Two of my favorite Bing Crosby holiday films – and maybe yours – air Saturday night. At the same time.
I've seen "White Christmas" with Bing and Rosemary Clooney a zillion times, so I'm setting my DVR for "Going My Way," the feel good movie which won best picture and six more Academy Awards in 1944.
![](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/567410f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1280x1220+0+0/resize/880x839!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fwvxu%2Ffiles%2F201612%2Fbing_crosby_going_my_way_1945_public_doman_wiki.jpg)
Crosby won an Oscar for playing fun loving young Father Chuck O'Malley, assigned to help an aging pastor (Barry Fitzgerald) at old inner-city parish. Fitzgerald won an Oscar too. The film also won for direction, original story, screenplay, and the original song "Swinging On A Star" crooned by Crosby.
This last weekend before Christmas starts with "Handel’s Messiah" by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at 6 p.m. today on 90.9 WGUC-FM.
Also this weekend: "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," "The Polar Express," "Elf," "The Santa Clause," "Santa Claus: The Movie," "I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown!," George C. Scott's "A Christmas Carol," Albert Finney's "Scrooge," "Happy Holidays with the Boston Pops," Julie Andrews' "The Sound of Music," a repeat of the Lumenocity: Re-Imagine concert and a Christmas episode of "The Love Boat."
See the full list of Christmas specials on my 2016 Holiday Program Guide list. Here are the weekend highlights:
![](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/2e5303c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/304x232+0+0/resize/880x672!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fwvxu%2Ffiles%2F201511%2Fwhite_christmas_rosemary_clooney_bing_crosby_white_christmas_public_domain.jpg)
FRIDAY DECEMBER 16
Handel’s Messiah (6 p.m., 90.9 WGUC-FM): The Mormon Tabernacle Choir performs Handel's famous oratorio.
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (7:35 p.m., Freeform): A Griswold family Christmas with Chevy Chase in 1989.
Love You Like Christmas (8 p.m., Hallmark): A businesswoman (Bonnie Somerville) visits Christmas Valley, where strangers feel like family.
Deck the Halls (8 p.m, AMC): Neighbors (Danny DeVito, Matthew Broderick) go crazy competing over house decorations.
85th Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade (8 p.m., Ch 12.2 CW): Olivia Newton-John serves as grand marshal.
A Song For The Season (8 p.m., Ch 64.4 GET TV): A music teacher (Naomi Judd) fights for her music program.
Joshua Bell's Seasons of Cuba (9 p.m., Ch 48 PBS): Violinist Joshua Bell showcases Cuban and American musicians.
The Polar Express (9:45 p.m., Freeform): A train conductor takes a boy to the North Pole.
The Christmas Wish (10 p.m., Ch 64.4 GET TV): A man (Neil Patrick Harris) searches for the woman named in his grandfather’s diary.
A Christmas Melody (midnight, Hallmark): Mariah Carey’s 2015 movie filmed in Cincinnati about a diva PTA mom directing a school pageant.
![](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e273793/2147483647/strip/true/crop/293x228+0+0/resize/880x685!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fwvxu%2Ffiles%2F201612%2Fbing_crosby_danny_kaye_vera-ellen_white_christmas_1954_public_domain.jpg)
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17
A Classical Kids Christmas (10:10 a.m., 90.9 WGUC-FM): A look at Christmas traditions around the world through carols and poetry.
The Polar Express (2:35 p.m., Freeform): A train conductor takes a boy to the North Pole.
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (4:40 p.m., Freeform): A Griswold family Christmas with Chevy Chase in 1989.
Santa Claus: The Movie (5:30 p.m., AMC): An elf (Dudley Moore) foils a toy maker’s scheme.
The Santa Clause (6:50 p.m., Freeform): A divorced dad (Tim Allen) becomes Santa.
I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown! (8 p.m., Ch 9 ABC): Lucy's family wants a dog.
A Christmas Carol (8 p.m., AMC): George C. Scott gives Scrooge the Dickens in 1984.
My Christmas Love (8 p.m., Hallmark): New. A hopeless romantic (Meredith Hagner) receives each gift from the song "The 12 Days of Christmas" from an anonymous benefactor.
Shaun Johnson Big Band Experience: The Spirit of the Season (8 p.m., CET Arts Ch 48.3): Holiday music with singer Shaun Johnson and Tonic Sol-Fa quartet.
Happy Holidays with the Boston Pops (9 p.m., Ch 48): Holiday concert by the Boston Pops and Tanglewood Festival Chorus.
Jordan Smith 'Tis The Season (10 p.m., Ch 48): Holiday music by "The Voice" winner Jordan Smith.
White Christmas (10:30 p.m., AMC): Friends (Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye, Vera-Ellen) put on a show to help a retired World War II general in 1954.
Going My Way (10:45 p.m., TCM): A young priest (Bing Crosby) revives an inner-city parish in 1944.
![](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/37b0098/2147483647/strip/true/crop/900x716+0+0/resize/880x700!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fwvxu%2Ffiles%2F201612%2Fsound_of_music_julie_andrews_abc_2016.jpg)
SUNDAY DECEMBER 18
CSO Presents Lumenocity (1:59 p.m., Ch 48): Replay of the August concert at Taft Theatre.
Frontline: From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians (3 p.m., Ch 48): Frontline's 1998 series about the life of Jesus and early Christianity.
The Santa Clause (6:50 p.m., Freeform): A divorced dad (Tim Allen) becomes Santa.
![](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a1c1a72/2147483647/strip/true/crop/437x599+0+0/resize/880x1206!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fwvxu%2Ffiles%2F201612%2Fthe_love_boat_cast_1977.jpg)
The Love Boat (6 p.m., Ch 5.2 MeTV): Judy, Gopher and Isaac each hire a Santa, and they don't get along.
The Sound of Music (7 p.m., Ch 9 ABC): Maria Von Trapp (Julie Andrews) and her family escape 1938 Austria.
Scrooge (8 p.m., TCM): Albert Finney’s 1970 version of “A Christmas Carol.”
Sleigh Bells Ring (8 p.m., Hallmark): New. A city administrator (Erin Cahill) finds a magical sleigh which takes her to former sweetheart.
Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (8 p.m., 90.9 WGUC-FM): Holiday favorites performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
Miracle in the Wilderness (8 p.m., Ch 64.4 GET TV): Indians capture a pioneer couple (Kris Kristofferson, Kim Cattrall).
Home Alone 2 - Lost in New York (8 p.m., AMC): Kevin outwits Christmas thieves again.
Christmas with the King’s Singers (9 p.m., 90.9 WGUC-FM): An a cappella Christmas from England with the King's Singers vocal ensemble.