Color
Cast:
Bing Crosby
Danny Kaye
Rosemary Clooney
Vera-Allen
Dean Jagger
Directed by Michael Curtiz ( of “Casablanca” fame)
As I continue my finaly reviews of Christmas movies, I found to my delight that the four films; “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “A Christmas Carol,” “White Christmas” and “Christmas in Connecticut” have been polled as the top ten favourite Christmas movies of all time.
“Holiday Inn” (1942) was a Christmas movie for the grown-ups with a sophisticated performance from Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby. It has gone down in history as the film that had Crosby singing White Christmas for the first time.
The 1954 remake, "White Christmas," is chock-a-block with sappy sentimentality and has Rosemary Clooney singing her way through "Love, You Didn't Do Right by Me" in a sprayed-on evening dress, while starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye.
With its Irving Berlin score, “White Christmas” had Kaye noting… “ With a Jewish songwriter and a Jewish actor, this is going to be one hell of a Christmas picture.”
Irving Berlin born 1988 as Israel Baline who lived to be 100 years old. He penned the tune, White Christmas in 1940 and made Bing Crosby the crooner of the biggest selling song of all time.
Bing's single of "White Christmas" has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide and was recognized as the best-selling single in any music category for more than 50 years until 1998 when Elton John's tribute to Princess Diana, "Candle in the Wind," overtook it in a matter of months. However, Bing's recording of "White Christmas" has sold additional millions of copies as part of numerous albums, including his best-selling album, Merry Vhristmas which was first released as an LP in 1949.
“Holiday Inn" is about two rotten guys who keep trying to steal each other's girl. They're completely amoral and out for a good time, and the film has that marvellous sense naughtiness interrupted by some great Berlin tunes, which is classic Paramount Pictures of the early 1940’s.
“White Christmas” does not have the usual cute child or children for us to connect with. Yet through the adult camaraderie we do experience the spirit of Christmas with the coming together of old and new friends.
Despite the adverse reviews by film critics, “White Christmas” does well in evoking laugher, good cheer, sentimentally and by films’ end has us sing along with Bing to its signature tune.
For those of you that will be having a white Christmas, please spare a thought for this Aussie author, who has not seen snow in December since left Poland too many year to count.
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