White Christmas

The movie White Christmas will always be a sentimental favorite of mine because my mom loved it so much.  Every time I watch it I think of her so I was thrilled to be able to see it on the big screen last night in honor of its 70th Anniversary (I bought a ticket as soon as the Fathom's Big Screen Classics series lineup was announced last December!).  After collaborating on a Christmas show while fighting in World War II, Bob Wallace (Bing Crosby) and Phil Davis (Danny Kaye) continue performing together after the war and become big stars.  They meet the Haynes Sisters, Betty (Rosemary Clooney) and Judy (Vera-Ellen), after they are tricked into seeing their act.  Wallace and Davis eventually follow the sisters to Vermont where they are booked for the holidays at the Columbia Inn and discover that their former General, Tom Waverly (Dean Jagger), owns the inn and is in financial trouble due to the lack of snow.  Bob has the idea of staging their show on Christmas Eve to bring people to the inn and Phil has the idea of getting Bob and Betty together.  I have seen this movie so many times and I eagerly anticipate all of my favorite scenes, including the iconic number "Sisters" performed by the Haynes Sisters (my sisters and I can recreate this for you for a small fee) and, more hilariously, by Wallace and Davis (Danny Kaye is having way too much fun in this scene), the big song and dance numbers as Wallace and Davis rehearse the show (my favorite is "Mandy" as Vera-Ellen is flipped over and over as she descends a set of stairs), the scenes where Emma (Mary Wickes), General Waverly's housekeeper, eavesdrops on every phone conversation in her role as President of the New England chapter of Busybodies Anonymous (I laugh at everything she says), the emotional reunion of the 151st regiment to honor General Waverly (this always brings tears to my eyes), and, of course, the title song at the end of the show complete with snow falling in the background.  I don't think I will ever get tired of watching this Christmas classic and it was so much fun to see it with a big crowd (I don't think there was an empty seat) who clapped and cheered after every musical number.  You have one more chance to see this on the big screen tonight (go here) and I highly recommend getting a ticket.

Note:  The full lineup for the 2025 Fathom's Big Screen Classics series hasn't been announced yet but the January selection is The Goonies.