Christmas Movie Releases of 1964

It's that time of year again to take another fun look back at the movies that were released over the Christmas season in the past. I always do from the 1960's to the mid 80's and in increments of 5 subtracted from the current year. So this first article will cover the movies released at Christmas in 1964. The next will be 1969, 1974, 1979 and so on. I find it fun to research and those who read my work seem to enjoy reading about what their parents or them might have gone to see whilst Christmas shopping in a particular year. It's also fun to point out the subtle changes as we come forward in time.

The first list comes from 1964 and there were only ten movies released over the holiday for movie fans. At the time you have to remember that most first run theaters were movie palaces and the suburbs had a few screens but the twin screens were still somewhat a rarity.

There were a few films that opened at least a few months earlier that proved so popular they would play through the Christmas season right into the following year including My Fair Lady and Mary Poppins. Because of this some pre-booked films simply had to wait until 1965 before making their appearance.

Here are the ten movies that opened around Christmas, 1964. Five of the ten would receive some sort of Academy Award nomination but none were for Best Picture. As is always the case there were big hits and big flops and critical hits and critical flops, though they may not necessarily tie in to one another. These films were likely seen by your parents or grandparents in first run. I hope you enjoy looking back as much as I enjoy writing about them.

THE AMERICANIZATION OF EMILY (Metro Goldwyn Mayer; Director - Arthur Hiller) James Garner and Julie Andrews star in this romantic drama adapted from the stage by playwright Paddy Chayefsky. Garner plays a WWII soldier who falls in love with a British woman that complicates his and everyone's life. The film received mixed reviews and grossed a respectable $3.6 million and received two Academy Award nominations - for Art Direction/Set Decoration and for Cinematography. It lost both.

CHEYENNE AUTUMN (Warner Bros; Director - John Ford) This film is best known today as the last Western to be directed by John Ford. The film deals with the clashing between the U.S. Army platoon and a group of Native American Indians who are just trying to return from a reservation to their home. Richard Widmark, Carroll Baker, Edward G. Robinson, Karl Malden and James Stewart appear in this epic which was originally released as a Road show presentation (this meant showing the film in one theater where tickets could only be ordered through the mail. Road shows usually were at least two and a half hours long and included one intermission) and also was shown in Cinerama. Despite this the film was received poorly by the public despite some strong reviews. Warner's $4 million budget saw a film gross of just over $3 million at the box office. The film would receive one Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography and it lost.

THE DISORDERLY ORDERLY (Paramount; Director - Frank Tashlin) Back in the 1960's it was unheard of for a summer or Christmas season to go by without the arrival of a brand new Jerry Lewis movie. This was one of his more popular comedies as a man who flunks out of medical school and takes a job as a hospital orderly. Sub-plots include a love story and his attempts to help an ex high school flame recover from a suicide attempt. The film has some dark humor but is a Jerry Lewis comedy at heart and likely to please any fan of his. As was expected the critics tore the film apart but the film was a mild hit with audiences.

FATHER GOOSE (Universal; Director - Ralph Nelson) Cary Grant's second to last movie was this war comedy about a beachcomber who is bribed by an old friend to spend his days watching for enemy planes coming in. Soon his life is complicated when school teacher Leslie Caron arrives on the island with her students. The film was a critical and box office hit - it was the perfect film for families to see at Christmas. It was nominated for 3 Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay, Editing and Sound. It would win for its Screenplay.

GOLDFINGER (United Artists; Director - Guy Hamilton) Having just appeared for the second time as James Bond in the smash hit From Russia With Love, Sean Connery hit pay dirt and his third outing, in Goldfinger, became an even bigger hit and 007 was here to stay. In this outing 007 is taken to Fort Knox where he has to protect the gold supply from the title villain, whose character traits include cheating at cards and killing women by spray painting them gold. Also in the film is Oddjob, one of the best of the 007 villain's henchmen, who can decapitate a statue with his hat and the unforgettable Pussy Galore as his latest flame. Critics praised the film and audiences turned it into a Christmas blockbuster taking its $3 million budget and turning it into a domestic gross of $23 million. The film also received an Academy Award nomination for its Sound Effects (but shockingly not for its now famous title song) and won the award.

GOODBYE CHARLIE (20^th Century Fox; Director - Vincent Minnelli) Charlie is a playboy whose wild ways come to an end when he is shot and killed by the jealous husband of one of his conquests. Soon after Debbie Reynolds finds herself dazed and confused walking on the beach remembering only how to get to Charlie's house. Soon enough she realizes she is Charlie only reincarnated as a woman. Tony Curtis co-stars as Charlie's best friend who becomes best friends with the new Charlie. This silly farce was a critical and box office flop, grossing $4.5 million in its total worldwide release.

KISS ME, STUPID (United Artists; Director - Billy Wilder) Billy Wilder's daring comedy stars Dean Martin as a Las Vegas singer who stops in a small town where two hopeful songwriters concoct a plan to keep him there in the hopes he will discover them and make them famous. Ray Walston plays one half of the duo who plans to bring "Dino" but is shocked to learn "Dino" must have sex every night or have a terrible headache in the morning. Walston orchestrates a fight with his wife to get her out of the house and then hires a prostitute (Kim Novak) to pose as the wife and satisfy "Dino's" needs. The film was not received well by critics who were a bit stunned at the subject matter but that didn't lead audiences to rush out and see it either. In the end the film barely grossed over $1 million and is known today as one of Wilder's lesser films.

THE LUCK OF GINGER COFFEY (Continental Distributing; Director - Irvin Kershner) One of the "art house" Christmas releases starred Robert Shaw in the title role as a man trying to find himself both personally and professionally. Along with his wife (Shaw's real life wife, Mary Ure) and daughter, Coffey moves to Canada after coming out of the army in hopes of finding a good, steady job and having a happy life. But the luck of Ginger Coffey won't allow that and his life is soon turned upside down when his wife leaves him for another man and takes his daughter with him. This talky drama received good reviews when it opened but the public didn't wish to see a film about a man and his problems over the Christmas holiday and the film failed.

MARRIAGE: ITALIAN STYLE (Embassy Pictures Corp; Director - Vittorio DeSica) Another "art" house film was this farce from Italy directed by one of its most popular and successful directors. Marcello Mastroianniplays a successful businessman and Sophia Loren plays his mistress, a kept woman with her own (paid) apartment but little satisfaction because he won't marry her. One day she discovers he plans to marry another and fakes illness hoping to convince him to marry her. The ruse works - for a while and when he plans to leave she tells him she has had three children out of wedlock and one of them is his but she won't tell him which one. The film artfully blends comedy, drama, pathos and slapstick and DeSica created a most entertaining film that would gross a very impressive $4.1 million. The film would garner Loren a Best Actress nomination and then, one year later, the film itself would be nominated for Best Foreign Film.

THE PUMPKIN EATER (Columbia; Director - Jack Clayton) Playwright Harold Pinter adapted Penelope Mortimer's dark novel about the study of marriage and the affects it has on a mentally unstable woman. Anne Bancroft stars as a thrice married woman with six children whose latest husband (Peter Finch) is a good man but an adulterer which drives her to a breakdown. Director Clayton follows the path of the lives of these two people trying to stay sane in an insane relationship. The dark film received strong reviews and was a mild box office hit despite playing in few theaters ala an "art" film release. Bancroft would receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

SEX AND THE SINGLE GIRL (Warner Bros; Director - Richard Quine) Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood star in the adaptation of the hugely popular book (back then) by Helen Gurley Brown which encouraged single women to explore, experiment and live life to the fullest. Director Quine turns the film into a sexual farce with Wood playing Brown and Lauren Bacall co-starring with Henry Fonda. The film was savaged by the critics but was a mild hit grossing just under $5 million.