White Christmas.
How many times have you heard Bing Crosby sing “White Christmasâ€, a song he introduced in 1942 and which is the best selling record ever in the United States?
You’ve heard it about a gazillion times, no?
Hum the tune to yourself. It’ll only take a moment. I’ll wait.
OK?
How many times have you seen the 1954 movie “White Christmas†starring, among others, Bing Crosby?
Probably somewhere shy of a gazillion, but still a few times, I’ll bet.
Here’s the question: In the movie, who sang the melody you just hummed to yourself?
Was it Bing?
No it wasn’t.
It was Rosemary Clooney. She sang the melody, and ol’ Bing sang the harmony part!
In addition, I also noticed for the first time that one of the main dancers in “White Christmas†was George Chakiris, who later went on to play the part of Bernardo in the movie West Side Story. Who knew?
I had these forehead slapping moments yesterday while watching “White Christmas†for the umpteenth time.
Damned if I don’t loin something every day.
Update: Should you be interested, here is a quiz you can take to determine how Christmas Movie Savvy you are. I scored a fair, at best, 6/10. Swiped from mtpolitics.net
Jimbo, you are correct about “White Christmas” — but I think that Der Binger did indeed sing the song originally in the film “Holiday Inn,” which was released a few years earlier. I think.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Christmas_%28film%29
Comment by david — December 17, 2006 @ 3:08 pm
David,
Yes he did, in the forties, when the song was first introduced.
Jimbo
Comment by Jim — December 17, 2006 @ 3:44 pm
We own a copy of White Christmas. We play it early in December to get into the Christmas spirit. I prefer White Christmas hands down to Holiday Inn!
Comment by buffy — December 17, 2006 @ 6:18 pm
I had the extreme pleasure of learning recently that Sheldon Leonard, producer of The Andy Griffith Show, is one and the same with the guy who played Nick, the bartender, in It’s A Wonderful Life.
Innit great when a beautiful thing comes together like that?
By the way, I am ADDICTED to this classic movie trivia game lately.
Comment by Erica — December 17, 2006 @ 7:09 pm
And Rosie sang the Vera Ellen parts, too. Vera Ellen couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket.
Comment by caltechgirl — December 17, 2006 @ 7:21 pm
a 5/10… “Santa’s Little Helper”… heh
Comment by Jean — December 17, 2006 @ 8:55 pm
Holiday Inn remains my favorite Christmas movie. Not only did they take the song “White Christmas ” from Holiday Inn and make a subsequent movie, they did the same with “Easter Parade” too.
Comment by hoosierboy — December 18, 2006 @ 10:33 am
I scored an 8/10
Comment by hoosierboy — December 18, 2006 @ 10:37 am
Jim,
Go take a a href=”http://2006.weblogawards.org/2006/12/the_2006_weblog_award_winners.php”>look!
Congratulations!!
Comment by Fausta — December 18, 2006 @ 2:38 pm
5 out of 10. I suck. And I’ve never seen the movie, “White Christmas”. 😉
Comment by Bou — December 18, 2006 @ 11:28 pm
I’ve watched all those old movies and enjoyed them although I don’t own them. I got a 9/10 on the quiz (never did see the Arnie movie so I got that wrong. LOL).
Comment by Teresa — December 18, 2006 @ 11:55 pm
LOVE White Christmas, the song, the movie – all of it! Love it.
Comment by oddybobo — December 19, 2006 @ 10:57 am
Oh, and I got 9 out of 10, I missed the one about It’s a Wonderful Life . . . Who knew!
Comment by oddybobo — December 19, 2006 @ 11:01 am
Wrong!! (conditionally)
Bing sang the song in the opening scene.
Rosemary and just about the whole cast sang it in the closing scene. The reason everone thinks that Bing sang it is because a) you remember the opening scene even if it’s not conscious and b)Rosemary’s voice is so obscured in the closing version that it doesn’t stick out in your mind.
Oh yah, Merry Christmas Jim!
Comment by Dan — December 21, 2006 @ 9:41 pm
MY AUNT TOOK ME TO SEE WHITE CHRISTMAS FOR THE FIRST TIME WHEN I WAS 10 YEARS OLD AT RADIO CITY,I DONT REMEMBER WHAT YEAR THEY STARTED TO PUT IT ON TV, BUT I HAVE NEVER MISSED A YEAR FROM THEN TILL NOW WATCHING IT, IT STILL THRILLS ME TILL TODAY,NOW I WATCH IT ON A 50″ TV ON DVD. ITS A DIFFERANT WORLD WE LIVE IN TODAY BUT ITS GREAT TO LOOK BACK AT A WORLD THAT WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN MERRY CHRISTMAS I THINK
Comment by JOY S. — December 25, 2006 @ 7:57 pm