# "White Christmas" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 25, 2005, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177 "2005-12-25T17:36:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2005, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/1 "2005-12-25T17:36:59Z")
CBS seems to be showing this right now – it really is a much better movie than it deserves to be. Sappy, yes – but there’s some good snappy dialogue, and the dancing readlly is outstanding. (Vera-Ellen and Danny Kaye just did “The Best Things Happen While You Dance.” Blissful sigh.) ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2005, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/2 "2005-12-25T18:51:03Z")
They’ve just made it into a [stage musical](http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051130/stage_nm/stage_christmas_dc) – adding some great Irving Berlin tunes that have fallen by the wayside. I didn’t know this, but _Annie Get Your Gun_ is apparently the only Berlin show still commonly staged. Guess the music was a _lot_ better than the books. ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2005, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/3 "2005-12-25T19:09:07Z")
It was always one of our holiday faves as kids, and then I bought the movie and have it even more completely memorized than I already had. I love Danny Kaye. And the general. “We’ll follow the old man, wherever he wants to go…” And the final scene when they open the barn doors to the snow. Love it, love it. ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2005, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/4 "2005-12-25T19:07:54Z")
It was always one of our holiday faves as kids, and then I bought the movie and have it even more completely memorized than I already had. I love Danny Kaye. And the general. “We’ll follow the old man, wherever he wants to go…” And the final scene when they open the barn doors to the snow. Love it, love it. ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2005, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/5 "2005-12-25T19:08:52Z")
It was always one of our holiday faves as kids, and then I bought the movie and have it even more completely memorized than I already had. I love Danny Kaye. And the general. “We’ll follow the old man, wherever he wants to go…” And the final scene when they open the barn doors to the snow. Love it, love it. ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2005, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/6 "2005-12-25T19:10:36Z")
Sorry! ::slinks off into the snow:: ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2005, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/7 "2005-12-25T20:28:15Z")
It’s funny watching the whole Vera-Ellen/Danny Kaye subplot knowing now that DK was gay – gives a whole new layer to the whole thing. (Judy to Phil: “Aren’t I gay enough for you?”) (And my boss’s ex’s SIL is playing the Rosemary Clooney role in the stage version – it sounds like a lot of fun.) ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2005, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/8 "2005-12-25T20:42:59Z")
The “Sisters” drag number is one of the greatest moments in movie history. Man I had a crush on Danny Kaye as a little kid. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2005, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/9 "2005-12-25T21:50:35Z")
Danny Kaye (and we) got a break with his part in this film, as it was originally cast for Fred Astaire as a reprise of the part he played in “Holiday Inn”. It’s a fun movie, even with the overdubbing for Vera-Ellen’s singing. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2005, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/10 "2005-12-25T22:23:32Z")
I don’t particularly care for it. It’s overly sentimental treacle, and not a particularly good score overall. Everyone whose seen **Holiday Inn** considers this inferior, and it really doesn’t show either Kaye or Crosby at their best. It’s only suvived because it was in color. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2005, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/11 "2005-12-26T03:54:39Z")
I love this movie-I’ve been watching it since I was a kid and it’s a big favorite in our family. I always used to wonder why Vera-Ellen wore high-necked gowns-turns out she was anorexic and did so much damage to her body that she had to hide her bony neck. So sad. I also remember being crushed when my mom informed me that Bing Crosby was actually a child abuser. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2005, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/12 "2005-12-26T04:10:58Z")
I also love this movie. When I worked at a multimedia company I got hold of this movie in a weird format called CD-I, got to see it many times because we used as a demo. Sadly, the advances in technology have made the disks unplayable with new video cards and DVD-Players. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2005, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/13 "2005-12-26T04:40:34Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I don’t particularly care for it. It’s overly sentimental treacle, and not a particularly good score overall. Everyone whose seen **Holiday Inn** considers this inferior, and it really doesn’t show either Kaye or Crosby at their best. It’s only suvived because it was in color. YMMV. I prefer _White Christmas_ to _Holiday Inn_ because\* Holiday Inn\* just mostly doesn’t work for me. Although the bizarreness of the dance numbers has some camp value. The big-band-with-hoopskirts bit for Washington’s birthday is way silly; the blackface number for Lincoln’s birthday (if you’ve seen it you know I’m not making this up) is just jawdroppingly bizarre. Although to be frank, neither is a huge favorite for me. I have an Irving Berlin-shaped hole in my brain, apparently, because I don’t think he ever wrote a good song, and most of them are atrocious. Again, YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2005, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/14 "2005-12-26T05:37:34Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > I have an Irving Berlin-shaped hole in my brain Now that’s the most colorful metaphor I’ve heard applied to a classic pop composer since Oscar Levant said, “You gotta hand it to Cole Porter - he’s a rich boy who made good.” ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2005, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/15 "2005-12-26T10:33:06Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] It’s funny watching the whole Vera-Ellen/Danny Kaye subplot knowing now that DK was gay – gives a whole new layer to the whole thing. (Judy to Phil: “Aren’t I gay enough for you?”) QUOTE] Danny Kaye was gay?!!! Am I the last to know these things? Oh sure, he was handsome, funny x 25 and talented and could sing…but does that mean he is gay as a picnic basket? Where the hell is the memo on these kinda things? Walter Mitty will never be the same for me again.WAHHHHHHHHHHHHH. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2005, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/16 "2005-12-26T13:31:04Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > Danny Kaye was gay?!!! > > Am I the last to know these things? Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know you didn’t know. I was bummed, too. Esp. because of _White Christmas_, which is the main reason I had a crush on him. (And my first name IRL is Judy, so since that’s the Vera-Ellen character’s name … swoon.) It does add this whole surreal layer to the movie, though – Bing the child beater, Danny the gay guy, George’s aunt Rosemeary… Re: _Holiday Inn_ – it holds a special place in my heart because it’s the one with Fred, whom I worship – specifically, it has the Fourth of July number with the firecrackers, which is way too cool – but nothing says “Holiday Cheese” like _White Christmas_. There are years when I don’t see _Holiday Inn_, but I never miss a year with _White Christmas_. Though I did skip the last 10 minutes this year – Brian Boitano’s skating special was starting on another channel, I got through the “He Done Me Wrong” number, and the part where Rosemary gives Bing the knight on a white horse makes my teeth hurt. (To say nothing of Bing getting the angelic little children ready to perform … **shudder** ) ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2005, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/17 "2005-12-26T14:30:35Z")
I find I don’t care what they did as real people at all–I like these two movies alot. I prefer WC, because HI seems so backwards, racially. I always want to tell the cook to go get her purse and do a Geraldine on Bing. And the blackface is ridiculous. but Fred–Fred is wonderful, as is Bing. And Danny can be gay as maypole–I know Rock is(was), but it doesn’t change all those Doris Day movies for me. Suspension of disbelief includes facts for me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/18 "2005-12-28T17:06:51Z")
Just a small hijack to say hi and thanks to **twickster** and **jrfranchi** for the nice words. To paraphrase the Wizard of Oz (Dorothy):“Threads come and go so quickly here!” Thinking of watching White Christmas tonoc, but should study for the GRE… ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/19 "2005-12-28T17:21:07Z")
I’ve seen the film a few times, and it’s pretty good. I do love one exchange in it that shows how much Vermont has changed in the last fifty years. > [@](#): > > Crosby: What do you think would be a novelty [act] up here in Vermont? > > Kaye: Who knows? Maybe we could dig up a Democrat. > > Crosby: They’d stone him. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/20 "2005-12-28T17:23:15Z")
Bing Crosby was a child abuser? :eek: Man, I am the _last_ one to find out this stuff. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177.md?page=2)