This Christmas Eve mega-thread looks at films that showed on New York City TV stations every Dec. 24 from 1947 to 1983. Most, if not all, of these films showed in other years on other days in December during this 36-year period. Not every Christmas chestnut is listed. Here goes: 
NY TV debut 12/24/47 at 8 pm on WCBS' "Film Theatre of the Air'' BEYOND (1940) turned up again on this date in 1948, 1949, 1960 and 1967. SCROOGE (1935), on WNBT at 8, made NY TV debut on Christmas Eve 1944, and would reappear in 1949 and 1950.
NY TV debut 12/24/48 at 7:40 pm on WPIX. Borzage's 1943 all-star extravaganza does not appear to have turned up on NYC TV again on Christmas Eve, at least until after 1984.
12/24/49 at 10 pm on WJZ. Yule-themed 1939 tearjerker reappeared on Christmas Eve 1950.
12/24/50 at 3:50 pm on WABD. Besides overtly Yule-themed movies or ones with Yule scenes, Christmas Eve offerings were often fantasies, like this 1936 H.G. Wells screen original.
12/24/51 at 11 pm on WOR's "Night Owl Theater.'' Well, 1938 British drama about conquest of the Matterhorn does have a lot of snow.
NY TV debut 12/24/52 at 7:30 pm on WPIX's "First Show.'' Now that's more like it. Roach sold off BABES IN TOYLAND (1934), which played for years on TV under alternate title. Rarely played on Christmas Eve, except again in 1959 on WOR and 1977 on WPIX, where it became a fixture.
12/24/53 at 9 pm on WPIX. Nothing terribly seasonal about Potter's 1948 Saroyan adaptation.
12/24/54 at 7:30 pm on WOR's "Million Dollar Movie.'' Part of a week-long premiere run for definitive 1951 version, reprised in 1956. Also Christmas Eve showings in 1964, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 and 1978.
12/24/55 at 1 pm on WRCA. Sole Christmas Eve showing for 1940 family film that had been on TV since 1947 and would soon disappear thanks to Disney remake.
12/24/56 at 10 and 1 pm on WNEW. Nothing says Christmas Eve like George Raft with a gun in a film also known as SINNER'S HOLIDAY. Reprised on this date in 1959, 1963, 1964 and, dubbed into Spanish, 1974.
NY TV debut 12/24/57 at 5:30 pm on "The Early Show'' and 1 am on "The Late Show.'' Repeated in 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1969, 1971, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1979 on WCBS, sometimes doubled featured with 1951 version (the two went head to head in 1978). On WNEW from 1981-83
12/24/58 at 11 pm on WNEW's "Five Star Movie.'' 1943 all-stars.
12/24/59 at midnight on WOR. I like the idea of CITIZEN KANE (1941) as a Christmas Eve movie but it was apparently never repeated.
12/24/60 at 3:30 pm on WCBS' "Picture for a Saturday Afternoon.'' Often turning up at this time of the year, other Christmas Eve appearances for the 1949 remake include 1962 and 1972.
12/24/61 on WABC at 1:30 pm, WRCA at 2 pm and WABC at 11:15 pm. Three with very long Yule histories, though rarely shown on Christmas Eve itself -- MIRACLE in 1972 and 1982, BELLS again in 1973.
12/24/62 at 5 pm on WOR's "Movie of the Week.'' Dire musical remake of BACHELOR MOTHER debuted 11/28/60 on "Million Dollar Movie.''
12/24/63 at 9:30 pm on WOR's "Christmas Theater.'' NY TV debut 12/12/60 on "Million Dollar Movie.''
12/24/64 at 9 am on WABC. Rounding up the usual suspects.
NY TV debut 12/24/65 at 11:30 pm on WCBS' "Schaefer Award Theatre.'' Rare Christmas Eve appearance for limited-commercial showcase, possible after Channel 2 finally ditched telecast of Midnight Mass.
12/24/66 at 5 pm on WCBS' "Early Show.'' Not much info about 1958 American production that was slated for release by RKO before its distribution arm was shut down.
12/24/67 on WOR at 7:30 pm "Four and a half hours of interrupted family entertainment'' were followed at midnight by another British gem, THE HOLLY AND THE IVY.
12/24/68 at 11:30 pm on WNEW. Also made Christmas Eve appearances in 1972 and 1977.
12/24/69 at noon on WNEW. Also 1970, 1976 and 1981.
12/24/70 at 7 pm on WPIX. A Yuletime regular in the early days, also shown by Channel 11 on Christmas Eve in 1972.
12/24/71 at midnight on WNEW. 1944 Oscar winner also worked its way into the Christmas Eve lineup in 1977.
12/24/72 at 11 am on WPIX. Channel 11 was very diligent in digging up Christmas themed features that had disappeared from New York TV screens decades earlier, like this 1947 Aussie classic.
12/24/73 at 8:30 pm on WNJU. Newark-based Spanish-language station gets into the act with dubbed version of Pia Zadora's infamous 1964 debut, filmed on Long Island.
12/24/74 at 11:30 pm on WNEW. It wasn't Christmas Eve on Channel 5 without a Crosby musical, like this follow-up to HOLIDAY INN.
12/24/75 at 11:30 pm on WNEW. Channel 5 got this back after several years on WCBS, but public domain ubiquity loomed with Christmas Eve showings on WNET in 1981 and 1982 just the tip of the iceberg.
12/24/76 on WABC's "4:30 Movie.'' Capras were also inescapable at this time of the year, with 1961 remake turning up as well as MR. DEEDS, YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU and LOST HORIZON turning up on Christmas Eves past.
12/24/77 at 2:31 am on WCBS' "The Late Show.'' My third-favorite version of this story was another Yuletide staple on WCBS, frequently turning up late on Dec. 24 in the '70s.
12/24/78 at 8 pm on WOR. By this point, Christmas Eve audiences were ready for more outre choices like BELL, BOOK AND CANDLE (1957)
12/24/79 at 8 pm on WOR. George Stevens offers a more astringent brand of Christmas Eve schmaltz.
12/24/80 at 3:37 am on WCBS' "The Late Show.'' Channel 2 was still burying the classics in late night.
12/24/81 at 8 pm on WOR. Only Christmas Eve showing I can find for DESK SET (1956), though it's certainly brimming with holiday cheer.
12/24/82 at 12:45 am on WNEW. What that lump of coal in your stocking gives you black lung disease.
12/24/83 at 1 pm on WPIX. The one that Grant decided to do instead of IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. In all fairness, when he passed it was going to be directed by Clifford Odets, not Capra. And that's it for my Christmas Eve movies on TV megathread. Thanks for reading!
Oops, missed this one: 12/24/64 at 5:30 pm on WCBS' "The Early Show.'' Second Leisen-Sturges collaboration nails the yule spirit without resorting to schmaltz. Additional Christmas Eve showings, all in the afternoon, on WNEW in 1969, 1970 and 1971.
