The Movie Timeline - it's like a timeline, but of movies
Movie events on the 24th December
Benjamin Rush is born. (Byberry Township, Pennsylvania) (Independence)
Barbara Ann Spooner, future wife of William Wilberforce, born. (England) (Amazing Grace)
Kit Carson is born. (Richmond, Kentucky) (Kit Carson)
Jacob Marley dies. (London) (A Christmas Carol)
Ebeneezer Scrooge is visited by several ghosts in order to change his ways. (A Christmas Carol)
Navy Lt. Richard L. Perry, future secret undercover cop for President William McKinley, is born. (This is My Affair)
Howard Hughes is born. (Houston, Texas) (The Aviator)
Filmmaker Leo Harrigan, having just discovered that Atlantic Pictures' studio boss H.H. Cobb has been recutting his romantic adventure two-reelers into slapstick nonsense, confronts Cobb at his lavish Christmas party, demanding a contract and more money. Cobb calmly fires Harrigan and his crew. (Los Angeles, California) (Nickelodeon)
Filmmaker Leo Harrigan makes his first trip to Los Angeles accompanied by his team of actors and crew. Dressed in evening attire, they take in a matinee and discover that their boss, Atlantic Pictures studio head H.H. Cobb, stole brief snippets from various Harrigan films, including "Rattlesnakes and Gunpowder", "Romeo's Balloon", "Pasha's Passion", "Caves and Clubs" and "Gunman's Guilt" and recut them into an incomprehensible mess called "Tuttle's Muddle." Angered by Cobb's betrayal, Harrigan steals the projectionist's copy of the film. Outside the theater, the film audience recognize Harrigan's actors Buck Greenway and Kathleen Cooke and proceed to tear pieces of their clothing for souveniers until they're down to their undergarments. (Los Angeles, California) (Nickelodeon)
A temporary and local ceasefire is negotiated when German private Nikolaus Sprink sings "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht" (Silent Night) from a German trench to the accompaniment of bagpipes from a Scottish trench. Soon French, German and Scottish soldiers meet in No Man's Land to share wine and Christmas cheer. (Somewhere on the Western Front, France) (Joyeux Noël)
Ava Gardner is born. (Smithfield, North Carolina) (The Aviator)
Temperature drops 84 degrees in 12 hours. (Fairfield, Montana) (Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman)
Captain Bob Wallace and Private Phil Davis perform for the 151st Division. Learning that their beloved commanding officer, Major General Thomas F. Waverly, is being relieved of command, they give him a rousing send-off in song. (somewhere in Europe) (White Christmas)
George Bailey decides to live again. (Bedford Falls, New York) (It's a Wonderful Life)
Members of the LAPD get into a brawl with a gang of Mexicans that assaulted two officers and the incident is caught by the press and labeled "Bloody Christmas". (Los Angeles, California) (LA Confidential)
A young Frank Cross is given veal by his father as a Christmas present. (Scrooged)
Children board the Polar Express in the middle of the night and head to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus (North Pole) (The Polar Express)
Consolidated Life of New York holds a Christmas party. (New York City) (The Apartment)
Jack Starks born. (The Jacket)
Hong Kong Riots of the year, segues to life of writer Chow Mo-Wan. (Hong Kong) (2046)
Frank Cross meets Claire Phillips for the first time. (Scrooged)
Carl Hanratty comes to Marseilles to begin extradition of Frank Abangale Jr. (Marseilles, France) (Catch Me If You Can)
Billy Edward Lenz has his first Christmas. His mother hates him and crushes an ornament to pieces by him. (Black Christmas)
Frank Cross dumps Claire Phillips to pursue his career. (Scrooged)
Mrs. Lenz kills her husband. She and her new boyfriend bury him in an underground crawlspace under the house. Billy, having witnessed this, is locked in the attic. (Black Christmas)
Billy is raped by his mother when her lover is impotent. (Black Christmas)
Richard Chance finds the building that Rick Masters and his men abandoned after counterfeiting. He also discovers Jimmy Hart's body in the dumpster. (Los Angeles, California) (To Live and Die in LA)
The day that Jimmy Hart would have retired from the U.S. Secret Service. (Los Angeles, California) (To Live and Die in LA)
Future freedom fighter Evey born. (V for Vendetta)
Det John McClane battles international terrorist Hans Gruber in the Nakatomi Tower. (Los Angeles) (Die Hard)
Agents are killed in a car accident. (Salt)
Evelyn Salt's parents are killed in a car accident. (Salt)
Frank Cross is visited by the Ghosts of Christmas. (Scrooged)
Mark begins his film. (Los Angeles) (Rent)
John McLane foils a terrorist attack at Dulles International Airport. (Washington, DC) (Die Hard 2)
Kevin McAllister stops two burglers from robbing his house by setting up loads of traps around his home. (Chicago) (Home Alone)
Mimi nearly dies. (Los Angeles) (Rent)
Billy disfigures Agnes and kills his mother and her new husband. He makes cookies out of his mother's flesh. (Black Christmas)
The dogs unite the family on Christmas Eve. (New York, New York) (Look Who's Talking Now)
Christmas party at the White House. (The White House, Washington D.C.) (The American President)
Andy receives a puppy named Buster. His baby sister Molly receives a Mrs. Potato Head. (Toy Story)
Rogue CIA agent Charli Baltimore & PI Mitch Hennessey stop a bomb from exploding in Niagra Falls, saving the lives of thousands. (US / Canadian Border) (The Long Kiss Goodnight)
Chris, Jamie, Dusty and Chris's mum see The Notebook in the cinema. (New Jersey) (Just Friends)
Billy Lenz escapes the mental asylum and kills former Delta Alpha Kappa sorority girls with the help of Agnes. (Black Christmas)
Teacher Sheba Hart reveals to her colleague Barbara Covett that she has been having an affair with a 15 year-old pupil. (Islington, London) (Notes on a Scandal)
Jack Starks meets a grown-up Jackie, who tells him he's meant to be dead. (The Jacket)
Jasper burns John's book and jokes about his mom being pregnant. (Nebraska) (Mr. Woodcock)
Kenny eats alone in a Chinese restaurant. (Duluth, Minnesota) (The Big Year)
Bad fog grounds all flights in the San Francisco area, meaning Kate and Brad don't get to fly to Fiji for Christmas. A local news crew captures this moment, and Kate and Brad head home to their families. (San Francisco) (Four Christmases)
Dale and Brennan roll Dr. Doback down the stairs as they sleepwalk. (Sacramento, CA) (Step Brothers)
The Byrnes' and the Fockers spend Christmas Eve with each other. (Little Fockers)
A minute before Santa Claus and his elves appear. (Aarhus, Eastern Denmark) (Arthur Christmas)
Kumar finds out that he will be a father and destroys the tree of Harold's father-in-law. They search for a new one and get help from Neil Patrick Harris. (A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas)
Tony Stark discovers that the Mandarin that has been broadcasted on TV is just an actor named Trevor Slattery. Colonel James Rhodes saves President Ellis. Pepper Potts, having gone through the Extremis experiment, uses her powers to kill Aldrich Killian. Stark blows up his suits. (Miami, Florida) (Iron Man 3)
Sir Cole completes his quest. (Bracebridge, Ohio) (The Knight Before Christmas)