White Christmas (film)
| White Christmas | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Michael Curtiz |
| Produced by | Robert Emmett Dolan |
| Written by | Norman Krasna Norman Panama Melvin Frank |
| Starring | Bing Crosby Danny Kaye Rosemary Clooney Vera-Ellen |
| Music by | Irving Berlin |
| Cinematography | Loyal Griggs |
| Edited by | Frank Bracht |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release dates |
|
| Running time | 120 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $30,000,000[2] |
White Christmas is a 1954 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen, loosely based on the 1942 film Holiday Inn.[3] Filmed in Technicolor, White Christmas features the songs of Irving Berlin, including the title song, "White Christmas". Produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures, the film is notable for being the first to be released in VistaVision, a widescreen process developed by Paramount that entailed using twice the surface area of standard 35mm film; this large-area negative was used to yield finer-grained standard-sized 35mm prints.
Contents
[show]
Plot[edit]
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This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (December 2014) |
On Christmas Eve, 1944, somewhere in Europe, two World War II U.S. Army soldiers, one a Broadway entertainer, Captain Bob Wallace (Bing Crosby), the other a would-be entertainer, Private Phil Davis (Danny Kaye), give a show to the troops of the 151st Division in a forward area. But the mood is sombre: word has come down that their beloved commanding officer, Major General Thomas F. Waverly (Dean Jagger), is being relieved of command. He arrives for the end of the show and delivers an emotional farewell. The men give him a rousing send-off ("The Old Man").
After the war, the pair make it big as performers in nightclubs, radio, and then on Broadway, doing many different songs, and finally becoming successful producers. They eventually mount their newest hit musical entitled Playing Around. The same day they receive a letter from "Freckle-Faced Haynes, the dog-faced boy," their mess sergeant from the war, asking them to look at an act which his two sisters are doing.
When they go to the club to audition the act ("Sisters"), Phil notices that Bob is slowly smitten with Betty (Rosemary Clooney), while Phil has eyes for her sister, Judy (Vera-Ellen). Following their number, Betty and Judy join Bob and Phil at their table, and believing he may have found the right woman for Bob, Phil brings Judy on to the dance floor so that Bob and Betty can get to know each other better. Phil and Judy hit it off ("The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing").
Judy tells Phil that she and her sister are headed for the Columbia Inn in Pine Tree, Vermont, where they are booked to perform over the holidays. Phil gives the sisters his and Bob's sleeping-room accommodations aboard the train to Vermont.
When the train arrives in Pine Tree, there's not a flake in sight, and the weather is so unseasonably warm, chances of it falling appear dim. Bob and Phil discover that the inn is run by their former commanding officer, General Waverly. Waverly has invested all of his savings and pension into the lodge, which is in danger of failing because of the lack of snow and consequent lack of guests. Deciding to help out and bring business up to the inn, Bob and Phil bring up the entire cast and crew of their new musical Playing Around, and add in Betty and Judy where they can. At the same time, Bob and Betty's relationship starts to bloom ("Count Your Blessings") and they begin to spend a good deal of time together. Meanwhile, Bob discovers the General's rejected attempt at rejoining the army, and decides to prove to the General that he isn't forgotten.
Bob calls Ed Harrison (Johnny Grant), an old army buddy, now the host of a successful variety show. Bob tells Ed that he wants to make a televised pitch to all the men formerly under the command of the General, asking them to come to the inn on Christmas Eve as a surprise. In response, Harrison suggests they go all out and put the show on national television, playing up the whole "schmaltz" angle of the situation and generating lots of free advertising for Wallace and Davis in the process. What Bob doesn't know is that nosy housekeeper Emma Allen (Mary Wickes) has been listening in to the phone conversation on the extension but has only heard about the whole schmaltz suggestion, hanging up before Bob rejects the idea.
Mistakenly believing that her beloved boss will be presented as a pitiable figure on a prime-time coast to coast broadcast, Emma reveals what she heard to a shocked Betty who is originally loath to believe Bob would pull such a stunt for his own gain, but mistakenly comes to believe he would indeed stoop to such depths when Phil asks her if he made the call to Ed. The misunderstanding causes a now-disillusioned Betty to grow suddenly cold toward a baffled Bob. Unaware of the real reason for her sudden change of behavior, Judy becomes convinced that Betty, ever-protective of her little sister, will never take on a serious relationship until Judy is engaged or married. She pressures an extremely reluctant Phil to announce a phony engagement, but the plan backfires when Betty abruptly departs for New York City, having received a job offer.
Distraught, Phil and Judy reveal to Bob that the engagement announcement was phony, and Bob, still unaware of the real reason behind Betty's annoyance, heads to New York to explain. Bob goes to see Betty's new act ("Love, You Didn't Do Right by Me") and reveals the truth about the engagement, but is called away by Ed Harrison before he can find out what is really bothering her. The sight of Ed pushes Betty who was nearly forgiving Bob, back down. Meanwhile, back at the Inn, Phil fakes an injury to distract Waverly so he won't see the broadcast or Bob's announcement.
On the broadcast, Bob proceeds to ask the veterans of the 151st Division to come to Pine Tree, Vermont, on Christmas Eve ("What Can You Do with a General"). When Betty is backstage between performances, she catches Bob's pitch on a television set and realizes she was mistaken. She returns to Pine Tree just in time for the show on Christmas Eve. Emma convinces Gen. Waverly that all his suits were sent to the cleaners and suggests he wear his old uniform to the opening of the show. Initially reluctant, he agrees. When the General enters the lodge where the show is to take place, he is greeted by his former division, who sing a rousing chorus of "The Old Man." Just as the following number ("Gee, I Wish I Was Back in the Army") ends, he is notified that snow is finally falling.
In the finale, Bob and Betty declare their love for one another, as do Phil and Judy. The background of the set is removed to show the snow falling, everyone raises a glass, and toasts, "May your days be merry and bright; and may all your Christmases be white."
Cast[edit]
- Bing Crosby as Bob Wallace
- Danny Kaye as Phil Davis
- Rosemary Clooney as Betty Haynes
- Vera-Ellen as Judy Haynes
- Dean Jagger as Major General Tom Waverly
- Mary Wickes as Emma Allen
- Johnny Grant as Ed Harrison
- John Brascia as Joe (specialty dancer)
- Anne Whitfield as Susan Waverly
- Percy Helton as Train conductor
- I. Stanford Jolley as Railroad stationmaster
- Barrie Chase as Doris Lenz
- George Chakiris as Betty Haynes' background dancer.
Songs[edit]
- "White Christmas" (Crosby)
- "The Old Man" (Crosby, Kaye, and Men's Chorus)
- Medley: "Heat Wave"/"Let Me Sing and I'm Happy"/"Blue Skies" (Crosby & Kaye)
- "Sisters" (Clooney & Vera-Ellen)
- "The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing" (Kaye with Vera-Ellen)
- "Sisters (reprise)" (lip synced by Crosby and Kaye)
- "Snow" (Crosby, Kaye, Clooney & Vera-Ellen)
- Minstrel Number: "I'd Rather See a Minstrel Show"/"Mister Bones"/"Mandy" (Crosby, Kaye, Clooney,& Chorus)
- "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep" (Crosby & Clooney)
- "Choreography" (Kaye)
- "The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing (reprise)" (Kaye & Chorus)
- "Abraham" (instrumental)
- "Love, You Didn't Do Right By Me" (Clooney)
- "What Can You Do with a General?" (Crosby)
- "The Old Man (reprise)" (Crosby & Men's Chorus)
- "Gee, I Wish I Was Back in the Army" (Crosby, Kaye, Clooney & Stevens)
- "White Christmas (finale)" (Crosby, Kaye, Clooney, Stevens & Chorus)
All songs were written by Irving Berlin. The centerpiece of the film is the title song, first used in Holiday Inn, which won that film an Oscar for Best Original Song in 1942. In addition, Count Your Blessings earned the picture its own Oscar nomination in the same category.
The song "Snow" was originally written for Call Me Madam with the title "Free," but was dropped in out-of-town tryouts. The melody and some of the words were kept, but the lyrics were changed to be more appropriate for a Christmas movie. For example, one of the lines of the original song is:
Free – the only thing worth fighting for is to be free.
Free – a different world you'd see if it were left to me.
A composer's demo of the original song can be found on the CD Irving Sings Berlin.
The song "What Can You Do with a General?" was originally written for an un-produced project called Stars on My Shoulders.
Trudy Stevens provided the singing voice for Vera-Ellen, except for "Sisters", where Rosemary Clooney sang both parts. When the time came to record the soundtrack album, Clooney's contract with Columbia Records made it impossible for her to participate, therefore Peggy Lee stepped in. A soundtrack album with Crosby, Kaye, Clooney, and Stevens was not released until the recent CD anniversary reissue, in which the songs were taken directly from the film.
There are brief renditions of other Berlin songs ("Heat Wave", "Let Me Sing and I'm Happy" and "Blue Skies").
Berlin wrote "A Crooner – A Comic" for Crosby and his planned co-star Donald O'Connor, but when O'Connor left the project so did the song. Crosby and Kaye also recorded another Berlin song ("Santa Claus") for the opening WWII Christmas Eve show scene, but it was not used in the final film; their recording of the song survives, however.[citation needed]
Production[edit]
Casting[edit]
White Christmas was intended to reunite Crosby and Fred Astaire for their third Irving Berlin showcase musical. Crosby and Astaire had previously co-starred in Holiday Inn (1942) – where the song 'White Christmas' first appeared – and Blue Skies (1946). Astaire declined the project after reading the script[3] and asked to be released from his contract with Paramount.[4] Crosby also left the project shortly thereafter, to spend more time with his sons after the death of his wife, Dixie Lee.[4] Near the end of January 1953, Crosby returned to the project, and Donald O'Connor was signed to replace Astaire.[4] Just before shooting was to begin, O'Connor had to drop out due to illness and was replaced by Danny Kaye, who asked for and received a salary of $200,000 and 10% of the gross.[3] Financially, the film was a partnership between Crosby and Irving Berlin, who shared half the profits, and Paramount, who got the other half.[4]
Within the film, a number of soon-to-be famous performers appear. Dancer Barrie Chase appears un-billed, as the character Doris Lenz ("Mutual, I'm sure!"). Future Academy Award winner George Chakiris also appears[5] as one of the stone-faced black-clad dancers surrounding Rosemary Clooney in "Love, You Didn't Do Right by Me". John Brascia leads the dance troupe and appears opposite Vera-Ellen throughout much of the movie, particularly in the "Mandy" and "Choreography" numbers. The photo Vera-Ellen shows of her brother Benny (the one Phil refers to as "Freckle-faced Haynes, the dog-faced boy") is actually a photo of Carl Switzer, who played Alfalfa in The Little Rascals, in an army field jacket and helmet liner. A scene from the film featuring Crosby and Kaye was broadcast the year after the film's release, on Christmas Day 1955, in the final episode of the NBC TV show Colgate Comedy Hour (1950–1955).
Filming[edit]
Principal photography took place between September and November 1953. The film was the first to be shot using Paramount's new VistaVision process, with color by Technicolor, and also introduced the Perspecta directional sound system which used three inaudible tones in order to pan the monaural sound into either left, center or right.
Sound[edit]
As with Easter Parade but unlike many other musicals of the 1950s which have been able to be remixed to stereo or 5.1, it is impossible to do this for White Christmas, due to the fact that although the picture was released in an extremely limited fashion with a full three-channel stereo mix carried on 4-track mag release prints, no complete true stereo print has ever been able to be assembled from all known elements.
All the original separate recording angles for both the pre-records and post-records for the picture were destroyed in a fire, and all that remains is a magnetic high-fidelity monaural music master, prepared for international release, and a low-fidelity optical mono composite master which includes all dialogue, sound effects and other elements. These were restored and combined for the Criterion Collection LaserDisc release; however, on the newer releases the monaural composite occupies the front center and the magnetic music-only track is fattened up a bit and placed in the surrounds by itself.
Release[edit]
White Christmas was enormously popular with audiences, earning $12 million in theatrical rentals[6] – $102.7 million in 2012 dollars, adjusted for inflation[7] – making it the top moneymaker of 1954 by a wide margin. The second highest moneymaker of that year, The Caine Mutiny, earned $8.7 million.[8] Overall, the film grossed $30 million at the domestic box office.[2]
Home media[edit]
Paramount Home Media Distribution released this holiday film on video November 7, 1996. Paramount released it as part of the "Classic Christmas Collection" two-disc set along with It's a Wonderful Life on October 31, 2006.
Stage adaptation[edit]
A stage adaptation of the musical, titled Irving Berlin's White Christmas premiered in San Francisco in 2004[9] and has played in various venues in the US, such as Boston, Buffalo, Los Angeles, Detroit and Louisville.[10][11][12][13][14][15] The musical played a limited engagement on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre, from November 14, 2008 until January 4, 2009. The musical also toured the United Kingdom in 2006 - 2008. It headed to the Sunderland Empire in Sunderland from November 2010 to January 2011 after a successful earlier run in Manchester and has continued in various cities with a London West End run at the end of 2014.
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