I'm dreaming of a White Christmas (in June)

So I’m well aware that it’s June, but one of my favorite musical comedy films is “White Christmas” (1954), so too bad – I’m going to talk about it.  (And no, the title is not supposed to be racist.)  It’s a “jukebox musical,” just like “Singin’ in the Rain,” using songs from the Irving Berlin catalog - like the title song, duh - that had already been popular prior to the movie’s conception.

The main cast is outstanding, headlined by Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney (who were known for their pipes).  Danny Kaye, a comic actor and a great dancer, was cast opposite Crosby’s lead after Fred Astaire declined and Donald O’Connor of “Singin’ in the Rain” passed due to illness.  (Still exhausted from “Make ‘em Laugh”…?)

Vera Ellen, who was cast as Rosemary Clooney’s sister, was probably the best dancer of this era, having appeared as “Miss Turnstiles,” Ivy Smith, in “On The Town” with Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra.  Although she was a phenomenal dancer, she couldn’t sing, and so in the duet she sings with Clooney (“Sisters”), Clooney actually recorded both parts.

The story is of two WWII army buddies (Crosby & Kaye) who come home after the war and start a musical act, eventually becoming Broadway producers.  They agree to audition another musical act, the Haynes sisters, to join their company.  They are smitten with the two blondes at first sight and convince them to put on a show up in Vermont over the holidays.  But they get there and THERE’S NO SNOW.  They’re afraid no one’s going to come, and so they have to cook something up to save the hotel from closing down (and of course, they fall in love).  The plot is complicated and convoluted, with schemes, mix-ups, and twists, but it doesn’t matter, because it’s all a backdrop for the wonderful songs of Irving Berlin and fabulous dance numbers choreographed (though uncredited) by Bob Fosse.

The pairings of the producers and the sisters are clever – Crosby & Clooney are better at singing, and thus this forms the basis of their characters’ relationship.  Kaye and Vera Ellen are both better at dancing and funnier, so this forms the basis of their relationship.  Crosby & Clooney get the pretty songs, while Kaye and Vera Ellen get the flashy dance numbers.

But Crosby and Kaye do make a great team, especially in this scene, where they are covering for the sisters as they run for the cops and perform their number in drag, a la “Some Like it Hot":

There is a number entitled “Choreography” in which Danny Kaye’s character laments over what the spectacle of the Hollywood musical has done to the art of dance:

The theater, the theater, what happened to the theater?

Especially where dancing is concerned –

Chaps who did taps aren’t tapping anymore, they’re doing choreography

Chicks who did kicks aren’t kicking anymore, they’re doing choreography 

Bottom line, it's a great musical with a great cast, great music, and great dance numbers.  I enjoy it any time of the year, but if you want to check it out, it's always on cable in December.

There was a stage revival of this musical in Boston last year at the Wang.