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For those who only think of Drew when they hear the name Barrymore, here’s some news: a glimpse back into history will reveal that it was not she but her ancestors who first made the name famous.

Gloria Grahame never quite became a star in Hollywood, but she sure left her mark. If you’re a fan of film noir, you know her already. This shadowy world of double-and triple-crosses was where she thrived. Still, even casual fans of older films will remember that face, that voice, that look.

Growing up in the early ‘60s, I had a huge crush on Donna Reed. I know I wasn’t alone. In those pre-feminist days, she seemed to my young, impressionable eyes like the perfect wife and mother. Yes, she was beautiful, but there was much more to her than that. She projected an inner calm and wisdom. You sensed strength and principle beyond her dazzling smile. She was no pushover. You loved her, but you also respected her. You didn’t mess with Donna Reed.

Stewart’s innate capacity to project a sympathetic, universal vulnerability, and when called upon, the strength of ordinary men doing extraordinary things, made him an actor we could all hold to our hearts — and did.

Given the reverence for Hitchcock’s 1958 masterpiece today, people are often surprised to learn that on release, “Vertigo” was a bit of a dud, barely recouping its costs and generating only mixed reviews. This tangled tale of murder and obsession may simply have been too twisted for Eisenhower-era audiences to accept.

Did you know that both Lincoln and Kennedy have 7 Letters? Did you know that both were shot on a Friday? Just as uncanny is the connection between genial superstar Tom Hanks and his folksy predecessor, James “Jimmy” Stewart.   If there was any question that the two share cinematic auras for their respective generations, it was blown away when Hanks inhabited Stewart’s role from “The Shop Around the Corner” in the slick remake “You’ve Got Mail”. Their parallel command performances – studies in “aw shucks,” regular guy humility – make them both exasperatingly lovable middle-class heroes – everymen doing extraordinary things. The two stars’ respective charm-laden film careers have a great deal in common too, running the leading man gamut from drama to thriller to comedy (Stewart’s “The Philadelphia Story” is a little classier than Hanks loving on a sheep in “Bachelor Party,” but you get the idea).

Not surprisingly, people frequently ask me, “What’s your favorite movie?” It sounds like a reasonable question, but actually it’s maddening for the simple reason that there are so many fabulous movies that attain the same superior level of quality, but are wildly different. That said, if someone forced me to compile a “Top Ten” list, Billy Wilder’s “The Apartment” would definitely make the cut. While I’d watch it most anytime, it is for me the ultimate New Year’s Eve film.

With streaming, you get that thing we all crave: immediate gratification. Complete spontaneity, no need to plan ahead. And that’s a big deal over the holidays, when we’re all over-stressed, overbooked, overloaded. Who has time to think about what to watch on Christmas Eve before you’re actually there?

The most famous quotes have become worn down with repetition: “Here’s looking at you, kid” from “Casablanca” (1942); “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn,” from “Gone With the Wind” (1939) and “Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy night” from “All About Eve” (1950). Happily, there are plenty more delightful zingers to be found in dialogue from our best movies.