Five Movies for Halloween

When people think of movies to watch around Halloween, they generally think of horror movies. That having been said, there are movies in which Halloween does play a significant role. One could think of these films as "Halloween movies," much as one might think of It's a Wonderful Life (1946), The Bishop's Wife (1947), or Holiday Affair (1949) as Christmas movies. Here are five movies that are perfectly suitable for viewing on Halloween.

1. Boy Friend (1939): This delightful comedy starring Jane Withers climaxes at Halloween. In the movie Jane Withers plays Sally Murphy, whose older brother Jimmy is a police officer. When one of Sally's friends is murdered, she decides to solve the murder herself. Ultimately she finds herself at the Golden Parrot Club with gangsters on Halloween. As might be expected, even with gangsters involved, the Halloween party has all the traditional trappings. This makes it quite suitable to watch on the holiday.

2. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944): In my humble opinion, Arsenic and Old Lace is to Halloween what It's a Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street (1947) are to Christmas. The movie is set at Halloween. It features what is the first scene of trick or treating in a mainstream film. It centres on two maiden aunts with a disturbing secret. It also features a serial killer in the form of Jonathan Brewster (played by Raymond Massey), who looks a lot like Boris Karloff. Arsenic and Old Lace is one of those films that is both funny and frightening at the same time. Quite simply, it is perfect Halloween viewing.

3. Meet Me in St. Louis (1944): Perhaps because of the iconic scene involving the classic song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" sung by Judy Garland, many people think of Meet Me in St. Louis as a Christmas movie. That having been said, the Halloween sequence is actually longer than the Christmas sequence and in some ways more significant to the plot. Set in St. Louis in 1903, it also features some interesting Halloween customs from the start of the 20th Century. While there are those who think of Meet Me in St. Louis as a Christmas movie, there are also those of us who think of it as a Halloween movie!

4. Halloween (1978): I suppose that this would be an obvious one for many. It was certainly influential, starting a cycle towards slasher movies that lasted for much of the Eighties. Despite its title, there are those who have argued that the movie does not have that much to do with the holiday. This is not quite the case. Many of the trappings of the holiday appear in Halloween, including trick-or-treaters and jack o'lanterns. As a horror movie set on the holiday, Halloween then makes perfect Halloween viewing.

5. The Crow (1994): Let's face it, regardless of when it was set, The Crow would be suitable viewing in October. The movie centres on Eric Draven (played by Brandon Lee), a musician who, along with his girlfriend, is murdered by a gang. This is not the end of Eric's story, however, as he returns from the dead to wreak vengeance on the thugs who killed him and his girlfriend As if being a macabre superhero movie wasn't enough to make it suitable for viewing on Halloween, it set on October 30--Devil's Night in Detroit. Given the roots of Halloween go back to the Celtic pagan festival called Samhain in Irish Gaelic and and Samhainn in Scottish Gaelic, a festival in which it might have been believed the dead return to the world of the living, The Crow is then very suitable to watch at Halloween.