The top 5 Christmas movies shot in Toronto

Everyone knows Toronto is a popular place to film (if not actually set) movies, but not many know that the city has provided the backdrop to several festive flicks. Maybe it's of the generic North American streetscape, maybe it's the promise of snow, or perhaps it's the tax incentives, whatever the reason, Toronto has starred in everything from fluffy Disney movies to cult slasher films.

Here are the top 5 Christmas movies shot in Toronto.

Black Christmas (1974)

This festive bloodbath is set in a sorority house that's being terrorized by a psychopathic phone caller. Dubbed "the moaner," the killer slashes his way through the occupants of the home, thoroughly ruining Christmas in the process. The sorority house exterior is 6 Clarendon Cres. near Avenue and St. Clair and several other scenes used the University of Toronto campus as a backdrop. The cruddy 2006 remake was shot partially in Vancouver.

A Christmas Story (1983)

Early 80s Toronto does a decent job of playing 1940s Indiana in A Christmas Story, a story about the festive adventures of Ralphie Parker, a young boy who wants nothing more than the gift of a Red Ryder BB gun. One of the movie's most famous scenes, in which Little Ralphie drops an f-bomb, was filmed on the Cherry St. bridge in the Port Lands. Parts of Queen St., Eastern Ave., and Gerrard St. also appear.

One Magic Christmas (1985)

A little piece of Disney seasonal fluff, One Magic Christmas tells the story of cynical mother of two, Ginny Grainger, who is taught the real meaning of Christmas by an unconventional angel. Most of the movie's exteriors were filmed in or around Collingwood, Meaford, and Owen Sound, but parts of Scarborough also make an appearance.

The Santa Clause (1994)

The home where Tim Allen accidentally kills Santa Claus (and tees up the central plot of this yuletide classic) is located in Oakville, but as Torontoist writer David Fleischer writes, a Denny's in Scarborough, John Ross Robertson and Blythwood public schools, Hillcrest Park, Canada Permanent Building on Bay Street, and Runnymede Chronic Care Hospital make cameos. The movie's reindeer were sourced from Toronto Zoo.

Santa Who? (2000)

Uh oh, Santa's got amnesia, and on Christmas Eve, too! This TV movie, which was partially filmed in Toronto, stars Leslie Nielsen who, as St. Nick, gets a job in a mall after falling from his sleigh and hitting his head. When Santa's real identity is revealed everyone remembers the true meaning of Christmas. It's a miracle!

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

by Chris Bateman via blogTO