Tune in to TCM: Jolly Holidays

Turner Classic Movies is celebrating the month of December in seasonal style with a collection of holiday favorites, including Reginald Owen in A Christmas Carol (9), Robert Mitchum in Holiday Affair (23, 24) and Barbara Stanwyck in Christmas in Connecticut (23). On the 2nd you'll find the original Shop Around the Corner (with Jimmy Stewart) and its musical remake In the Good Old Summertime (with Judy Garland), while Robert Osborne serves up a batch of his picks on Christmas Eve, including Cary Grant and Loretta Young in The Bishop's Wife and Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman in The Bell's of St. Mary's. Christmas Day finds three epic tales of the Christ (King of Kings, The Greatest Story Ever Told and Ben-Hur), and who could pass up a marathon of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals on New Year's Eve.

The lovely and talented Irene Dunne is the Star of the Month, with 28 of her films airing over each Thursday. In addition to her five Oscar nominated performances (Theodora Goes Wild and The Awful Truth on the 20th; I Remember Mama, Love Affair and Cimarron on the 27th), the channel will show Thirteen Women (6), wherein Irene is terrorized by -- Myrna Loy!, and James Whales' Show Boat, wherein Irene dons black face.

Other TCM salutes next month include director William A. Wellman (every Wednesday), John Ford (his Fox films, 10 and 11) and John Gielgud (4), while Broadway legend Elaine Stricht takes on Guest Programmer duties on the 3rd. December 7th finds a tribute to the "day that will live in infamy", and don't miss the Movie Dearest pick of the month, The Opposite Sex (3), the musical remake of The Women starring June Allyson, Dolores Gray, Joan Collins and Ann Miller.

Numbers in parenthesis are the airdates for each program; check the TCM schedule for showtimes in your area.

Links via TCM.com.