Unfortunately, our episode on "The Apartment" has to be postponed until next year. Our apologioes for that. Fortunately, author John Zukowski was able to step in at the last minute and introduce a new Christmas gem to us, "Remember The Night," a film starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray that pretty much set the template for many Christmas romances to come. The first (but certainly not the last) of its kind, "Remember The Night" fits in perfectly with our last two episodes that touched on Christmas romance movies that have real wit and class, with a touch of melancholia to ground them. This is a film well worth discovering if you get the chance; hilarious and heartfelt, with a truly memorable ending.

Buy John's books Christmas On the Screen: Reviewing The Evolution Of American Spirituality and The Only Music That Mattered: A Guide To Punk, Post-Punk and Second Wave Ska (1976 - 1983).

Book movies discussed:

The Snake Pit (1948)

A Passage To India (1984)

The White Balloon (1995)

The director and stars of the wonderful comedy "The Baltimorons" (currently/soon in theaters) join the show briefly to discuss the film's evolution and its purpose as a Christmas movie. Before that, though, Kerry and Collin discuss the film after seeing it a second time. What other movies come to mind with this kind of premise? Can anyone do improv? What are the favorite Christmas movies of the guests featured? Tune in to find out. Also, new blu-rays, a couple of which tie into some very recent episodes.

"The Baltimorons" opens in New York on 9/5 and expands to other cities on 9/12.

Blu-rays covered:

"Sense and Sensibility" 4K (Sony)

"The Conjuring" 4K (Warner)

"You Can Count On Me" (Criterion)

"Fire On The Plain" (Criterion)

"The Burmese Harp" (Criterion)

"The Greta Garbo Collection" (Warner Archive)

"The Errol Flynn Collection" (Warner Archive)

"The '50s Sci-Fi Collection" (Warner Archive)

"Invasion U.S.A." / "Rocket Attach U.S.A." (FilmMasters)

Kerry and Collin didn't plan on 2025 being a John Cusack-a-thon, but that's what ended up happening. After talking about "Serendipity" back in February and with "The Ice Harvest" coming up in December, the hosts decided to do a Cusack double-header of Christmas-adjacent films that came out 40 years ago. "The Sure Thing" was Cusack's first starring role in the teenage take on "It Happened One Night" while "Better Off Dead" took on a much weirder tone and ended up being a cult favorite, much to Cusack's chagrin. How does our sense of humor change as we get older? Which of the two films do the hosts respond to more? What is the third film co-starring John Cusack from this same year? Tune in to find out (or just IMDb him for that third question. Or look at the show notes below?). Plus, Kerry gives three more films from "1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die," one of which might tie into one of these Cusack films.

Book films covered:

"It Happened One Night" (1936)

"Ran" (1985)

"The Sting" (1973)