Guest Review: White Christmas

This post was originally published by Kristen Lopez of Journeys in Classic Film on December 1st, 2012 as part of her 25 Days of Christmas series. 

Yep, it’s official: I’m not a Bing Crosby fan.  It’s not that the movies themselves are bad, he’s just so bland an actor that I struggle to get through the films.  I will admit tonight’s film, White Christmas, was better than Holiday Inn, but I still don’t see this as a film I’ll be rewatching next year.  The only reasons to watch this are the final Christmas scene and for the PHENOMENAL dancing of Vera-Ellen.  Other than that the film has a confusing message and two uninspiring lead actors.

Successful war vets turned song-and-dance team Bob Wallace (Crosby) and Phil Davis (Danny Kaye), decide to introduce a sisters singing group composed of Judy and Betty Haynes (Vera-Ellen, Rosemary Clooney).  The sisters are on their way to a small hotel for a singing gig in Vermont and the boys tag along.  While there Bob and Phil discover the hotel is run by their former General, Thomas Waverly (Dean Jagger) who is about ready to close up shop.  As love blossoms between the two sets of singers, Bob is determined to make the men of his past army company come down and prove to Waverly he isn’t forgotten.

This is considered a companion film made 12 years after Holiday Inn, and both have similar themes.  Crosby still plays a mild-mannered, “aw shucks” guy who just hasn’t found the right girl, and there’s a lot of song and dance…so really it’s only mildly similar to Holiday Inn.  The female performers are the reason to enjoy this movie; both Clooney and Vera-Ellen make Holiday Inn star Marjorie Reynolds look like an amateur.  Betty is strong-willed with a voice to match and there is something so strong about Rosemary Clooney.  I’ve never seen her young so it was shocking to me to see how beautiful she was.  The true stand-out for me was Vera-Ellen as little sister Judy.  The woman is beautiful, sweet, and a bit of a dip but boy can she dance!  The dance numbers with her are just intense, she’s constantly moving, dipping, twirling.  One scene in particular that has her going up a set of stairs almost looks like she has no bones.  I’ve only seen dancing that grueling in men, but Ellen makes it look effortless, it’s no surprise she danced with both Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire.  The fact that she’s so petite is even more shocking because she looks like she’ll break, it’s sad to know that her body was controlled through anorexia and when the camera is close to her face you can see how that’s rapidly aged her.  Despite playing Clooney’s young sister she looks and was significantly older than Clooney.

Aside from our lovely ladies, who have personalities and aren’t just set dressing like Marjorie Reynolds, I was just as disengaged from this movie as Crosby’s last.  He’s so boring in this movie, constantly complaining, and trying so hard to play humble.  I was able to see this on Blu-Ray and if you do see this movie see it on Blu!  The picture is breathtaking and the Vista-Vision is used to full effect.  With that though comes seeing things the audience wasn’t meant to see, mainly how much pancake makeup and rouge is on Crosby’s face to make him look younger.  You couldn’t tell how much older than Fred Astaire he was in Holiday Inn, but here he looks like Danny Kaye’s father painted like a China doll.  It’s even more laughable that you’re to believe he’s younger, young enough to still be a bachelor, than Dean Jagger as the General.  Jagger looks the same age as Crosby, which makes sense considering their only six months apart in age!  Danny Kaye is equally bland as Phil, and it’s so obvious he was a last-minute replacement to Donald O’Connor.  I would have loved to see O’Connor in this movie and it seems like Kaye was told to play Donald O’Connor and not the character of Phil Davis.  Not only do the two resemble each other but Kaye is nervous and emphasizes his one-liners.  There’s nothing unique or memorable about him and when he came on-stage I kept saying “Oh it’s him, what’s his name?”

The film also seems to be a bit skewed in its message.  It’s a companion to Holiday Inn, takes place at a failing resort, and even pays “tribute” to that heinous Abraham minstrel show I talked about the other day (although this one doesn’t deal with blackface, eliminates the world, and ramps up the tempo but Crosby still mentions it as “the Abraham number”).  The film starts off by introducing Phil and Bob as veterans, then it introduces their success as song and dance men.  When they get to the inn it becomes all about paying tribute to their general, making sure the veterans aren’t forgotten, etc.  That’s great but when you devote so much time to a love story, and this movie is two hours long, and spend the last 40 minutes on the war, it’s a bit disjointed.  I know this movie came out as WWII was ending but director Michael Curtiz never seamlessly integrates everything.  It seems like a love story sandwiched between a war story (lamb and tuna fish).

I did enjoy White Christmas more than Holiday Inn, but it wasn’t by much.  I’d recommend just watching the Vera-Ellen dance scenes and the ending performance of the title song (which I had seen several times before this).  The movie is long, boring, and Crosby is just as dry as wood.  I wanted to like this, or at least understand why others did, and couldn’t find it.  Is there something I’m missing?  Don’t say a heart!

Grade: D