WHITE CHRISTMAS
Many people know White Christmas, the song. I am a fan of the song, but I need to discuss White Christmas, the movie. The song of White Christmas made its debut in a film known as Holiday Inn. That film stars Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, and is a pretty good film. Bing Crosby opens up an Inn that caters to visitors, and is only open, on national holidays. The Inn becomes popular, so much so that a movie is created (within the storyline of the film) about his Inn. It’s a film within the film, a rather witty and creative story. There are some great songs, some great dance sequences with Astaire, including one in which he performs while actually being drunk.
The song of White Christmas became the breakout hit song from the Holiday Inn motion picture, taking on a life of its own, becoming uber-popular as a WWII-era song, fueling the nostalgia of the soldiers away from home. A decade came and went, and as Hollywood tends to do, they wanted to cash in once again on the popularity of the song. A new film was created, the motion picture, also known as, White Christmas.
I’ll be the first to admit that the film White Christmas might come across to some as a little hokey. Many people probably prefer Holiday Inn between the two films, and truthfully, they are likely correct in that the script of Holiday Inn is rather clever, more so than White Christmas. But for me, when it comes to heartwarming holiday goodness, there is not a much better movie than White Christmas. This is not a cynical film, not a sarcastic film in any way. This is old-time, aw-shucks, feel-good, warm and cozy holiday happiness.
The film begins with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye in the Army in WWII. They are a couple of performers by nature, brought together as soldiers due to the circumstances of fate. There is a great camaraderie among the troops, with great affection for their immediate commanding General. Those fateful circumstances bring Crosby and Kaye together stateside once the war is over. The two join forces and create a very popular nightclub act that tours the countryside. While in Florida, Crosby and Kaye cross paths with Rosemary Clooney (Aunt of George Clooney) and Vera Ellen. Without giving away too much of the plot, the four of them are off to snowy Vermont, to perform at an Inn in the woods.
Upon arriving in Vermont, there is shockingly a complete lack of snow, instead there is a heat wave. When they arrive at the Inn, they find it is owned by their former leader, the General from the Army. The Inn is struggling and might go bankrupt. Will the four performers find love? Will the four performers be able to save the Inn for their beloved General? Will it snow before Christmas?
The movie is kind of predictable, but I love it. It is filled with songs and dance numbers that make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, like I just had a mug of hot cocoa with marshmallows. There is nothing more heartwarming than seeing Bing Crosby, smoking a pipe, and singing the lullaby, Count Your Blessings. The whole movie oozes warmth and holiday joy. And when the predictable ending happens, no one is disappointed with the ending. I have seen the film twice in the theater at special holiday showings. When the happy ending happens, I have heard an entire theater of people gasp as if they were seeing the predictable magical ending for the first time, even though I bet most of them were seeing the film for the 10th time. The entire theater then sang along to White Christmas as Crosby and everyone else sings it on screen.
This is a film I don’t think I had ever even seen 10 years ago. Then one day I caught it on the cable channel, AMC. And then caught it again on AMC. Then again on AMC. Then maybe watched it on Turner Classic Movies. Then saw it on channel 9 from Windsor, Canada. Then watched it 17 more times on AMC. There are many great Christmas movies. Home Alone, Elf, Christmas Vacation, Die Hard, The Bishop’s Wife. (Okay, seriously, The Bishop’s Wife is a wonderful film. Starring Cary Grant and David Niven. It’s phenomenal, go find that somewhere and stream it today.) But White Christmas is my sentimental favorite. It just feels good to watch. Let’s feel good this holiday season, let’s all watch White Christmas. Shall we? I’ll get some popcorn.
-MTR