The Bishop's Wife (Cary Grant, Loretta Young)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s six years since we saw the classic 1940s black-and-white Christmas film ‘The Bishop’s wife’. We had recalled the basic outline - that an angel in human form is sent to help a bishop and his wife - but had forgotten all the details. So we decided to watch it again. 

I did remember the opening scenes: a smiling man (Cary Grant) is wandering through a busy town, where lots of people are busy Christmas shopping, or admiring displays in shop windows. Three or four potentially dangerous or tragic incidents are averted at the last moment by this character’s quick reactions - and possibly by what seems to be a little magic. Or maybe a miracle. 

Then he discovers that Julia (Loretta Young), the wife of the local bishop, is feeling sad. She has all she could want materially, and a lovely young daughter. But she feels as if her husband has grown away from her, and that his work is more important than she is. And her daughter is usually looked after by her nanny. 

Dad's Army series 3

(Amazon UK link)

In the early part of 2024, we spent a couple of months watching the first two series of the classic ‘Dad’s Army’ TV series that we recalled from childhood. I was surprised at how enjoyable the show was, despite seeming very dated in some of the production style. So I ordered a few more of the series, sent to relatives in the UK, to collect in the summer.

In the meantime we started watching other light TV series. It took until towards the end of October 2025 to decide to watch Dad’s Army series 3. Unlike the first two series, it’s in colour, although it doesn’t feel all that different from the earlier, black-and-white episodes. Series 3 was broadcast in 1969, when - as far as I remember - we only had a black-and-white television anyway. My father loved this show, and I used to watch it with him. 

However, although I must have seen at least some of these, I didn’t remember any of them. I evidently didn’t see them on one of the many reruns. I was surprised, since the episodes from the first series felt quite familiar. Evidently it had become popular enough to run for longer by 1969, since Series three has 143 episodes, enough for a full quarter’s season. 

Serendipity (John Cusack, Kate Beckinsale)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s not quite six years since we last watched the film ‘Serendipity’. However we don’t have a huge number of Christmas films, so they come around more often than our others. We vaguely remembered the story, but had forgotten most of the details.

While it’s not a traditional Christmas film, it starts (and finishes) in a well-decorated store in the run-up to Christmas. Kate Beckinsale is perfect as Sara, a young woman who wants to buy some black gloves. At the same moment, Jonathan (John Cusack) tries to take hold of them, as a present for his girlfriend. The two start by both claiming them, then insisting that the other have them - it feels quite believable, and shows their very likeable personalities right at the start.

Eventually Sara buys them, and agrees to treat Jonathan to some iced chocolate. They have a lot to talk about, and he is clearly very attracted to her; but they are both in other relationships. They part… and then for different reasons, bump into each other again, and decide to go ice skating…

White Christmas (Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye)

(Amazon UK link)

Nearly two years ago, we were given several early classic DVDs by a friend who was downsizing. We’ve watched several of them, but had put aside ‘White Christmas’ for the festive season. So we finally decided to watch it. We knew the theme song, of course; but as far as we recall, neither of us had any idea what the film was about. 

We did know that Bing Crosby was one of the stars; we had not realised that Danny Kaye was the other main male lead. The two work together extremely well in this film, with Danny Kaye demonstrating his sense of humour and excellent comic timing more than once. 

The film opens in an army camp on Christmas Eve during World War II when a concert is happening. Bob (Bing Crosby) is clearly an experienced entertainer, and Phil (Danny Kaye) is a new recruit. Their major-general (Dean Jagger) is retiring, and is clearly beloved by the whole troop. We see some of the concert before bombing begins, and Phil manages to drag Bob away from a falling wall. 

A boy called Christmas (Henry Lawfull)

(Amazon UK link)

We usually like watching Christmas films during December, and I’m always interested in recommendations for films we haven’t previously seen. I expect the reason I came across the 2021 film ‘A boy called Christmas’ at some point last year is that Maggie Smith was in it. I probably heard of it around the time she died in the Autumn of 2024. I put it on my wishlist, and was given it for Christmas last year.

However, we didn’t get the opportunity to watch any films in the last week of December 2024, and by January had decided we would return to non-Christmas films.  And now, nearly a year later, we finally sat down to watch it. I had entirely forgotten any descriptions or blurb that I might have read, so we had no idea what to expect.

The film opens with the elderly Aunt Ruth (a typical Maggie Smith character) walking through a snowy street to a house where she is going to be babysitting. There are three children, and their father has to go out to do some important work. Their mother died just a few months earlier, and they have decided not to celebrate Christmas at all this year. Only the youngest acknowledges that he’s still grieving.

Ballet Shoes (Emma Watson, Yasmin Paige, Lucy Boynton)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s fifteen years since we watched the 2007 film ‘Ballet Shoes’ (originally made for television). I know the story well - it’s adapted from Noel Streatfeild’s best-known book, also called 'Ballet Shoes'. But my husband had almost entirely forgotten the plot. It seemed like a pleasant evening’s light viewing. Although the book was originally written for older children, the author wrote crossover books before the concept was popularised, and I like them just as much as an adult as I did as a child.

The beginning of the film introduces the young Sylvia, who is taken to live with her great-uncle Matthew (known as GUM) when her parents are killed. GUM is a delightfully grumpy (but benevolent) man who grows believably older each time we see him; he’s extremely well played by Richard Griffiths, who is probably best-known as the obnoxious Vernon Dursley in the ‘Harry Potter’ series. Sylvia is accompanied by her nanny, known to all as Nana, perfectly portrayed by Victoria Wood. 

Stuck in love (Greg Kinnear)

(Amazon UK link)

We first watched the DVD of the 2012 film ‘Stuck in love’ in 2015. Neither of us had any memory of it, either before deciding to rewatch, or during the film itself. And during the first twenty minutes or so, I wondered why we had kept it - it didn’t seem either romantic or humorous, but rather sordid and depressing.

Greg Kinnear plays the main character, and is excellent as the middle-aged divorced Bill. He is a writer, and has two teenage children. Samantha (Lily Collins) is at university, and is a writer too. Bill’s son Rusty (Nat Wolff) is still at High School and must be about fifteen or sixteen. We first meet them at a Thanksgiving meal which Bill is hosting. He’s set the table for four, and while his children roll their eyes a bit, he is adamant that their mother will return despite her having left him three years earlier.

Rusty then goes to see his mother Erica (Jennifer Connelly) and her new partner. It’s clear that she and Samantha are estranged - Sam refuses to speak to her mother, blaming her for everything. Bill is obsessed with Erica, sometimes sneaking around her house and peeping in windows.