I don't know about the rest of you, but at 69 years old, this is the best Christmas movie I have ever seen. When I was a young boy, I got to stay up late each Christmas and watch this movie with my parents and brother. What wonderful memories! Today, I not only watch this movie at Christmas, but I have come to celebrate Christmas in July starting with this great movie followed by "Going My Way" and end each year with "It's a Wonderful Life." I ALWAYS have a box of Kleenex on the coffee table. I can only hope this movie continues to bring love and happiness to all who see it.
We are the same age and for me this is a must during the Christmas season. The memories it brings, not so much of an era that I didn't live, but of watching it with family in the coziness of home evenings are indelible and very, very warm. It evokes so much.
I like Fred Astaire a lot but Danny Kay brought the humor out which I feel was a big part of making this movie successful along with the other actors and actresses.
I know it may sound corny, but my favorite moment is at the very end, just before the credits begin to roll. The camera is pulling back from the glorious stage set and stage/barn door framing a "real" snow scene. The viewer appears to be flying over the heads of all of the musicians and guests including the ex-GI's and their families. One gentleman among the seated guests, towards the middle right of the screen, stands up with glass in hand to toast a couple seated near him. It is like a perfect moment, a perfect celebration of tradition, love, color and all things that warm the heart. There has not been a month gone by since I first saw this classic on TV that I have not thought about that man toasting his friends, his life in 1954 and in some way, my life. God Bless you Sir who ever you are.
I know what you mean, although after 60 years of watching this film I noticed for the first time that the snowy landscape at the end of the movie doesn't exactly match the view out the back when they first open the barn doors. Still one of my sentimental favorite films.
Yes, exactly! It is also the part that I tear up every, single time! It’s like a flood of memories from Christmas times in the past, of loved ones no longer with us, and of a simpler, happier time in America.
My grandmother’s favorite movie. I was never interested in it until she passed. I even made fun of “Snow” when I would hear it in retail not knowing it was from the movie. Who wants to wash their face in snow?! When I sat and invested in it for the 1st time, I was blown away…and fell in love with it as my grandma did. Next to It’s A Wonderful Life, it will play in my Christmas movie rotation for the rest of my life. Thank you grandma!
One correction: In an interview with Rosemary Clooney that I saw, she said in the scene where Danny & Bing were the Haynes sisters lip-syncing "Sisters", they DID do a second take after the initial one where Bing cracked up at Danny's antics. But in viewing the dailys, Curtiz recognized that the first one evoked such a wonderful warmth and feeling that HE decided to use take #1.
White Christmas came out when I was one year old. I think I’ve probably seen it every year of my life. It actually BECAME Christmas for me. It’s one of the few ways I can actually return to the world of my childhood and relive those special memories. The true friendship between Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney shows through in the movie. It showed that it was not necessary to display sexual attraction to show true love between a man and woman. Rosemary in that famous black velvet dress was incredibly beautiful, but in a chaste, girl next door way. It’s a reminder of how good movies can inspire emotions without special effects, nudity and violence.
Have to watch White Christmas every year! Love to have others watch it with me. I did notice Bing's laughter in reaction to Danny's ad lib when they did the lip syncing of "Sisters" - Great! I'm glad the director kept it in.
Just a perfect holiday musical it has everything. outstanding cast wonderful music and lyrics a great script beautiful costumes by the great Edith Head. all in one movie one of my top 5 musicals of all time just marvelous entertainment
One of the highlights of my parent’s lives were when they won a contest and got a trip to New York and Radio City Music Hall to see this film when it came out.
The movie came out when I was 6 years old. I have come to love this movie and my wife and I watch it every year. Danny Kaye is the best. My favorite Christmas album is Bing Crosby's "White Christmas". It sad that they are all gone now, but when I watch the movie, they live again, "if only in a dream".
Whenever I feel down, I watch this movie on DVD - a classic or the ages. Besides the expected performances from the stars, a couple of standout moments are towards the end when Dean Jagger sees the battalion assembled for the performance and, secondly, when Anne Whitfield, who plays his granddaughter, sees Dean Jagger come down the stairs in his uniform. Classic moments.
@@thewilytroutesq5260 I highly recommend her in the Gertrude Berg Show or "Mrs. G Goes to College" she plays the owner of the Maxfield Apartments Winona Maxfield and of course ends up being everybody's pal---great chemistry between her and Gertrude!
Loved this. Wish they would have mentioned the chemistry between Kaye and Vera Ellen in one of the most elegant dance sequences in film history, when they leave the restaurant and dance out on the beach.
This was a bit of a reunion for Kaye and Ellen. Vera had been his frequent co-star in Kaye’s earliest movies for Samuel Goldwyn, like Wonderman and The Kid from Brooklyn.
This is one of my favorite dance scenes of all films I have ever seen. Vera-Ellen dances so beautifully in it, and Danny Kaye does a commendable job of keeping up with her. It certainly is elegant as you say. Her dancing in some of the film’s other scenes with John Brascia is stupendous. For some reason, Hollywood used her only in musicals and yet she was a very capable actress and could have interpreted roles in films that required no dancing as did some of her contemporaries as they grew older and their physical limitations prevented them from dancing as they did when they were younger.
Danny Kaye was extremely sexy. They always cast him as a clown because he wasn’t “classically” handsome. To me he was very sensual and an enormous talent.
I could not agree with you more. Vera-Ellen is to dancing what Jo Stafford is to singing, two of the most outstanding artists in their craft that have been forgotten over the years.
I can't recall the year when I first saw White Christmas .... although I know for sure I was in my early teens .... I am now 72 years old .... and I have never missed seeing it every Christmas in over 50+ years ... Fortunately they do tend to show it several times during the Christmas season ..
I was surprised to learn Vera Ellen only made one film after this. I find her just breathtaking to watch. But she will forever be remembered by this film so maybe it was a good time to retire. This film has everything:incredible music and dancing, a very touching story, suspense and great chemistry. What a treasure.
Vera Ellen's daughter died, breaking her heart. She also suffered from dreadful arthritis. I believe these 2 sufferings greatly contributed to her stepping away from Hollywood.. May she RIP.
One reason for its success could be that WWII vets were famous for not talking about the war for decades. Watching the movie on TV with my dad in the '60s was a rare chance to witness him briefly relive, silently but with relish, events in his past long buried.
White Christmas brings the love, emotions and memories of all the loved ones lost as time marches on. It gives us a chance to really feel them with us again as we carry out those long ago traditions and put up those timeless decorations. Passing all that into the next generation.
I watch this movie every Christmas with my oldest daughter. We look forward to Christmas just to watch classics like this. Still love it. It is sad they all have passed away.
Yes, such a tragedy they all passed away... Rosemary Clooney would be 93, Vera Ellen would be a spry 100, Danny Kaye would be 110, Bing Crosby and Dean Jagger would be 118. Then maybe they could put together a sequel!
My dad was also a captain in WWII serving in Europe, had the same uniform as Bing wore and was about the same size as him and Irish too. The similarities were breathtaking. We'd watch White Christmas together and when that song came on, I'd look over at dad and see the years streaming down which he'd try to hide.
That song was running through my head once smack in the middle of summer, so I went home that day and put on White Christmas and started feeling all happy and Christmasy. :)
I always cry when I see it. It's so incredibly touching and all the brave men and women who serve deserve big warm welcomes and kindness just like the General did in this movie!!
Great documentary. White Christmas my number 1 Christmas movie. Love it. Vera Ellen fantastic dancer and I have to say great legs. Thanks Vera. Danny, Bing, Rosemary, Dean, Mary Wicks great cast.
I just found this but I have to tell you you’re absolutely right. I’m sitting here watching White Christmas again for probably the 200th time and sometimes I watch it in the summer. Sometimes I watch it in the spring but there’s no movie quite like it. It’s amazing and it’s just such a warm heartwarmingmovie that we all need. Thanks for sharing this behind-the-scenes view.
I think the extra special thing about the film is the combination of Bing Crosby’s and Rosemary Clooney’s voices. Both are so warm. Against the classic snowy setting of olde Vermont, with the beams and roaring fires, the characters were feeling nostalgic about the way life used to be, which the soldiers felt, and we do too. Even if the main characters were performers from the city and we’re from the 2020s, it still hits some vague feeling of “yeah, back then”. But those voices warm up all that Christmas snow. They make you want to cuddle up by fire and slow life down.
As my father would say, "They don't make 'em like this ANY more." I enjoy it every year on DVD and sometimes when it's broadcast. I was lucky enough to see it live at our local theatre one year. The play was EXCELLENT! I even told the cast and crew that I would have bought a DVD of their performance if it was available. Of course it wasn't, but I would have. I now have White Christmas AND Holiday Inn on DVD and love them both. I remember in 1976 when a Bicentennial train came through our town and we went to see it. Bing Crosby's record of White Christmas was part of the display and I will never forget that.
@manuelorozco7760 No, I enjoy both versions. I just wish I could get the stage version on DVD - you know, the best of both worlds. Thinking about snow might cool off things where I am. It will be 101 tomorrow, which is hot here.
"White Christmas" is a classic that brings memories for families yearly to look forward to. A time for families to plan a get together of a viewing a tradition with popcorn and hot chocolate!
December 28th, 2022....another Christmas has been ushered in, delivered, and the memories are turning into familiar old ghosts........this film takes me back to when I was a kid in the 70s, watching it with my mom and dad.....and makes me yearn for days of "shopping downtown", little Christmas traditions, the nostalgia of train travel, and a time when respect ruled the day. I wish everybody a prosperous and happy new year.
Thank you! It is the best of the best Christmas gift, course Jesus was the very best of all. However, this song and movie evokes such great memories for one and all of Christmas’ long past, recent and future ones. It’s a treasure of a movie and hope future generations truly will remember this movie and music.
Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords! ✝️🙏❤ Amen! ✝️🙏❤ Jesus Christ is coming very soon! ✝️🙏❤ Pray to God and Jesus Christ! ✝️🙏❤ Read your Bible daily! ✝️🙏❤ Go to a Bible Believing Church every Sunday! ✝️🙏❤ " Even so, come, Lord Jesus "! ✝️🙏❤ Jesus Christ offers eternal life and a new heart free from the bondage of sin if you repent and believe on His death, burial and resurrection! ✝️🙏❤ God bless you and keep you in the Holy Name of Jesus Christ! ✝️🙏❤
I do believe many see Bing genuinely, laughing. Danny and Bing together, was good. Danny harmonized so beautifully with Bing, in the song White Christmas. I wish that version was available on cd.
Our Family’s Very Favorite Christmas Movie of all Times. Thanks To all of the cast, Irving Berlin and and the warm thoughts of Holidays with All of the people we love.
I just came across this video after watching "White Christmas" again the other day. My Dad loved it. I was born in 54, the same year it was released & we used to watch it every Christmas morning while we waited for the Turkey to cook. He loved Bing Crosby & I think it reminded him of his days in the Army in WW2. He passed in 96, but I still always watch it every Christmas as I did again this year & think of him & our family back then.
I haven't seen this. It reminded me why when I was young, would wait all year for this to come on tv. When I watched this, I remembered what really attracted me to this movie the most...the scene where they're on the train in the dining car, on their way to Vermont, singing "Snow" (that is my favorite part). Also, I remember being fascinated by rail travel. Wanderlust!!!
Miss being able to just turn on the tv at Christmas time and see all the great movies made during those wonderful years. Now we have to search all these crazy stations and hope the ones we enjoyed in our teens and 20s are somewhere in that rectangular box.
Watch it every single year...know all the dialogue. Top Ten. The red used on the opening and in the costumes at the end is not of this earth. Impossible to recreate.
I once interviewed George Chakiris and he was so generous in his memories of WC (which is my favorite Christmas film as well) and posed with me like Rosemary Clooney and he in the famous four man nightclub scene.
When Bing and Danny did the send-up of the “Sisters” song, they were lip syncing to the girls recording, not singing it themselves, so I don’t know what the guy in the commentary is talking about, that it was obvious they were lip syncing- of course they were! But it is one of the funniest things in the movie.
My dad looked like Bing he was even called Bing as a nickname. I watch it every year just to be reminded of my dad. I saw White Christmas when I was about seven and fell in love with Rosemary Clooney.
Thank u so much for posting this!!! I just took my kids on a Christmas 🎄 vacation and they saw snow for the first time, so we topped of a great day with a perfect 👌🏻 movie 🎥 celebrating snow ❄️!! This movie is a tradition in our family!! It is truly timeless and I have so much nostalgia connected to it! My sister and I used to perform this song for our family and my girls did the same thing!! Tonight my son watched it and is finally old enough to sit through it and enjoy it! It is so great to watch him discover it! What a timeless masterpiece!!! Great commentary on the film!! Thank u!
Every year l look forward to watching my favorite Christmas movies. White Christmas, lt's A Wonderful Life and the original The Bishop's Wife with Cary Grant and Lorretta Young.
My husband and I love this movie! It was released before our time, but it's one of our favorites. We watch it probably 3 or 4 times through the year and about 3 or 4 times in December (at least).
White Christmas and Miracle on 34th street,(the original) are my favorite Christmas movies.I love the music in White Christmas and much prefer it to Holiday Inn.
I binged watched White Christmas on Christmas Eve, and one of my favorite parts is the "Sisters" song by Bing and Danny. I notice Bing laughing a year or two ago and it's just perfect showing how much fun they had ! Love the gorgeous gowns worn byvthe ladies, too !!
When Bing cracks up from Danny hitting him with the feathers, you can tell it was real, from him but also look at the extras playing the customers watching. Their crack up is real too
"Anything Goes" teamed Crosby and Donald O'Connor after "White Christmas." But Crosby did work with O' Connor when he was a child actor in "Sing You Sinners."
The Vermont "poster" is actually the club car menu - which magically rights itself from horizontal to vertical (as do all the others) just before the song.
@@jaykauffman4775I caught one tonight. At the beginning of the big show, as the general enters, we see the housekeeper and granddaughter step back twice.
Got introduced to this by grandmother only last Christmas, and have seen it so many times since. Have a feeling I’ll be watching it every year for the rest of my life.
That movie has remained my favorite movie of all time. I watch it every Christmas!! I loved the costumes, the songs, the good will, the scenery and everything else that it has. I wish they still made movies that way today. I stopped watching movies and TV since they only do indoctrination and filthy in them. So, I don't have TV and won't pay for a movie!!
