“I'm dreaming of a White Christmas, just like the ones I used to know.” Bing Crosby first sang those words in 1941 on the radio. A few months later, he recorded it in the studio for the 1942 film, Holiday Inn. For the rest of his life, he would sing the song more times than probably anything else he ever did. Over 70 years later, the song, written by Irving Berlin, is still the best-selling single ever recorded and likely the most recognized Christmas song from the last century.

The song played a central role in two Crosby films, the previously mentioned Holiday Inn, which introduced the song, and the 1954 film White Christmas. Both were made at Paramount and aside from taking place at inns and featuring the song, the two movies couldn't be more different.

Holiday Inn pairs Crosby with Fred Astaire for the first of two times. They play Jim Hardy and Tom Hanover, a pair of performers who are currently having success with Lila Dixon (Virginia Dale). Jim thinks he's going to marry Lila, break up the act and live on a farm, but those plans go awry when he learns that Lila is really in love with Tom. He still insists on becoming a farmer, so he decides to go to Connecticut (that's farming country for 1940's New Yorkers) anyway. After a year of this, he finally figures out that farming's not his racket. Not one to admit defeat, Jim decides to open an inn that's only open on holidays. It's called the “Holiday Inn!”

Thankfully for this venture, he has a partner – Linda Mason (Majorie Reynolds) and things go great. On every holiday, they perform a novelty number, leaving the guests going home happy. But Tom comes up to visit and Jim's afraid that Tom will steal Linda, too and does whatever he can to keep them apart.

The movie was directed by Mark Sandrich, which should be a familiar name for fans of the movies Astaire made with Ginger Rogers, since he directed most of them. With that in mind, it's easy to see why Holiday Inn feels more like a musical from the late 1930s than one from the early 1940s. Still, it's a magical movie, even if the blackface “Abraham” number is a bit unsettling today.

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Twelve years later, Paramount was looking to strike gold again and the time was ripe for another Astaire/Crosby team-up. Astaire had just done The Band Wagon for MGM, one of the biggest hits of his career, and Crosby continued to astound audiences. So, in 1954, Paramount picked an Astaire/Crosby project to inaugurate the new VistaVision widescreen process. However, plans went awry when Astaire turned the studio down and second choice Donald O'Connor (Singin' In The Rain) got sick. So, they picked the extremely popular comedian Danny Kaye.

The end result was White Christmas, chock-full of new Irving Berlin songs and Michael Curtiz (Casablanca, Yankee Doodle Dandy) directing. It is perfection, even better than Holiday Inn. Thanks to Kaye infusing the film with a sense of humor missing from musicals of the day, it remains incredibly fresh. Kaye and Crosby are teamed with Vera-Ellen and Rosemary Clooney (George's aunt), two incredibly beautiful women who go toe-to-toe with the men.

As for White Christmas' charming story, it centers on two World War II vets (Kaye and Crosby) who go on to be Broadway stars together. While in Miami, they meet a pair of sisters (Vera-Ellen and Clooney) who are going to Vermont for a stint at an inn (that looks a lot like a certain inn from another movie). In an effort to get his friend set up with one of the girls, Kaye gets Crosby to go with them and they find out that their old general runs the inn. Now, it's time to put on a show, fall in love and sing “White Christmas.”

White Christmas is far better a movie than it should be, likely thanks to Curtiz's direction. This was made at the tail end of his legendary career, but it was clear that his talent was not waning. The choreography is captured in a believable way, although the “Mandy” number might be a little hard for real inn to pull off. It's also interesting to see that Curtiz did understand how to use the new VistaVision format, even though he had been making movies since the silent days. Clearly, he welcomed the new technology and understood how to use the wide frame to his advantage.

Holiday Inn and White Christmas remain timeless holiday classics, but not just because of the immortal song. The fact is that these movies aren't really about Christmas. They're about time with friends, finding loved ones and helping others. They reflect two very different times in Hollywood, but the magic of Crosby's singing, dancing from Astaire and Vera-Ellen and comedy from Kaye. If you need a cheerful few hours, this week or any time of the year, these are the best.

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image: Wikimedia Commons