White Christmas, Paramount's belated follow-up to the 1942 hit
Holiday Inn, was the studio's first VistaVision production. A veritable warehouse full of oldie-but-goodie
Irving Berlin tunes are woven into the film's simplistic plotline, along with a handful of new songs, of which "What Can You Do With a General?" is the
least memorable.
Bing Crosby and
Danny Kaye (replacing an ailing
Donald O'Connor) play nightclub entertainers Bob Wallace and Phil Davis, while
Rosemary Clooney and
Vera-Ellen are cast as singing-sister act Betty and Judy. The foursome travel to Vermont to visit Bob and Phil's WII commanding officer, General Waverly (
Dean Jagger, who looks and sounds like Dwight D. Eisenhower!), who now runs a rustic old inn. Discovering that the general is in dire financial straits, the four entertainers secretly make plans to bail the old guy out with a big musical show, enlisting the aid of Bob and Phil's army buddies. Corny in the extreme, White Christmas evidently struck a responsive note with film fans; it was the high-grossing picture of 1954, and a decade later proved to be a ratings bonanza when it was given its network-TV premiere. Of the four stars, Crosby comes off best, especially when singing the title song at the beginning and end of the film; Kaye is a bit overshadowed this time out, though he's quite funny camping it up in a "drag" version of
Irving Berlin's "Sisters." Still a big favorite on the home-video circuit, White Christmas may not be the best
Bing Crosby musical on the market, but it's certainly one of the most heartwarming. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide