‘White Christmas’
Still effortlessly charming after all these years, 1954’s White Christmas should be in your viewing rotation as we approach Christmas. The film stars Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye as Wallace and Davis, a pitch-perfect song and dance duo who take Broadway by storm following their deployment in World War II, with Vera-Ellen and Rosemary Clooney co-starring as a singing sister act. The plot is fairly simple and feel-good; the two duos end up in Pine Tree, Vermont, and set out to put together an act so good it’ll save the struggling country inn they’re staying in, which is owned by Wallace and Davis’ former general. Throw in an Irving Berlin score, some gorgeous dresses, and, of course, snow — that’s a recipe for success right there On a nerdier note, this movie was the first to use Paramount’s VistaVision widescreen process, and the coloring by Technicolor is as cheerful and bright as the season itself (especially in the musical numbers). You may assume that the quality would suffer as time goes on and everything goes digital, but it’s striking how great this movie still looks. They really just don’t make ’em like this anymore.