"What kind of Christmas music do you have?" my mom asked as we prepared the Thanksgiving Day meal.
Holiday Inn was filmed in 1942 and stars Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds, Virginia Dale, and Walter Abel. The movie opens with Crosby, Astaire, and Dale giving their last performance as a song and dance trio. Crosby and Dale are supposed to be getting married and moving to a farm, but everyone is trying to find a way to break the news to Crosby that Dale's character has changed her mind. She's decided to stay in show business (and love) with Astaire. Finally, it's Walter Abel, playing the trio's slightly ridiculous manager, who lets the news slip. Crosby moves to the farm by himself, only to discover that he's a wash in the agricultural business. He decides to turn the farm into a inn/restaurant/theatre that is only open on holidays. After an awkward meeting, he hires Marjorie Reynolds to be the leading lady of his shows. Meanwhile, Dale's fickle character has left Astaire high and dry. Astaire shows up at the inn, drunk and looking for sympathy. He wakes up hungover and caught in another love triangle, this time with Crosby and Reynolds. In the end, the romantic problems get hashed out, and all four characters manage to find happily-ever-after by the following New Year's Eve. There are some amazing dance scenes along the way, including the awesome Fourth of July tap routine pictured below. I feel that I should warn my readers that there is one very politically incorrect song and dance routine in this film. Anyone who knows me, knows that I would be mortified to be thought culturally insensitive for recommending it. Having said that, I feel confident that this particular scene was not meant to be hateful but can be chalked up to a time period when standards were very different.
While Holiday Inn is a good year-round movie, White Christmas is a purely yule tide event. Filmed in 1954, this movie stars Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen. It begins with Crosby (a well known musical performer turned soldier) and Kaye (no name soldier with theatrical aspirations) performing a makeshift Christmas show for their fellow soldiers and retiring commander in a World War II army camp. Kaye ends up saving Crosby's life after the show and uses the leverage to become his professional partner when they return state side. After considerable success, the two end up watching a duet of sisters (Clooney and Ellen) as a professional courtesy, only to acquire matching crushes on the girls. 
They use an elaborate scheme (including a random bit of drag seen to the right) to get the girls out of trouble and end up following them to an inn in Vermont. They find the inn down on its luck due to unseasonably warm weather, and its insolvent proprietor is none other than their beloved, former commander. The guys move their entire Broadway-style show to the tiny inn, incorporate their new love interests, and try to drum up business. Along the way, they encounter a few romantic misunderstandings, but everything gets worked out. And the commander's spirits are boosted just in time for an iconic Christmas Eve show/blizzard.
The story sounds charming enough, but the real thrill of this movie is the dancing. Danny Kaye and Vera-Ellen break the ice with one of my favorite duets of all time. Kaye is best remembered as a funnyman, but that's only because he lived in the age of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. He was a decently talented dancer in his own right, but you might have to watch the movie twice before you notice. That's not due to a lack of skill on his part, but who can take their eyes off of Vera-Ellen?? As the actors prepare for the big show, you'll also witness two of the greatest tap performances set to film and a very nice example of modern dance (the "Choreography Number" and the "Abraham Number"). Anyone with a background in theater will appreciate these, but I think everyone will appreciate the Christmas cheer.
So, I'll be the first to admit that my taste in Christmas movies isn't exactly National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (a favorite of my hubby) or Dirty Santa. Mine is a little old fashioned, but then again, Christmas is a good time for that sort of thing. If you haven't seen these movies for yourself (and you like musicals or classic movies in general), I recommend you give them a try.
"Let me check....[reading] Bing Crosby's White Christmas...Bing and Friends Christmas with the Andrews Sisters, Louis Armstrong, and Ella Fitzgerald...Seasons Greetings from Frank Sinatra & AMP; Bing Crosby..."
Noticing a pattern yet? It's pretty obvious and probably a bit unusual for someone in my generation to be so hooked on Bing Crosby and other greats of the jazz age. But it was this conversation that got me thinking about why my taste in Christmas music is so specific, and I came to two conclusions. The first is that Christmas is such a limited time of year that I don't see the point in buying a bunch of music for it. As a result, I only buy Christmas music I really like, and why do I like Bing Crosby so much for this time year? The answer to that one is actually pretty simple: White Christmas and Holiday Inn. For those of you who don't know, both of these are classic movies starring Bing Crosby and a host of glamorous icons from Hollywood's heyday. The soundtracks are both Irving Berlin masterpieces, the costumes are classic, and the stories are clever.
Holiday Inn was filmed in 1942 and stars Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds, Virginia Dale, and Walter Abel. The movie opens with Crosby, Astaire, and Dale giving their last performance as a song and dance trio. Crosby and Dale are supposed to be getting married and moving to a farm, but everyone is trying to find a way to break the news to Crosby that Dale's character has changed her mind. She's decided to stay in show business (and love) with Astaire. Finally, it's Walter Abel, playing the trio's slightly ridiculous manager, who lets the news slip. Crosby moves to the farm by himself, only to discover that he's a wash in the agricultural business. He decides to turn the farm into a inn/restaurant/theatre that is only open on holidays. After an awkward meeting, he hires Marjorie Reynolds to be the leading lady of his shows. Meanwhile, Dale's fickle character has left Astaire high and dry. Astaire shows up at the inn, drunk and looking for sympathy. He wakes up hungover and caught in another love triangle, this time with Crosby and Reynolds. In the end, the romantic problems get hashed out, and all four characters manage to find happily-ever-after by the following New Year's Eve. There are some amazing dance scenes along the way, including the awesome Fourth of July tap routine pictured below. I feel that I should warn my readers that there is one very politically incorrect song and dance routine in this film. Anyone who knows me, knows that I would be mortified to be thought culturally insensitive for recommending it. Having said that, I feel confident that this particular scene was not meant to be hateful but can be chalked up to a time period when standards were very different.
While Holiday Inn is a good year-round movie, White Christmas is a purely yule tide event. Filmed in 1954, this movie stars Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen. It begins with Crosby (a well known musical performer turned soldier) and Kaye (no name soldier with theatrical aspirations) performing a makeshift Christmas show for their fellow soldiers and retiring commander in a World War II army camp. Kaye ends up saving Crosby's life after the show and uses the leverage to become his professional partner when they return state side. After considerable success, the two end up watching a duet of sisters (Clooney and Ellen) as a professional courtesy, only to acquire matching crushes on the girls. 
They use an elaborate scheme (including a random bit of drag seen to the right) to get the girls out of trouble and end up following them to an inn in Vermont. They find the inn down on its luck due to unseasonably warm weather, and its insolvent proprietor is none other than their beloved, former commander. The guys move their entire Broadway-style show to the tiny inn, incorporate their new love interests, and try to drum up business. Along the way, they encounter a few romantic misunderstandings, but everything gets worked out. And the commander's spirits are boosted just in time for an iconic Christmas Eve show/blizzard.
So, I'll be the first to admit that my taste in Christmas movies isn't exactly National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (a favorite of my hubby) or Dirty Santa. Mine is a little old fashioned, but then again, Christmas is a good time for that sort of thing. If you haven't seen these movies for yourself (and you like musicals or classic movies in general), I recommend you give them a try.
Merry Christmas!!!
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