Holiday Hits: White Christmas (1942 & 1954) Bing Crosby

1942 written by Irving Berlin specifically for the film, winner of  Oscar for Best Music, Original Song

reproduced in the film named after the hit song in 1954, the first VISTAVISION film format..Danny Kaye replaced Donald O Connor who replaced Fred who had retired by 54…

The clip from White Christmas is the final portion of the film with “Gee I Wish I was Back in the Army..” ending with the color finale at the 6:05 mark, with Crosby, Danny Kaye and cast..

IMDb facts:

• The set of the Holiday Inn was reused by Paramount 12 years later for the musical White Christmas (1954), also starring Bing Crosby and composed by Irving Berlin.

• As of 2007, “White Christmas” is the best selling music single ever.

• The proceeds from the New York City premiere went to the Navy Relief Society.
• Irving Berlin got the idea for the film after writing the song “Easter Parade” for his 1933 show “As Thousands Cheer”, and planned to write a play about American holidays, but it never materialized. He later pitched the idea to Mark Sandrich who got the ball rolling for this film.
• Some controversy surrounded the history of the song “White Christmas” when it was reported in a 1960 news item that Berlin wrote the song in 1938, which would have made it ineligible for an Academy Award nomination. But a biography and modern sources agree it was written for this film, and the sheet music has a 1942 copyright date.

And Fred Astaire’s New Year’s Eve number:

For the “drunk” dance, Fred Astaire had two drinks of bourbon before the first take and one before each succeeding take. The seventh (last) take was used in the film.