Have Yourself a Merry Legal Christmas: Laws and Justice in Holiday Movies and Television Shows

Christmas has long been portrayed as a time of joy, reflection and resolution, balancing sentiment with spectacle. Capitalizing on the holiday season, Hollywood has produced a stream of films and television episodes that evoke emotion and, most often, end happily.

This book examines the legal components of these narratives, exploring the laws, regulations, cases and legal principles in holiday-themed entertainment. From the bank run in It’s a Wonderful Life to an eight-year-old defending his home against burglars in Home Alone, this work reveals how law not only shapes these stories but also mirrors cultural hopes, ideals and anxieties portrayed in these films.

David Krell is a noted baseball historian who brings a passion for the cultural aspects of the national pastime to his writing. He’s the author of several books and a regular speaker at baseball conferences.