Well, it’s time for my annual rewatch of White Christmas.
I feel like every time I watch White Christmas I notice or learn something new. Here are ten fun facts about White Christmas:
1. Vera-Ellen’s singing voice was dubbed by Trudy Stevens. You can hear her real voice very briefly singing in the “arrival in Pine Tree” scene at the railroad station where the foursome sings the opening lines of “Snow”.
2. Even though Betty was the older Haynes sister, Rosemary Clooney was actually seven years younger than Vera-Ellen. When the film came out, Rosemary was 26 and Vera-Ellen was 33.
3. Also, Bing Crosby, who played Rosemary’s love interest, was 51 when the movie came out.
4. White Christmas was the highest-grossing movie of 1954 with a box office take of $12 million. It was the biggest hit of director Michael Curtiz’s career, who also directed classics such as Casablanca and The Adventures of Robin Hood.
5. Danny Kaye was cast at the last minute. Originally Donald O’Connor was to be cast as Phil Davis, which would have reunited O’Connor with Vera-Ellen. But illness forced him to drop out which led to the casting of Danny Kaye.
6. After Danny Kaye was cast, the role of Phil Davis had to be reworked as Kaye was not as proficient a dancer as O’Connor. This led to dancer John Brascia being partnered with Vera-Ellen throughout much of the movie, particularly in the “Mandy” and “Choreography” numbers.
7. According to Rosemary Clooney, Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye’s “Sisters” performance was not originally in the script. They were goofing around on the set and the director thought it was so funny that he decided to film it.
8. While the costume designer goes unmentioned in the film, it is Edith Head, who, throughout her life, has won 8 Academy Awards for costume design.
9. This was not the first film to feature the song “White Christmas”. It was also sung by Bing Crosby in the films Holiday Inn and Blue Skies.
10. According to Wikipedia, “White Christmas” (1942) sung by Bing Crosby is the best-selling single worldwide, with estimated sales of over 50 million copies.
All facts sourced from IMDB and Wikipedia.
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