WHITE CHRISTMAS REVIEW!!! (12 MOVIES OF CHRISTMAS!)

Studio: Paramount Pictures

Show dates and times: Dec. 5 at 4 pm; Dec. 7 at 4 pm

Tagline: Joyous entertainment for every season, any year!

The greatest gift of entertainment the screen has ever brought you!

Plot: Singers Bob Wallace and Phil Davis join sister act Betty and Judy Haynes to perform a Christmas show in rural Vermont. There, they run into General Waverly, the boys' commander in WWII, who, they learn, is having financial difficulties; his quaint country inn is failing. So what's the foursome to do but plan a yuletide miracle: a fun-filled musical extravaganza that's sure to put Waverly and his business in the black!

Cast

Bing Crosby - Bob Wallace

Danny Kaye - Phil Davis

Rosemary Clooney - Betty Haynes

Vera-Ellen - Judy Haynes

Dean Jagger - Maj. General Thomas F. Waverly

Mary Wickes - Emma Allen

John Brascia - John

Anne Whitfield - Susan Waverly

Writer(s): Norman Krasna (My Geisha; Fury)

Norman Panama (Mr. Blanding Builds His Dream House)

Melvin Frank (Mr. Blanding Builds His Dream House)

Director: Michael Curitz (Mildred Pierce; The Adventures of Robin Hood; Casablanca)

Not Rated (120 minutes)

Just like the title of the song of the same name, this holiday classic 'White Christmas' (1954) is a timeless classic that is the perfect film to watch every holiday season.

The film features some really great music and incredible choreography. Just like 'Holiday Inn,' Bing Crosby did an amazing job and, instead of Fred Astaire as his partner, it's Danny Kaye. And, their chemistry is simply incredible. Their comedic timing was on point and you can tell during a few of their humorous moments, one of them would do their hardest not to break character.

The songs in 'White Christmas' are very amazing and catchy. And, of course, the titular song also helped make this film extremely popular In fact, the song "White Christmas" made its debut in the film 'Holiday Inn."

Here are some interesting tidbits for 'White Christmas':

• According to Rosemary Clooney, the "midnight snack" scene in which Bob Wallace expounds on this theory of what foods cause what dreams was almost entirely improvised.

• According to Clooney, Crosby and Kaye's "Sisters" performance wasn't originally in the script. They were clowning around on the set, and director Michael Curitz thought it was so funny that he decided to film it. In the scene, Crosby's laughs are genuine and unscripted, as he was unable to hold a straight face due to Kaye's comedic dancing. Clooney said the filmmakers had a better take where Crosby didn't laugh, but when they ran both, people liked the laughing version better.

• Although Dean Jagger was made out to be the "old man," Crosby was actually six months older than Jagger in real life.

• This was 1954's most successful film. The second most successful was 'The Caine Mutiny,' which featured Clooney's husband, Jose Ferrer.

• The Vermont Inn is the remodeled Connecticut inn set from Crosby's earlier movie 'Holiday Inn.' In this film, the recycled hotel set is very gray, and appears not to have been repainted in new colors. Since 'Holiday Inn' was a black and white film, the sets were probably originally painted in gray-scale, as color palette schemes would've been a waste of resources in 1942.

• The train scenes had to be shot at 20th Century Fox, the only studio to house a standing train set. MGM did have one, but it was more of a train station set, than train interiors.

• The song, 'What Can You Do With A General," which Leonard Maltin called Irving Berlin's least memorable tune, was originally written for an un-produced project called 'Stars on My Shoulders.'

• Percy Helton, who played the railroad conductor, also appears in another holiday movie, playing the drunk Santa Claus, at the beginning of 'Miracle on 34th Street.'

• The snow used at the end of the film is actually asbestos.

• In spite of the title, posters and promo, it's only set at Christmas at the beginning and at the end of the film.

• Berlin suggested a movie based on his song in 1948.

• Paramount put up the $2 million budget and only took 30% of the proceeds.

• 'White Christmas' was enormously popular with audiences, earning $12 million in theatrical rentals - equal to $121 million in 2021 - making it the top moneymaker in 1954 by a wide margin, the highest grossing musical of the time, and ranking it among the top 100 popular movies of all time at the domestic box office when adjusted for inflation and the size of the population in its release year of 1954. There was a US theatrical re-release by Paramount in 1961. overall, the film grossed $30 million at the domestic box office.

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