Tampa Theatre screens holiday classics

You can see all the classic holiday movies on your TV this time of year, but there's something special about seeing them on the big screen.

Between now and the end of the year, Tampa Theatre, the historic film house in the heart of downtown Tampa, will screen six of the best and most popular seasonal films of all time.

The Holiday Classics film series gets going Sunday with the original version of "Miracle on 34th Street" starring Natalie Wood, Maureen O'Hara and Edmund Gwenn.

Then, the series continues with "Holiday Inn," with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire (Dec. 6); "White Christmas," with Danny Kaye and Crosby (Dec. 13), "It's a Wonderful Life," with James Stewart and Donna Reed (Dec. 18) and "Home Alone," with Macaulay Culkin and Joe Pesci (Dec. 27). All the screenings are on Sunday afternoons except for "It's a Wonderful Life," which is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on a Friday evening.

Tampa Theatre's a great place to see classic films. It's an old-time movie house that's almost a century old, designed to feel like a Renaissance courtyard in Southern Europe. Most film screenings are preceded by a performances on the theater's original "Mighty Wurlitzer" organ.

Details: Nov. 29-Dec. 27, Tampa Theatre, 711 N Franklin St., Tampa. Show times: 3 p.m. Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 18. Tickets: 10. Information: 813-274-8981, tampatheatre.org.

-- Marty Clear

This story was originally published November 25, 2015 at 11:25 AM with the headline "Tampa Theatre screens holiday classics ."