24 movies Guaranteed to make you feel Christmassy

December 21st - White Christmas

Year : 1954 Director: Michael Curtiz Starring: Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera Ellen.

White Christmas

White Christmas where Snow and Show Business combine in a film where they try so hard to entertain it hurts. In this musical the Hollywood razzmatazz falls heavier than the snow in the mountains.

Ok I agree the plot is cheese central - but here goes. Two buddies from World War II Bob and Phil form an act after the war and take the nightclubs, radio and finally broadway by storm and become renowned producers. When putting on their next show in Florida two sisters (Betty and Judy) contrive to gain an audition, which due to unforeseen difficulties ends up with Bob and Phil helping the sisters to escape from the Sheriff. The four of them travel to a lodge in Vermont (as you would) where the sisters are booked for a Christmas Show. By sheer, coincidence - and you are not going to believe this, the lodge is owned by the boys former army commander (I said you wouldn't believe it). The lodge is failing due to the lack of snow and so the boys have to come up with a plan to help but what can they do? I would continue with the plot but at this points its starts to get even more ridiculous.

Definitely a product of a younger more innocent age. There is something quintessentially Christmassy about this film. This is despite its ridiculous plot, its overtly self consciously show business delivery, its ridiculous plot, its woeful and I mean woeful dialogue, oh and did I mention the ridiculous plot already? So what is it that makes this such a Christmas classic? Its the beautiful music and lyrics by Irving Berlin - obviously the song White Christmas (biggest selling single of all time) is a large part of this, but the rest of the tracks are also gems in their own right. Bing Crosby also adds his smooth wit and charm aplenty to the proceedings - it would have been interesting to see how the film would have turned out if Fred Astaire was cast alongside Bing (as was originally intended) instead of Danny Kaye. Apparently Astaire turned down the film after reading the script - on purely artistic grounds he was probably about right.

One question. Why do elderly relatives go on about this film so much that we have to watch it and then they fall asleep pretty much as soon as it starts? and then only wake up when you try and change TV channel? Or perhaps that was just my childhood.

White Christmas with Bing in full swing is at December 21st on our Christmas movies guide (USA edition).

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