Oh, the weather outside is frightful. But the new movies on Max this December are delightful.
Yes, as always our pick for the best streaming service added a fresh batch of new movies this month. And as usual, I've scoured through the list of everything new on Max in December 2024. to see what movies are the best of the best.
What's surprising is the seven movies I've found that are rated 95% or higher on Rotten Tomatoes. It's not surprising that Max added so many highly rated movies — far from it. But these seven movies are all movies that you'd consider classics. None of them are more recent than 1944.
Just because they're old though doesn't mean they're not worth watching. In fact, one of these movies is widely considered one of the greatest movies of all time.
So without further ado, here are the seven new to Max movies to stream now with 95% or higher on Rotten Tomatoes you need to watch in December 2024.
‘Kid Galahad’ (1937)
"Kid Galahad" stars Edward G. Robinson as Florida boxing promoter Nick Donati. After one of Donati's boxers throws a fight on the orders of gangster Turkey Morgan (Humphrey Morgan), Donati and his girlfriend Louise "Fluff" Phillips (Bette Davis) throw a giant party where they meet the farmer-turned-bellhop Ward Guisenberry, the titular "Kid Galahad."
And it turns out, the Kid can throw quite a punch. After a drunken Chuck McGraw — the new heavyweight champion — pushes Fluff, Ward knocks him down with a hit. After seeing it, Nick decides to hire Kid Galahad as his new fighter and eventually gets him a shot against McGraw in a title fight. Great boxing dramas often make great movies, and "Kid Galahad" is no exception.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%
Watch it now on Max
‘Marked Woman’ (1937)
"Marked Woman" stars Humphrey Bogart and Bette Davis, and it's not the last time Bogart will appear on this list. This crime drama stars Davis as Mary, a bar girl at the New York nightclub Club Intimate. The club is owned by gangster Johnny Vanning (Eduardo Ciannelli), and as part of Mary's job, she sometimes has to convince patrons to spend money they don't have.
But one time, that gets a man killed and District Attorney David Graham (Bogart) brings Vanning to trial with Mary's help. Do they succeed in bringing the vile gangster to justice? You'll need to watch "Marked Woman" to find out.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%
Watch it now on Max
'Meet Me in St. Louis' (1944)
This movie doesn't star Davis or Bogart, but it does feature the incomparable Judy Garland. She stars in "Meet Me in St. Louis" as Esther Smith. The story is largely centered around her romantic relationship with John Truett (Tom Drake), but it's told as a series of seasonal vignettes about the Smith family from the Summer of 1903 until the World's Fair in the Spring of 1904.
As a musical though, "Meet Me in St. Louis" is most known for Judy Garland's vocal performances. This movie debuts the pop standards "The Trolley Song", "The Boy Next Door" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," all of which were written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and live on to this day.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%
Watch it now on Max
‘The Roaring Twenties’ (1939)
After that brief detour, we're back to Bogart. "The Roaring Twenties" stars James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart and Jeffrey Lynn as Eddie Bartlett, George Hally, and Lloyd Hart. These three meet each other in a foxhole during the final days of World War I, and following the war's end, they go their separate ways. Lloyd starts a law practice, George becomes a bootlegger, and Eddie becomes a cab driver.
But their paths soon cross again when an illicit delivery of bootlegged booze has Lloyd and George thrust together by way of a nightclub owner named Panama Smith (Gladys George). Over the next decade-plus, "The Roaring Twenties" follows Lloyd, George and Eddie, who joins them in George's bootlegging operation as they live through the Prohibition era, Great Depression and more.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%
Watch it now on Max
‘The Maltese Falcon’ (1941)
If you read my thoughts on "Monseuir Spade," then this movie needs no introduction. But just in case you're unfamiliar with "The Maltese Falcon," let me tell you about one of the greatest movies ever made.
This detective noir film stars Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade, a legendary San Francisco private eye. One day, Ruth Wonderly (Mary Astor) walks into his office and asks him to look into the disappearance of her sister. Only, Wonderly is really a woman named Brigid O'Shaughnessy, and she's been far from honest with Sam. Things then quickly spiral out of control into a hunt for a legendary statue of a golden falcon considered one of the great treasures of the world. "The Maltese Falcon" is a must-watch this month on Max.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 99%
Watch it now on Max
'The Shop Around the Corner' (1940)
"The Shop Around the Corner" stars James Stewart as Alfred Kralik, a top salesman at a leather goods shop in Budapest run by Hugo Matuschek (Frank Morgan). He also works with Klara Novak (Margaret Sullavan), Matuschek's top saleswoman, and they can barely stand each other. So of course, they eventually fall for each other, but only after realizing they are falling in love through anonymous letters.
This movie admittedly ignores some ... important events going on around 1930s Budapest, but politics isn't the point of this tale. Adapted from the Hungarian play "Parfumerie" by Miklós László, this movie is just pure romantic comedy, with maybe a hint of drama.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 99%
Watch it now on Max
'National Velvet' (1944)
Humphrey Bogart may have been the star of many of the movies on this list, but "National Velvet" introduces the person who may have been the next great acting icon after Bogart — Elizabeth Taylor.
This sports drama stars Taylor as 12-year-old Velvet Brown, an English girl who dreams of racing her horse "The Pie" in the Grand National steeplechase. When her family hires the destitute former jockey Michael "Mi" Taylor (Mickey Rooney) to help around the Brown's store, Velvet sees her opportunity. If you like a largely feel-good story with some similarities to "Rocky," then "National Velvet" is a classic worth watching.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%
Watch it now on Max
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