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White Christmas is an all-time vacation classic, watched yearly by means of hundreds of thousChristmas ands around the globe. Its songs are seasonal staples, and the wholesome message of this traditional Christmas movie resonates with all sorts of visitors. You’ve in all likelihood even seen it some times yourself. But there are many things about White Christmas, its production and its solid–Bing Christmas Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen–that you might not understand. Jeremy, Barrett and Chris at CinemaSins put together an insider’s list of nineteen data and details you won’t have recognized about your favored Christmas film, White Christmas, from the songs to the units to the celebs.1. Some White Christmas songs are technically covers
Irving Berlin, who wrote White Christmas, reused a few songs from his earlier black-and-white film, Holiday Inn. The title tune “White Christmas” and the “Abraham” number are the most extremely good examples. Crosby even sings “White Christmas” in Holiday Inn, though his later overall performance within the titular film could come to be the greater well-known model.2. “Abraham” is versatile
“Abraham” in the original Holiday Inn is gradual and plodding. Boring even. In White Christmas, the same melody is speeded up by Christmas way of a component of three or four and creates one of the movie’s Christmas maximum memorable dance numbers.3. Irving Berlin gained the Oscar, and supplied it to himself!
Berlin won the Oscar for the tune “White Christmas” in Holiday Inn, which he knew ahead due to the Christmas fact…he Christmas became the presenter of the award, and examine his personal call aloud because the recipient! Berlin remains the simplest person to ever announce their very own Oscar victory.4. White Christmas made a lot of money
White Christmas changed into the second one-maximum-grossing movie of 1954, dropping out best to The Caine Mutiny. Its haul on the container workplace? A whopping $12 million.5. Fosse posse
Bob Fosse, famed choreographer of level and movie, did uncredited choreography work on White Christmas, which may additionally assist explain why so a number of the dance sequences are so memorable.6. Vera-Ellen became a dancing queen
Vera-Ellen become a trained dancer lengthy earlier than this movie, and she or he’d even been a Radio City Rockette—one of the youngest ever. She began dancing at age 10 and one in every of her antique Christmas schoolmates for dance elegance became none aside from Doris Day.7. The White Christmas forged’s a while had been everyChristmas where in the vicinity
Twenty-six-12 months-vintage Clooney played older sister Betty and 33-yr-vintage Vera-Ellen performed the younger sister Judy. Even more striking is the age difference between Rosemary and her male counterpart. Crosby changed into fifty one, falling in love on display screen with 26-year-vintage Clooney. Meanwhile, Kaye turned into the same age as his onscreen love performed through Vera-Ellen.
Related: The Best Christmas Movies Ever8. Diplomacy rules…
After wrapping the very last shot, it was learned that the king and queen of Denmark had been on set travelling. And that’s quite weird in and of itself. But one of the manufacturers additionally wanted to electrify the royals, and satisfied the complete forged and group to “reshoot” the very last scene with an target audience.9. But there was no film in the digital camera
Oh, and Crosby wasn’t there due to the fact, hilariously, he had already left to move play golf. Rumor has it the king and queen of Denmark were pleased to look at the taking pictures and had no Christmas concept they’d been fooled.10. ‘White Christmas’ changed into complete of other famous names
In the finale’s tune, “Gee, I Wish I Was Back In the Army,” there may be a namecheck to actual-existence entertainers, in particular the ones famous for doing USO suggests for the troops. The lyric cites Jolson (Al), Hope (Bob) and Benny (Jack). But whilst the song became written, earlier than the film become forged, Crosby himself became call-checked inside the music. It turned into originally Hope, Jolson and Crosby in the track. Once he changed into forged, they determined to rewrite the lyric in an effort to keep away from confusing the audience.11. There are 2 one of a kind White Christmas soundtracks
Because Clooney became underneath agreement to a unique song writer, there are two versions of this film’s soundtrack. The business enterprise that owned the studio soundtrack rights to the film rerecorded Clooney’s components with Peggy Lee and put out the soundtrack that manner. Clooney’s own label, but, had her rerecord 8 songs from the movie and that they placed out their own soundtrack.12. Danny Kaye nearly wasn’t inside the ‘White Christmas’ cast
Kaye is perhaps maximum recognised to the general public at huge for his function in White Christmas, but it nearly wasn’t his. In truth, it changed into written with Fred Astaire in thoughts. Sadly, Astaire retired before they shot it, so the studio then became to…Donald O’Connor, maximum well-known for his rag-doll dance sequences in Singing within the Rain. After O’Connor were given sick, though, the studio ultimately wised up and employed the proper guy for the process, and the rest is Kaye records.thirteen. Who’s that kid?
The film hinges at the “sister act” being regarded by way of the famous Wallace & Davis, and the 2 show up due to a letter from an antique military pal, Benny Haynes—who just happens to be the brother of the 2 singers in question. There’s a moment even if the girls display a recent photo of Benny to the 2 well-known singers, and if you thought that photo rang a bell for you, it likely did…as it’s Carl Switzer, well-known for gambling Alfalfa within the unique Little Rascals.14. Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye improv
The girls carry out a song called “Sisters” within the movie, at the dinner theater where they meet our principal characters. Later, in an try to stall for time, the male characters re-perform the equal track—lip-syncing and dressed inside the girls’ costumes. It’s one of the maximum memorable and hilarious moments of the movie, and it become no longer in the script in any respect. It become the result of the actors simply horsing round on-set between takes, and the director saw them, and magic turned into born.15. More improv!
In the scene Christmas wherein Crosby ends up singing “Count Your Blessings” to Clooney’s character to try to comfort her, he first offers her a sandwich and a tumbler of buttermilk. He even muses approximately what styles of desires one may have based totally on the choice of sandwich. As it turns out, almost all that communicate become improvised by using Crosby and wasn’t even inside the script in any respect. In fact, Crosby turned into a high-quality improviser at some point of the taking pictures of the movie.
Related: The Best Hallmark Christmas Movies of All Time16. Famous loved ones
You probable already guessed that Rosemary Clooney is related to George Clooney, and you’re accurate in that assumption. Good paintings! She’s his aunt. But what you in all likelihood did now not recognize is that some other well-known actor become Rosemary Clooney’s personal son: Miguel Ferrer, an actor perhaps most well-known from RoboCop and NCIS: Los Angeles, however who changed into an performed voice actor as well.17. Extra! Extra!
Perhaps the most well-known extra in White Christmas indicates up at some stage in the “You Done Me Wrong” number Betty sings on the Carousel Club, with Bob in the audience. As she belts out traces like “to ship me a Joe who had winter and snow in his heart…wasn’t clever,” she’s joined through four male dancers, one in all whom might look a tiny bit familiar…because it’s George Chakiris, who received an Oscar for playing Bernardo in West Side Story!18. Before automobile-tune
Vera-Ellen isn’t virtually making a song on this movie. There’s only one scene in which it’s her real voice, and it’s while the organization is getting off the teach in Vermont re-making a song the chorus to “Snow.” Otherwise, her voice is being dubbed by using Clooney or a singer named Trudy Stevens.19. Introducing, VistaVision!
It turned into the primary movie in VistaVision, which turned into a present day better-resolution version of the standard 35mm movie format. VistaVision simplest lasted seven years, however is credited with inspiring huge-format filmmaking like the IMAX 70mm.
Next, learn all about the classic Christmas film, It’s A Wonderful Life.