his farm failed, Jim Hardy conceives of a place open only on holidays during his stay in a sanatorium. While his friends scoff at the idea, he continues and is a wild success. It's also a love story with the same theme of never give up. Skilled writing successfully portrays the conflict and the love story and probably leaves you wanting to see the movie. (TRIVIA: This movie is the first time you hear the Irving Berlin classic Christmas song, "White Christmas". The movie, White Christmas, came after Holiday Inn!)

"Holiday Inn" from Screen Guild Players
compliments of Old Time Radio

It's A Wonderful Life

Big plans and dreams don't always come true. On the surface that may seem like the theme of the story but, in the end, the story is about how one life affects another and how sometimes, great disappointments can lead to something so much better. This movie has a lot of story and it was probably hard to pick out scenes to include and scenes to leave out. Of course, you just know that Clarence gets his wings!

"Its a Wonderful Life" from NBC University Theater
compliments of Old Time Radio

These movies have been shown on television every year since television became popular. They are, however, Christmas favorites no matter how often they are derided in public. You just know those same people go home, make some hot chocolate and curl up with popcorn on the sofa to watch these very same shows. You can do the same with  the radio shows when you listen to the Old Time Radio Christmas Collection.