White Christmas [1954 film]

Absolute mess. Predictable yet illogical. You can see where they want things to go from a mile away, yet they use the clumsiest of plot devices to get them there. I don't know why it survived over the years. The Shop Around the Corner should hold its place in the pantheon. At least I've now ticked it off my list and will never have to watch it again. There's also a dose of military propaganda thrown in for good measure. I can't stand Bing Crosby. Self-satisfied air permeates all his roles. I used to adore Danny Kaye when I was a kid; now I find him tolerable, but I can't quite feel that childhood spark. Apparently Vera-Ellen was bulimic, and some of her costumes were designed to hide her skinniness.

Thankfully our copy of this has the English original version (ie White Christmas), as well as Italian and some other languages. We hadn't seen it before, and were surprised how much we liked it. Excellent singing and dancing which didn't go on too long, and a quite emotive story line at the end.

Light romance, misunderstandings, great choreography, some humour, an escape on the train... and, eventually, snow. What more could one want from a classic Christmas film?

Definitely recommended if you like older musical Christmas films.

Longer review: https://suesdvdreviews.blogspot.com/2025/12/white-christmas-bing-crosby-danny-ka...

Yes, it's a classic, but mostly it's an excuse to film staged night-club and Broadway dance numbers. Which is fine, but not exactly a Christmas thing, except for the plot to justify the title number.
But boy can Danny Kaye dance!

A pair of old Army buddies are working in show business and one of the buddies feels his friend is a workaholic. To remedy this he wants to hook is friend up with a lady, any lady, just so he can get 45 minutes to himself. They review a sister act and they both find the act attractive. Needless to say they end up in Vermont, saving Christmas and the General that they fought under in WWII.

Our families go to Christmas movie.

Broadway producers put on a show to save their buddy's ski lodge.

The sad excuse for a script exists purely to hang musical numbers on, and the musical numbers aren't that great.

Concept: D
Story: D
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: C
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: C
Acting: C
Music: B

Enjoyment: C

GPA: 1.9/4

Acting: 5.0; Theme: 4.5; Content: 5.0; Language: 5.0; Overall: 4.5

Two song-and-dance teams team up to help save the failing Vermont inn of their former commanding general. Great musical and holiday favorite. Highly recommend.

***December 8, 2024***

a Holiday favorite...Bing Crosby & Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney..