The Best Christmas Movie You’ve Never Heard Of!

After doing lot of magic at Christmas parties the last few weeks, I wanted to give a recommendation. Believe it or not, a Christmas movie recommendation. I don’t say this lightly. If nostalgia didn’t exist, this possibly would be my all-time favorite Christmas movie. Some quick facts from my experience in recommending it: one, no one I’ve ever recommended this movie to has ever heard of it. And two, every person that has ever watched it on my recommendation (dozens) have said it was one of the best movies they’ve ever seen. Trust me, this is the best Christmas movie you’ve never heard of. It’s called, It Happened on 5th Avenue.

Why haven’t you heard of it?

This movie was released in 1947. That shouldn’t prevent you from hearing about it. Same year as It’s a Wonderful Life. In fact, Frank Capra who directed It’s a Wonderful Life was initially the director for this movie. He pulled out of the project to do the other film while It Happened on 5th Avenue went to director, Roy Del Ruth.

Anyway, the movie was mostly shown on TV in the late 40s and early 50s. After that, it stopped running on nearly all TV stations and the film was all but forgotten. However, after the early 90s, when it had completely disappeared from broadcast and retail availability, this movie got its own website, run by fans, as well a massive “write-in campaign” to Turner Classic Movie and American Movie Classics to start airing the movie on their networks. Around 2010, Turner Classic Movies began to air the movie. And now, a little over a decade later, that movie is not only on TCM’s Top 100 Movie list, as rated and reviewed by fans, but it occupies the number 1 spot! Trust me, this is the best Christmas movie you’ve never heard of.

What’s it about?

To be honest, I don’t want to tell you. I went into this movie completely blind the first time I saw it. My dad had a 4 Christmas movie DVD set from TCM and this happened to be one of the movies in it. My wife and I during our second Christmas season together went through all the movies, two of them being ones we never heard of. When It Happened on 5th Avenue ended, we were both in complete shock…as well as tears. Neither one of us could figure out how we had never seen or even heard of this movie.

Since that night in November of 2019, I have done my best to recommend this movie to as many people every year as I possibly could. No one that I’ve recommended it to had ever heard of its existence. AND!! Not one person has ever given it less than the highest possible review. After my annual recommendation on social media this year, one of my followers sent me a picture a few days ago of their TV with the movie playing.

“Second time watching it in 48 hours.”

Please, I’m asking you sincerely to not let this movie slip by. Trust everything I’m telling you…it’s the best Christmas movie you’ve never heard of. It Happened on 5th Avenue.