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As someone who loves Christmas and the musical genre, I'm ashamed to say I'd never seen 1954's White Christmas until this year. Irving Berlin's classic is beloved by many, and it has become one of those immortal holiday movies that seem to have everlasting popularity. Starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen, the picture's a jolly affair full of merry dance breaks and one of those ridiculous "let's put on a show" stories that were so common in musicals of this particular era.
It's with great sadness that I admit I wasn't won over by White Christmas, not completely. That being said, there's plenty to love about this Yuletide affair. Because now's a time for merriment and celebration, let's sprint through the negatives to get to the positives…
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Despite its two-hour runtime, White Christmas is light on story. It focuses on a pair of G.I.'s turned to song and dance sensations who, along with a glamorous sister act, decide to create an epic Broadway-ready stage musical to help a little inn in snowless Vermont. The establishment is owned by the duo's former general, who the men feel obliged to help. In the end, all turns out right, each veteran gets a sister as their romantic partner, and everyone lives happily ever after, Old Hollywood-style.
In other words, it's too damn long and tiresome for the story it's telling, even when accounting for the musical numbers sprinkled throughout. Some of which, like "Snow", could have done with some judicious editing or a couple of re-writes, by the way. On an entirely personal note, there's also the fact I've long proven immune to Bing Crosby's putative charms. Apart from his melodious crooning, putting up with his presence is a bit of a chore. It's admittedly irrational, I'm aware and I'm sorry for being unfair.
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Having dealt with the coal, let's move on to the cinematic presents waiting for us under the Christmas tree. While Crosby proves himself a bland leading man, Danny Kaye is a joyful comedic co-lead whose enthusiasm electrifies the screen. He's having fun, and it's infectious. Clooney is a marvelous torch singer whose performance style brings unexpected pathos to the script's flimsy emotional stakes. Her dancing could be improved, though. Diametrically opposed, Vera-Ellen's singing may have been dubbed but she makes up for it with her dancing whose sheer athleticism is awe-inspiring.
The dance is really quite stupendous for a movie whose titular song is such a slow number. Director Michael Curtiz certainly helps, building a film of simple yet effective compositions where color and choreographed movement are the main forces defining the frame. His use of the brand-new Vista Vision technology and chromatic excess are the main reasons why White Christmas manages to best Holiday Inn, the 1942 flick it's unofficially remaking. Also, there's no Blackface on the 1954 motion picture.
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Regardless of all those sterling qualities, one aspect of White Christmas overshadows all others, and it's neither Berlin's tunes, the cast, or Curtiz's modestly exquisite direction. The true star of White Christmas is Edith Head, whose costumes are a rainbow of excitement from the moment the two sisters walk into the frame covered in lavender Battenberg lace and marabou feathers. Paramount's queen of fashion didn't just excel at creating glitzy frocks either. Her work with the men is as superb, full of smart details like shoes dyed to match a suit's trousers, creating beautiful lines for the dance sequences, elongating the male figure. It's a crime she wasn't Oscar-nominated.
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Some of my favorite sartorial moments of White Christmas include: A Martha Graham parody that sees Danny Kaye costumed as a beatnik caricature dancing with a troupe of purple dressed chorus girls. Every slinky number Rosemary Clooney wears when singing is also excellent, especially the structured black gown donned to sing "Love You Didn't Do Right By Me". All the ski lodge chic outfits the leads model, including a bunch of mustard accessories that bridge the color story between Floridian night-clubs and the Vermont entertainment complex whose size must rival some of Las Vegas' biggest joints.
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Finally, there's the iconic ending scene that sees the production decked out in festive regalia, every actor covered in bright red trimmed with white fur, plush velvet and scarlet rhinestones as far as the eye can see. Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen look like Holiday Barbies come to life, their blinding smiles a final cannonball of Christmas cheer fired directly at the audience. The escapist glee is almost too much, but, by some Tinsel Town miracle, it all holds itself together, concluding one step away from ridiculous kitsch.
White Christmas might not be the best holiday picture nor a particularly fine example of the movie musical but it's a warm distraction, glamorous and pleasant. Watching it felt like I imagine lounging by an open fire while wearing a New Look haute-couture gown, sipping on over-sugared hot chocolate, must feel like. That was my experience, at the very least. What about you, dear reader? Are you a fan of this musical classic?
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White Christmas is currently streaming on Netflix, and you can also find it available to rent on most services.