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White Christmas – one of the most beloved songs and movie classics of all time, starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye
Who doesn’t know and love that song? Irving Berlin wrote it in 1940. Bing Crosby first performed it on December 25, 1941, on his CBS radio show. In May 1942 he recorded it, and in August of that year, he could be seen singing it on screen in the hit movie Holiday Inn. Soon it was at the top of the charts, where it remained for eleven weeks, and in early 1943 it won the Oscar® for Best Song. It hit #1 again in 1945 and 1947 and went on to hold the record as all-time bestselling single for over 50 years.
35 Surprising ‘White Christmas’ Movie Facts About the Cast, Songs & More Nearly 70 years after its release, White Christmas still resonates with viewers as one of the most memorable, heartwarming and nostalgic Christmas movies of all time. Featuring legendary actors like Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen and Dean Jagger, the classic 1954 film centers around two World War II veterans-turned-performers who team up with a sister act to help their former commanding officer save his failing Vermont inn.
Irving Berlin presented the Oscar for “White Christmas” to himself. In 1943, the composer was an Oscar presenter for Best Original Song, and he ended up reading his own name as the winner, for the Holiday Inn rendition of “White Christmas.” He joked with the audience, “I’m glad to present the award. I’ve known him for a long time.”
One of the film’s funniest numbers wasn’t originally in the story. Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye were simply goofing around on set and director Michael Curtiz found it so hilarious that he wrote the scene in. Apparently, the actors found it comical, too: The laughing during the number is real! The take in the film was the best one they could get out of the two, who kept cracking each other up.
Danny Kaye was the class clown on set. The actor apparently caused plenty of retakes by making everyone break character with his humor. His on-screen jokes and antics had everyone cracking up while filming.
Vera-Ellen was a trained dancer long before this film, and she’d even been a Radio City Rockette—one of the youngest ever. She began dancing at age 10 and one of her old schoolmates for dance class was none other than Doris Day.
Bob Fosse, famed choreographer of stage and film, did uncredited choreography work on White Christmas, which may help explain why so many of the dance sequences are so memorable.
After wrapping the final shot, it was learned that the king and queen of Denmark were on set visiting. And that’s pretty weird in and of itself. But one of the producers also wanted to impress the royals and convinced the entire cast and crew to “reshoot” the final scene with an audience. But there was no film in the camera. Oh, and Crosby wasn’t there because, hilariously, he had already left to go play golf. Rumor has it the king and queen of Denmark were thrilled to watch the shooting and had no idea they’d been fooled.
