I love watching old Christmas movies to celebrate the day. They somehow minimize the disappointment of opening all my gifts & discovering once more that there is no time machine under the tree. These old films are the most efficient way I know of taking a trip back to yesteryear.
Here’s why I love them-
The evolution of cinema both mirrors & is influenced by the three factors that compel me to write this blog:
1. Old films demonstrate the development of all the technology that is related to & utilized in the medium;
2. They submerge me in the affairs of the day & offer piercing & entertaining social commentary;
3. They delight me with their wondrous display of the prevailing popular aesthetic.
The Industrial Revolution of the 1800’s was the great mover of all these factors. The invention of the steam engine, powering locomotives & ships shrank the barrier of distance, creating a smaller more accessible world. Steam also powered machines in factories, profoundly changing the cultures of Europe & the U.S. from agrarian to those of manufacturing.
Electricity lengthened the day & powered machines that reduced the amount of time required to do work & produce goods. The telegraph, the telephone the printing press & the emerging medium of the cinema, facilitated communication allowing viewpoints to be shared rapidly across the globe.
One of the main issues addressed at this time in both fact & fiction was social class, the differences between the poor & the rich, the urban & the rural dweller. Scrooge was a character who clearly defined this divide & Christmas provided a good opportunity to show how this affected families.
High mortality rates created a culture focused on death. During the reign of Queen Victoria, black or dark mourning dress would often be worn for much of people’s lives. Symbols of death were popular in all forms of art. Each of these films has a darkness that is quite in contrast to later films. Think Home Alone!
The first films made & those since actually, were a product of these 3 factors- technology, world affairs & culture. They are very different from the holiday films made today which suits me just fine. (Though I do love Home Alone.) I plan to watch them all on Christmas day & I invite you to join me!
SO LET’S WATCH SOME OLD CHRISTMAS MOVIES!
1935
Scrooge (1:17:35)
ARF
Beautifully filmed & superbly acted by Seymour Hicks, an accomplished actor since the age of 6, Scrooge is the first sound version of the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol.
1913
OLD SCROOGE (AKA: SCROOGE, A CHRISTMAS CAROL) (39:59)
The Vault
An old Christmas movie that is mute, with intertitles, Old Scrooge was released in America in 1926.
1912
A Christmas Accident (14:47)
Retro Video Vault
A charming story of a miser who is redeemed by Santa.
1910
A Christmas Carol (13:00)
Throwback
An Edison silent film, one of the earliest cinematic adaptations of the classic Charles Dickens Christmas story.
1910
Making Christmas Crackers (6:19)
BFI National Archive
This amusing film takes us from a factory, to a family, to Santa.
1910
A Trap for Santa Claus (15:41)
Cult Cinema Classics
A rather complex story with a tragic beginning & a joyous ending.
1907
A Little Girl Who Did Not Believe in Santa Claus (14:09)
During the period of early cinema, Edison & other companies created short Christmas movies. This one begins with what seems a classic holiday movie premise—but delivers a lovely, unconventional twist.
1905
The Night Before Christmas (8:43)
Another Edison film, it was the first cinematic production of the 1823 poem.
1900
The Christmas Dream (4:08)
CBGP Originals
I am a big fan of Georges Méliès, one of the most brilliant & astonishing artists in the history of humankind, so I am going to encourage you to visit Wikipedia to read more about his life & work, & the film.
1898
Santa Claus (1:16)
BFI National Archive
The first known Christmas movie, & the first-ever on-screen appearance of Kris Kringle demonstrates state of the art technology for the time.
I hope you have enjoyed your feast of old Christmas movies. I wish that you could all be here with me, sipping ginger tea & eating pumpkin hummus. Please let me know if you love them as I do. And if you have any suggestions to add for next year, I’m just a click away!!!!!
More in the New Year so make sure that you-
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Chimneys in old houses can be problematic. When you are buying a house, generally, your home inspector will frequently suggest that you have a chimney inspection performed by a specialist.
Why would you want to fork out more money on a house that you don’t own, to do this?
Fireplaces & chimneys are complex systems with many elements to consider. Like most specialists, veteran chimney inspectors can easily spot problems which might be overlooked by a less experienced person. Often, they have done hands-on repairs themselves so they have a greater reality on the anatomy of a fireplace, what problems they can develop, & how to remedy those problems.
Could there be a conflict of interest? Absolutely! So, you want to get referrals, maybe a second opinion. It is very important to have a bit of knowledge of fireplaces & chimneys yourself so that when they’re there inspecting, you can follow the bouncing ball. That’s why I have gathered these videos for you!
I also suggest that you read my article on choosing contractors because they can be very good but some, not so much!
WATCH CHIMNEYS IN OLD HOUSES
Chimneys Explained #01 – Masonry Chimneys (508)
A Step in Time Chimney Sweeps
A great video explaining the parts of a chimney & their functions in keeping your house warm & safe.
Chimney Inspection Michigan | Doctor Flue inspects the inside of a chimney (4:36)
The Flue Doctor
The expert explains some of the problems that can be discovered during a chimney inspection & gives suggestions as to their remedies.
Performing a Fireplace Inspection According to the InterNACHI® SOP (5:22)
International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI®)
This video delineates what your general home inspection will cover in the fireplace & chimney section.
Home Inspection – Chimneys
Homeowner Series
Another tour of the parts of a chimney & more examples of problems that a chimney can have.
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For me, Ernest Batchelder, tilemaker (1875-1957) stands with the Greene’s as an icon of the Southern California Arts & Crafts Movement. Like the Gamble House, Batchelder’s home overlooked the Arroyo Seco & like the brothers, he took inspiration from the beauty of this area with its often dry, sometimes gushing river, the tumbled rocks & the magnificent California oaks that lined the bed.
Robert Winter, architectural historian, lived in his house from 1971 until his death in 2019 & was an expert of all things Batchelder, writing the definitive Batchelder history, Batchelder Tilemaker. Winter contributed hugely to our understanding of the Movement in Southern California. We see his delightful self here in the first video.
I’m going to allow the videos to tell his story.
THE TILE OF ERNEST BATCHELDER
House of the Green Rabbit: The Ernest A. Batchelder Bungalow (16:31)
PasadenaHistory
Robert W. Winter Batchelder architectural historian & tile expert talks about the life & art of Batchelder. We get a nice tour of the home, in which Winter lived after his death & we hear from Alan Batchelder, the grandson of Batchelder.
History At Home: Ernest A. Batchelder
Pasadena Media (2:22)
More about Batchelder & his work & some views of more of his wonderful tiles.
Batchelder Fireplaces – The Cat’s Meow (5:20)
KGEM-TV
See some beautiful surrounds adorned with Batchelder’s tiles.
Handmade tiles with Pasadena Craftsman Tile
(5:33)
Pasadena Craftsman Tile
Tile artist Cha-Rie Tang creates custom handmade relief tiles in the Arts & Crafts style & Batchelder revival tiles. She’s who I want to be when I grow up.
Wondering if the tiles in your house might have been made by Batchelder? The Pasadena Museum of History is compiling a database of tiles & is offering to identify yours. Click here for more information on how to access this great service.
To see more examples of his art, visit my Pinterest page here.
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Bungalows are well-known & loved for their abundance of moldings- strips of wood that are used to cover transitional areas, such as those around doors or windows. Bringing the natural wood in, wood beautifies & warms our homes like no other material.
All the videos I have chosen to tell you about making the correct choices in bungalow moldings, feature Brent Hull. Carefully researching traditional woodworking methods & materials, Brent creates custom historic windows, doors, cabinetry, paneled walls, stairs, mantels, moldings. He is dedicated to imparting his knowledge of preservation in his seminars & videos. I kinda love him!
Often, bungalows have sadly been stripped of their interior woodwork. The task of figuring out how to replace it can be frustrating. Bungalows are simple & it is easy to want to go beyond the original, more simple profiles & elements.
In these videos, Brett explains the history of molding & explains what to use in your bungalow.
HE-E-ERE’S BRENT!
History of Crown Molding and 3 things to consider. (7:09)
Brent Hull
What about using crown molding in a bungalow? Brent has been doing some reading & he’ll tell you!
Moldings for an Arts and Crafts Home- Authentic details you need to understand.(
Brent Hull (12:00)
What is the proper molding for your bungalow?
How to Choose Good Moldings
Brent Hull (24:57)
Applying basic design principles to choosing your molding.
How and Why to Make Custom Moldings (5:52)
Brent Hull
Brent advises, “The value of custom made is the difference between good and great.”
I’ve been telling folks about appropriate bungalow molding for a long time & nobody has believed me. Now that Brent is saying it….
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I always feel right at home when I enter a bungalow. Each feature greeting my eye combines with the others to create a charm that warms my heart & tingles my toes. This article, a Glossary of bungalow interior details explains the many parts of the whole that combine to make me feel this delicious way.
In the Glossary, I have entered all the fireplace terms under Fireplace & all the stair terminology under Stairs. I am not addressing window parts here. To view a window glossary of a walloping 27 terms, visit The Craftsman Blog.
I have numerous images for most terms on my Pinterest page, so, rather than providing images here, I will link to my Pinterest page. I encourage you to view the multiple images there. I also link to a few curated YouTube videos. The very bestest way to learn about bungalows is to read & look. (You are enthusiastically invited to follow my Pinterest & YouTube pages!)
Please alert me if I have missed defining any features that might be unknown to the novice bungalonian.
Base cabinet
A cabinet that sits on the floor & usually support the countertops. Original base cabinets in bungalow kitchens did not have toe-kicks, but ran flush to the floor.
Baseboard
A wide board that is used for hiding any unevenness in the transition where the wall meets the floor. Bungalow moldings are simple & are characterized by straight lines with flat profiles.
Bungalow baseboards were generally painted, other than in grand homes, where they were coated with a clear finish. In earlier times, moldings were made from one of two materials—wood or molded plaster.
Bay window
A window generally consisting of three wall segments. Two side wall segments are attached to the main wall plane of the home, project outward & adjoin a wall section parallel with the home’s main wall surface. Each wall section contains a window (or windows.)
Beadboard Paneling that features decorative beading & that is used typically on walls (as wainscoting) & ceilings, or on built-in or free-standing furniture. But what’s a bead? A bead is a rounded shape cut into the square square edge of the board. Beads can be simple round shapes, or more complex patterns.
Bearing Wall
Any wall that carries a structural load.
Board & batten
Board & batten is a type of wainscoting using wide boards (usually about a foot wide) overlayed with narrow wooden strips (the battens-usually about 1-4” wide) in an alternating pattern. Used mostly in bungalow dining rooms, the boards would have been stained & topped with a plate-rail supported by corbels.
Battans were also used without boards in between to dress up a room.
Box beam
Decorative ceiling beams, with no structural purpose. The beams are not solid timbers but rather boards rabbeted together, leaving a hollow space. They were available in many variations- size, intersection plans, wood species & type of finish & finish & details, but most were fairly simple. They could be made on site or, like much other millwork, ordered from a catalogue.
Breakfast nook
A small recessed area in a kitchen with built-in table & benches.
Buffet/sideboard
Usually built-in to a dining room or butler’s pantry, this piece of permanent furniture has a base cabinet, generally having drawers & doored shelving & a wall cabinet with glass-doored shelves. These pieces are wonderful for storage, especially in a smaller house with a tiny kitchen. They can be very simple or highly ornate. They are generally co-ordinated with the bookcase dividers. You can see many of them in the link in Built-ins below.
Built-ins
Millwork that is utilized as permanent furniture.
Butler’s pantry A butler’s pantry is a transitional space between the kitchen & the dining room. It is used for storage & food prep.
Casing
Pieces of wood trim surrounding a window or door.
Casement Window
A window that pivots on a side hinge much like a door with a handle to crank the window open.
Chair Rail
Traditionally used to protect the walls from getting damaged by chair backs, a chair rail is a molding that typically goes around the room’s perimeter at the chair back height.
Crown Molding
A decorative molding placed at the joint of a ceiling & wall surface. Check out these videos about the use of them in houses of different styles & periods.
Dentil A small, projecting rectangular block molding. As you can see here, their beauty is greatly enhanced by little pigs wearing hats.
Dropped Ceiling
A dropped ceiling is created by constructing a ceiling plane lower than the actual ceiling height. A dropped ceiling is sometimes used to save on saving heating costs in our high ceiling bungalows. They often conceal asbestos-impregnated (or not) “popcorn” or “acoustical tile” ceiling, or sometimes, bad plaster.
Chimney
The chimney starts at the top of the firebox & forms a tower that extends past the roofline to carry smoke up & away from the house. You can see the chimney on the outside of the house. Here are some extraordinary ones!
Flue
A duct for the smoke & waste gases produced by a fire which is lined with a heat & moisture resistant material to protect the chimney structure.
Firebox
The main component of the fireplace where the fire is built, or an insert is placed. It is lined with heat resistant firebricks.
Hearth
Located at the fireplace base, it usually extends from inside the firebox anywhere from 16 to 18 inches outside the firebox onto a raised base or it can be flush with the floor, protecting the flooring from heat & embers. It must be made from a non-combustible material.
Mantel
The decorative ledge placed over the firebox opening.
Surround
The area surrounding the firebox’s perimeter, typically ranging from 8 to 12 inches. It protects the home’s interior from the fireplace’s heat & must be non-combustible. The surround provides a wonderful opportunity to employ one of the most iconic Arts & Crafts materials, ceramic tile.
Fixtures
Any electrical, HVAC, or plumbing appliance or article that is attached to the structure. (e.g., sink, tub, water heater, furnace, etc.)
Frieze
A broad horizontal band of sculpted or painted decoration, especially on a wall near the ceiling or a horizontal paper strip mounted on a wall to give a similar effect. See some lovely examples here.
Inglenook
An inglenook, or chimney corner, is a large recess in the wall featuring a fireplace. This recess which usually houses the flue or chimney, extends wider than a standard chimney & creates a walk-in alcove. See some darling ones here!
The word comes from “ingle”, an old Scots word for a domestic fire and “nook” a spot within a larger space that offers some form of seclusion. They are not common but I managed to find a few on Pinterest for you to see.
Lites
Separated glass areas in a window, usually separated by some sort of grid pattern.
Millwork
As Gustav Stickley wrote a century ago, “no other treatment of the walls gives such a sense of friendliness, mellowness, & permanence as does a generous quantity of woodwork.”
All types of millwork can be viewed in Built-ins.
Molding
A strip of wood that is used to cover transitional areas, such as around doors or windows.
Picture rail
A horizontal piece of molding installed just below a ceiling. A hook is latched onto it & then a string is suspended from the hook that holds the picture.
Pillar
A post or newel that extends to the ceiling height.
Plinth Block
A decorative block of wood often used at the bottom of door casings where the baseboard meets the door.
Pocket Door
A space-saving door style that slides into the wall rather than swinging open into a room or hallway.
Portieres are curtains between rooms. In homes built before the electricity to run heating & cooling, these curtains allowed rooms to stay toasty from a fire in the fireplace or stove. Many of them are fine pieces of textile.
Profile
A shape that is applied to the edge of a piece of wood such as a door or window frame, exterior or interior trim or a window or door jamb.
Wainscoting
Merriam-Webster defines it as “a usually paneled wooden lining of an interior wall, a lining of an interior wall irrespective of material, and the lower three or four feet of an interior wall when finished differently from the remainder of the wall.”
It originally protected plaster walls from chairs bumping into the wall, & earlier, from riding spurs & scabbards.
So, board & battan is wainscoting, or, boards without the battan, just the plain, bare wall, or a papered wall. (Just make sure your guests check their swords at the door.) Beadboard, when used on walls is wainscoting.
Wall Cabinet
A wall cabinet is sometimes called an overhead cabinet. Wall cabinets are typically hung on the wall above a base cabinet.
TIP: Check out the glossary for bungalow exteriors here!
STAY IN THE BUNGALOW KNOW!!!
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I love watching old Christmas movies to celebrate the day. They somehow minimize the disappointment of opening all my gifts & discovering once more that there is no time machine under the tree. These old films are the most efficient way I know of taking a trip back to yesteryear.
Chimneys in old houses can be problematic. When you are buying a house, generally, your home inspector will frequently suggest that you have a chimney inspection performed by a specialist.
For me, Ernest Batchelder, tilemaker (1875-1957) stands with the Greene’s as an icon of the Southern California Arts & Crafts Movement. Like the Gamble House, Batchelder’s home overlooked the Arroyo Seco & like the brothers, he took inspiration from the beauty of this area with its often dry, sometimes gushing river, the tumbled rocks & the magnificent California oaks that lined the bed.
Bungalows are well-known & loved for their abundance of moldings- strips of wood that are used to cover transitional areas, such as those around doors or windows. Bringing the natural wood in, wood beautifies & warms our homes like no other material.
I always feel right at home when I enter a bungalow. Each feature greeting my eye combines with the others to create a charm that warms my heart & tingles my toes. This article, a Glossary of bungalow interior details explains the many parts of the whole that combine to make me feel this delicious way.
Chimney 
Baluster/spindle
