White Christmas: 13 facts you didn't know about the festive film

24 December 2024, 13:00

White Christmas is a festive classic. Picture: Alamy

By Hope Wilson

Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen are the stars of White Christmas, but there are lots of interesting facts about the movie you may not know...

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White Christmas is back on our screens in December and we can't wait to get cosy and watch this yuletide favourite.

With A-listers Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen leading the classic movie, this is a Golden Age of Hollywood film which has stood the test of time.

First released in 1954, White Christmas was inspired by another hit film, Holiday Inn starring Bing and Fred Astaire. Whilst Fred isn't in this film, he came very close to being involved in the project...

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From Rosemary Clooney's celebrity relative to Fred Astaire's connection to the movie, here are some White Christmas facts you may not have known.

White Christmas was released in 1954. Picture: Alamy

1. Cast age differences

There are some rather large age gaps in this love story, with Bing Crosby being 51 when the film was released, while his love interest Rosemary Clooney was 26-years-old.

Rosemary also played the older sister of Vera-Ellen, who was actually 33-years-old, making her seven years older than her on-screen elder sibling.

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2. Fred Astaire was supposed to play Phil Davis

Whilst Danny Kaye eventually won the role of Phil Davis, Fred Astaire was the first choice. Following his appearance in Holiday Inn alongside Bing, it was hoped he would come out of retirement for the part.

However the A-lister declined the invitation, with Singin' in the Rain's Donald O'Connor then being offered the role. When he had to pull out due to illness, Danny ended up stepping in.

3. Vera-Ellen didn't sing any of the songs

Trudy Stevens sang all of Vera-Ellen's songs in White Christmas. However the only time Vera-Ellen's singing voice can be heard is when the foursome disembark the train and sing the opening lines of 'Snow'.

4. Height dilemmas

Since Vera-Ellen was two inches shorter than Rosemary Clooney, production insisted on the star wearing higher heels than her co-star in order for the actresses to appear the same height.

Vera-Ellen wore high heels to make her seem taller. Picture: Alamy

5. Bob Fosse was an uncredited choreographer

Before he worked on Chicago and Cabaret, Bob Fosse helped choreograph certain scenes in White Christmas.

6. Famous dancer

Another uncredited star was dancer George Chakiris. Shortly after completing the festive film, George went on to bag the role of Bernardo in West Side Story, winning an Academy Award for his performance.

7. 'Sisters' number wasn't in the script

The original version of White Christmas did not include the 'Sisters' performance. Instead director Michael Curtiz was inspired by Bing and Danny clowning around on set and wrote the act in.

The two actors kept laughing throughout the scene so the version used in the final edit was the best they could get out of them. If you look closely you can see these two giggling!

8. Bing Crosby's improvisation

Bing constantly improvised throughout the film. One of the most famous instances of this is when Bing's character offers Rosemary a sandwich and a glass of buttermilk. He then muses about what kind of dreams one would have depending on the choice of sandwich. Apparently this was all improvised however it was kept in the final edit.

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The Sisters scene wasn't in the original script. Picture: Alamy

9. The first film in VistaVision

White Christmas is the first ever film in VistaVision. This was a higher-resolution version of the standard 35mm film which was used at the time.

10. It was released in October

Despite White Christmas being a festive film, the movie actually premiered in October. Although this was a few months before the yuletide celebrations, White Christmas was an immediate success and has gone on to become a winter favourite.

11. The snow was asbestos

In the iconic final scene, the film company used asbestos as a snow substitute. Whilst nowadays we are aware of the dangers of asbestos, the same knowledge wasn't available back in 1954.

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Fake snow in the movie was asbestos. Picture: Alamy

12. The final scene was reshot

After filming had wrapped, the cast were called back to 'record' the last scene as the King and Queen of Greece were visiting the set. Unfortunately Bing had already left the filming location, so the rest of the cast had to perform without him.

There also wasn't any film in the cameras so this was not recorded, however the monarchs were none the wiser!