The strange film history of Santa

You’d better watch out: Father Christmas has appeared in various guises in films over the years. Arwa Haider reveals some very bad Santas.

‘Tis the season for festive movies – and Father Christmas has seized the spotlight in countless films around the world. Santa’s on-screen looks have been fairly standard (red robe and hat, white beard, often portly, nearly always Caucasian), but his film sets have varied (from snowy Lapland to city grotto, and even outer space), and his character has certainly shape-shifted across genres. Santa has been played as a jolly good guy, an unhinged killer, a romantic lead, and of course, an anti-hero, with the return of Billy Bob Thornton’s Bad Santa 2. Here are 12 Santas of Christmas movies, past and present.

The debut appearance

The Visit of Santa Claus, 1898

Cinema was in its infancy when Father Christmas made his first trail-blazing appearance on screen in this magical silent British short. The hypnotic black-and-white scenes depict a mysterious, rather meticulous Santa arriving in style via the fireplace, to leave goodies in stockings for two snoozing children. (Credit: YouTube)

The wartime enigma

The Killing of Father Christmas (L’assassinat du Père Noël), 1941

Christmas miracles happen – but so does murder in the snow – in this Gothic thriller with a festive backdrop. A globe-maker (Harry Baur) plays Santa Claus for the close-knit community in a rural French village, and a shadowy whodunnit ensues when his body is found in the snow. Pere Noel’s fate has an even darker edge when you consider that this was the first film to be produced in Nazi-occupied France. 

Grotto fabulous

Miracle on 34th Street, 1947

English actor Edmund Gwenn portrayed the original cuddly and gentlemanly department store Santa with this iconic New York movie role, blending realism, feel-good family drama, and a spirit-lifting fantasy twist. The film – and Gwenn’s persona – have inspired numerous remakes and homages over the years, with Richard Attenborough taking the starring role in the 1994 remake. 

Killer Santa

Silent Night, Deadly Night, 1984

Although 1974 Canadian horror Black Christmas is credited as an influential slasher film, Santa himself didn’t turn murderous until a little later. The first appearance of Saint Nick as serial killer was arguably this gory movie, in which a tormented youth goes on the rampage while dressed as a store Santa. From here, Santa developed a taste for blood in a spate of holiday horrors, including the spooky Dutch folklore of Sint (2010) and 2015 anthology A Christmas Horror Story.

Down-and-out Santa

Trading Places, 1983

When his former bosses subject him to a cruel bet, rich Philadelphia broker Winthorpe (Dan Aykroyd) loses everything – and he’s reduced to crashing the office Christmas party (and raiding the buffet) in a ragged Santa Claus outfit. Impressively, he manages to conceal an entire salmon inside his filthy beard.

The blockbuster name

Santa Claus: The Movie, 1985

This big-budget, brand-heavy family movie turned out to be a box-office flop, though it does feature US actor David Huddleston as a larger-than-life Santa who flies his sleigh over New York landmarks, and must adapt to an era of mass production. Dudley Moore shares the spotlight as an ingenious elf helper.

The animated figure

The Nightmare Before Christmas, 1993

Tim Burton’s stop-motion dark festive fantasy has macabre/cute anti-hero Jack Skellington hijacking Christmas as the self-styled “Sandy Claws”, who even has his own coffin-sleigh pulled by skeletal reindeer. A showdown with the bemused real Santa Claus ensues.

The everyman

The Santa Clause Trilogy, 1994-2006

US comedian Tim Allen plays a regular guy and divorced father who is contracted to stand in for the real Santa Claus in this family comedy film series. The 2002 sequel has Santa searching for a new “Mrs Claus” (female characters invariably play support roles in Santa films), but the response to follow-ups suggested that this series was not the gift that keeps on giving.  

Santa on the run

Divine Intervention, 2002

Nazareth-born film-maker Elia Suleiman sets the surreal tone for his award-winning Palestinian black comedy/romance with an early scene where a wounded Santa (George Ibrahim) struggles to flee a group of children, with presents falling from his sack, before revealing that he has been stabbed. 

The love interest

The Perfect Holiday, 2007

It’s notable that despite numerous appearances in film and TV, there is little deviation from Santa as white guy. Black American cinema has produced a few examples, from the Blaxploitation flick Black Santa’s Revenge (2007), to unabashedly feel-good modern romance The Perfect Holiday. In the latter, Morris Chestnut plays a handsome department store Santa and aspiring musician, who makes divorced mom Gabrielle Union’s Christmas wish come true.

The eco warrior

X-mas, Inc., 2008

A kindly Santa (late Latin American screen icon Pedro Armendáriz Jr, in one of his final roles) takes a stand against global warming and consumerist greed in this Mexican comedy, as the North Pole ice caps are melting, and a greedy elf-entrepreneur aims to turn Christmas into a capitalist fiesta.

Naughty, not nice

Bad Santa, 2003 and Bad Santa 2, 2016

Unshaven, uncouth and strangely charismatic… Billy Bob Thornton’s anti-hero Santa is more concerned with mall heists than goodwill, though a kind heart sometimes glints beneath the sleazy exterior. The conman returns unreformed, and with an equally no-good Mother Christmas (Kathy Bates) for a movie sequel this season. Eminem also took on the guise in the video for his 2004 hit, Just Lose It, including a cameo from Bad Santa’s helper co-star, Tony Cox.

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