When lazy Bing Crosby decides to leave show business for the easy life of running a Connecticut farm, things take a left turn when he decides that’s even more work. His solution is to open a special supper nightclub open only 15 days a year: on holidays.
That’s the set up…that’s Holiday Inn.
Some of you might question if this is truly an Universal film. Well, sort of. Paramount original produced the film, but they sold it to MCA/Universal for television distribution…so it counts. So there.
This musical benefits from one of the best selections of musical tunes ever assembled for a movie musical. Irving Berlin was on fire when he put together these films. While today it seems like tame stuff, it really popped at the time and the catchy melodies and rhythms are sure to intoxicate even the most sober viewer.
In short, I think this movie is pure magic.
Now, let’s dispense with the unpleasantness. The song “Abraham” does include performers in blackface and the character of “Mamie” is a stereotype commonly presented at the time. Minstrel shows were slowly dying out at this time, but still greatly influenced entertainment in Irving Berlin’s era. “Mamie” characters with all their politically incorrect costumes ala Aunt Jemima certainly can trigger feelings today, but let’s face it. Hollywood musicals didn’t have many realistic characters to begin with. These scenes are unfortunate, but if one can look past them, a wondrous musical entertainment shall unfold before you.
What people always remember about the film is the fantastic rendition of White Christmas at the fireplace in the open act of the film. What people tend to forget is the wonderfully comic performance Fred Astaire, possibly the best performance of his career.
This is a lighter performance from Bing Crosby than his other great Christmas film, Going My Way. (I’ll get to that other film in a minute.) Though Bing barely sings in Going My Way, it has a much stronger emotional punch than his other two Christmas films. If you haven’t had the opportunity to see his less seen film, I urge you to give it a look.
As for White Christmas, many prefer that film due to…well, frankly it is in color and not black and white. I always point to this, Danny Kaye is not Fred Astaire and was actually the third pick for the role (Fred Astaire and Donald O’Connor were looked at first. Astaire passed and O’Connor was injured.) Many state that White Christmas avoids the racism of Holiday Inn, but I rebutt this notion. While “Abraham” is done in black face, the song itself solemnly celebrates Abraham Lincoln’s presidency. In White Christmas, they have a sequence that is NOT in black face, but outwardly embraces minstrel musical tradition. So now, they are celebrating this racist art form but they didn’t dress up exactly, so they get a pass? I don’t know. I think you have to take each as an entertainment reflecting the Hollywood standards during its production.
Songs like “Easter Parade” and “White Christmas” have certainly entered the great American songbook. Each tune is readily heard on the holiday they were meant to represent. Oddly, the makers of the film thought the more forgettable “Be Careful, It’s My Heart” was going to be the hit. What were they thinking?
Many of the tunes had memorable themes beyond the holiday…the staging themselves had “hooks.” We all remember the fireplace for “White Christmas,” but viewers of the film will also remember moments like Fred Astaire and Marjorie Reynolds jumping through a paper heart on Valentine’s Day, the aforementioned blackface sketch for Lincoln’s Birthday, the minuet played for Washington’s Birthday breaks into a jazz number every time Fred tries to plant a smooch on Marjorie, a drunken New Years tap number (that was apparently the seventh take with Fred doing shots between each take…he lit up the screen and was lit all in one), and my personal favorite: the Fourth of July fireworks dance. Originally, Labor Day was to get a tune, which was cut, when they added a patriotic number….much in the public’s thoughts after the attack on Pearl Harbor that preceded the release of the film and happened during production.
So settle into your comfy PJs. Stoke up the fireplace. Put your feet up. Enjoy one of the great entertainments produced in the 20th century.