Today’s movie is a musical romance with a scene that happens
on December 20. Watch it tonight and enjoy.
WHITE CHRISTMAS
On Christmas Eve 1944 in the
Ardennes, Capt. Bob Wallace and Private Phil Davis are performing for troops of
the 151st Division. Their commander, Maj. Gen. Waverly is being
replaced, even though he is popular with the men. Phil saves Bob’s life during
shelling, but is injured. Davis uses his injury to guilt trip Bob into agreeing
to an entertainment partnership after the war. Wallace and Davis become big
hits in nightclubs, on radio and on Broadway in their own revue. Davis tries
numerous times to set Wallace up with different girls, but fails. While they are in Florida on tour with the
review they get a letter from an old army buddy, Benny Haynes asking them to
see his sisters singing act. They do and Phil notices Bob appears to be smitten
with Betty Haynes. When the sisters are told the sheriff has arrived to arrest
them, based on a trumped up claim by their landlord, Phil decides to help them,
in part because he has become attracted to Judy Haynes. He gives them his and
Bob’s train tickets to New York. To give them time to escape Phil convinces Bob
to perform a parody version of the sisters’ act. Bob, Phil, Betty and Judy meet
on the train and Phil convinces Bob to follow the sisters to their next gig at
the Columbia Inn in Pine Tree, Vermont. They discover the Inn belongs to Gem
Waverly, but is about to go broke due to lack of snow and therefore of guests.
Bob decides to bring their entire review to the Inn to rehearse. Bob and
Betty’s relationship develops, but the General’s request to be returned to
active duty is refused. Bob calls Ed Harrison, who has a popular TV show in New
York. Bob rejects Ed’s idea to put the revue on TV from the Inn and play up the
pathos angle about the General, getting Wallace and Davis a lot of free
publicity. The housekeeper, who just overhears the idea and not Bob’s
rejection, tells Betty who is incensed that Bob would try to profit from the
General’s situation. She turns cold towards Bob, convincing Judy that Betty
won’t be open to a relationship with Bob until she is engaged, persuades a reluctant Phil to agree to a
fake engagement with her, which they announce. On December 20, 1953 [1:29:54 to
1:45:44] Betty leaves for a solo gig in New York. That same day, Bob learns the
engagement was fake and goes to New York. He appears on the Ed Harrison Show
asking former members of the division to go to the Inn on Christmas Eve. Betty
sees his speech and realizes she was wrong. She returns to the Inn in time for
the big Christmas Eve show. She and Bob are reconciled as a heavy snow begins
falling.
A thoroughly good, but sentimental film. Crosby and Kaye
work well together as do Clooney and Vera-Ellen. The songs are pretty good too.
The sign board at the Floridian [12:24] says Wallace &
Davis’ last night is Dec. 12, they arrive in Vermont on the 13th,
the show arrives by the 16th, thus the Sunday [1:16:37] Bob is on
the show must be the 20th, assuming the movie is set in 1953.
Producer - Robert Emmett Dolan
Director - Michael Curtiz
Award – The movie was nominated for the Best Original Song
Oscar at the 27th Academy
Awards
Screenplay - Norman Krasna, Norman Panama and Melvin Frank
Runtime – 2 hours
Released – October 14, 1954
Starring –
Bing Crosby as Bob Wallace
Danny Kaye as Phil Davis
Vera-Ellen as Judy Haynes
Rosemary Clooney as Betty Haynes
Dean Jagger as General Waverly
Mary Wickes as Emma Allen
John Brascia as Joe
Anne Whitfield as Susan Waverly
Percy Helton as Train conductor
I. Stanford Jolley as Railroad stationmaster
Barrie Chase as Doris Lenz
Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2014.
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