White Christmas (1954)

with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Vera-Ellen, Rosemary Clooney
directed by Michael Curtiz

I'm on a Danny Kaye tear at the moment, and seem to be watching a lot of his movies.  A lot.  What can I say, he cheers me up.

Most musicals have horrrible plots, and this is no exception.  I've always disliked Bing Crosby, and especially so in his later films, but with Kaye in the picture he's at least bearable.  Apparently, they had a really hard time finding Bing a costar.  Fred Astaire, quite rightly, thought the script was shit, and Donald O'Connor's talking mule sidekick had gotten him sick with horse flu, which was probably bad karma from making all those Francis movies.  Bing was determined to get Kaye into the picture, giving up 5% of his stake in the film's profits in order to do so.  They make an excellent team; I've always had a hard time making it through Bing Crosby movies because he's so stiff and normal and boring, but fortunately, Danny Kaye is just about as weird as they get.

Why this movie is good:

• This was one of Vera-Ellen's final films, and you can tell she was really working it.  If you can get past her mugging the camera every five minutes, it turns out that she's a hugely talented young lady.  Here's a clip from 'Wonder Man', a significantly worse Kaye vehicle in which she really shines
• Rosemary Clooney apparently made a name for herself later on as a singer, but she can act too, and she's really well suited for this role.  I love her Appalacian accent and 'tude.  As much as her makeup drives me crazy (what were they thinking with that lipstick?) we can tell that she's a very nice lady, with a very nice smile too.
• Bing Crosby, for all his faults as a screen presence (namely, boringness), has a beautiful voice.  Irving Berlin wrote some beautiful songs for him to sing, so double win.
• I'm not a fan of all of Bob Fosse's work -- 'Sweet Charity', for example, suffers from some especially horrific songwriting, but he sure knew how to direct ('Star 80' and that Dustin Hoffman biopic about the comedian come to mind).  He choreographs all the dance sequences.
• Finally, I love Danny Kaye, and I've always thought it too bad that so many of his movies were so mediocre.  In White Christmas, he's given some first-rate material, and it's probably here that he does the best work of his entire career (take that, Court Jester fans!).  Kaye was a generalist; he could dance, sing, and act, but when he's in a scene with his very talented costars, he quite appropriately lets them take center stage.  Watch his body language during 'the best things happen while you're dancing' number; it's Kaye watching Vera-Ellen intently, letting her lead.

the best things happen while you're dancing.

The art direction really drives me crazy.  All the actors are far too made up; the bright and garish colors and distracting.  I disliked the plot.  I disliked the housekeeper.  She's so fake.  I don't care about unemployed generals.  Crosby's romantic problems were so contrived.  Who goes for gossip over the real deal?

Actually, the more I watch this one, the more and more I am convinced that it is one of my favorite movies ever.  The music and the dancing are phenomenal.  I'm not really familiar with Michael Curtiz, but he did a good job here.  The screenplay is cheesy, corny, silly, and inane, but we get a few snappy lines here and there (Frank and Panama to the rescue), so it's not so terrible after all.   Mostly, however, I think White Christmas succeeds because it's quirky; it's clearly a big-budget musical, but, the cast seems to be relaxed, and to be having a good time.  Again, I don't know anything about Curtiz, but he was apparently open-minded enough to allow Kaye and Crosby to shoot an impromptu drag sequence, which many claim is one of the best parts of the film.

I prefer this one to Singin' in the Rain.  Gasp!  The dancing is better, the songs are better, and there's more time spent on character development.