Stars, Style, & No Substance! ‘What a Way to Go!’ 1964

 

Shirley MacLaine stars as Louisa May Foster, who marries and loses most of her
 five husbands in 1964's comedy, "What a Way to Go!"

One of the many '60s all-star spectaculars that was heavy on stars and style, but light on solid story or scintillating dialogue, was 1964’s What A Way to Go! Movies like this are often fun for star gazing and glamour. Yet such films are often dull and don't age well, and here’s just a few: Let's Make Love, The V.I.P.s, The Yellow Rolls-Royce, and What's New, Pussycat?

Shirley MacLaine's widow tells shrink Robert Cummings about EVERY husband
in "What a Way to Go!"

This 20^th Century Fox fluff is a comedic story of a woman who’s looking for true love but is always left widowed—and richer. Money doesn't buy happiness, but it brings 70-plus Edith Head costumes, Sydney Guilaroff wigs, Harry Winston jewels, and fabulous sets in What a Way to Go! The featherweight romp also features some diverse husbands: Dick Van Dyke, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Gene Kelly, & Dean Martin. 

The super-size comedy was originally meant for superstar Marilyn Monroe, when Fox decided to take Marilyn back after Something's Got to Give. Marilyn certainly could have elevated this mild vehicle with her natural comedic charms. But it was not meant to be, as Marilyn died soon after. Continuing in the same daft logic, Fox then offered the role to their other diva headache, Cleopatra aka Elizabeth Taylor. The part of a woman who marries five times and becomes richer, with bigger wardrobe and bigger hair with each marriage... what a stretch! But ET’s world now revolved around Richard Burton.

Can't imagine why Fox offered this movie to Elizabeth Taylor! Actually,
Robert Cummings plays the shrink in "What a Way to Go!," not a husband...

The sensible choice of Shirley MacLaine as Louisa May Foster was finally made. Was MacLaine as a brunette here a hangover from the prior choice of Liz? Regardless, while Shirley presents a model slim figure that was more in keeping with the '60s than either curvy MM or ET, MacLaine seems at times dwarfed by the outlandish costumes, towering wigs and Christmas tree jewel sparklers.

Naturalistic Shirley MacLaine & '60s glamour didn't seem to go together.
Note the pancake makeup on her face, then her freckled arm in "What a Way to Go!"
With Robert Mitchum as her tycoon husband.

While MacLaine is a natural comedic actress, a strong director like Billy Wilder was needed to keep her from going from Shirley to shrilly. There's more than a few screaming Mimi moments in this broad comedy, but MacLaine also gets some laughs. It's fascinating to see her play the child Louisa with a wink, without the '60s pancake foundation, false eyelashes, stenciled brows, and overdrawn lipstick—though I do detect mascara. 

Shirley MacLaine as little Louisa in an amusing moment from "What a Way to Go!" 

Most of Shirley MacLaine’s co-stars were old pals or lovers, so Shirley has a nice rapport with each "husband" in What a Way to Go! In a nutshell, in order:

Dick Van Dyke is a very energetic match for Shirley. As Edgar Hopper, Dick is a small-town guy whose hero is Thoreau. But when his love rival mocks his and wife Louisa’s low-budget lifestyle, Hopper hops to, and becomes a big success as a businessman. And promptly keels over from overwork!

Dick Van Dyke as Shirley MacLaine's first husband in "What a Way to Go!"

Paul Newman is next up, as the artist in Paris, where Louisa goes to grieve. Paul gives one of his more relaxed comedic performances, unlike the leering Rally Round the Flag Boys and A New Kind of Love. Amusingly, his character’s name is Larry Flint, but not that Larry Flynt. Paul looks great with a beard, as the starving artist who's always eating! Slim and slight Paul and Shirley are dwarfed by the lavish contraptions and sets in their marital sequence. As Larry’s painting machines finally create successful works, Flint is consumed by the cash rolling in. As he and the machines become more frenzied, they turn on their creator.

Shirley MacLaine's Louisa seems to adapt to each husband's life.
Here, she is Paul Newman's artist wife in "What a Way to Go!"

Next, widowed again Louisa meets Robert Mitchum as a Howard Hughes-type tycoon, Rod Anderson, Jr., at the airport (remember Hughes once owned an airline). MacLaine’s unlucky in love lady figures this latest love is already rich, so what can happen? Ironically, their attempt at living simple down on his farm turns out to be a kick in the head for Rod. Mitchum is laid-back and droll, as always.

I never miss a Nina Foch movie! Kidding! Shirley MacLaine goes platinum for a
hot minute in "What a Way to Go!" With hubby #3 Robert Mitchum.

Shirley’s perennial widow meets Pinky Benson at a local diner. Gene Kelly parodies his Singin’ in the Rain persona here as the small town entertainer, who finally makes it big. Though criticized by some folks as too old, Kelly looks fine for 50, is quite funny, and dances beautifully, of course. Pinky’s fate is getting fatally mobbed by his fans!

Shirley MacLaine's Louisa envisions her marriage to Pinky Benson as a Hollywood musical number. Gene Kelly, aptly cast as hubby #4 in "What a Way to Go!"

At this point, once again widowed Louisa is telling her woes to her shrink, when an old beau walks in. Once her small town’s richest guy, the man is now the building’s janitor! Dean Martin plays comedic jerk Leonard Crawley quite well, and his nonchalant demeanor is perfect here. As the one husband that Louise doesn’t initially love, the creep turns out to be the keeper.

Dean Martin bookends "What a Way to Go!" as first a foiled suitor, then as
Shirley MacLaine's final husband.

Finally, there is Bob Cummings, his usual unctuous self as the smarmy shrink who nearly becomes a husband to Louisa, as well.

One surprise was Margaret Dumont, of the Marx Brothers movie fame, who is bizarre and unfunny as Shirley's mother. Plus, Dumont’s dressed like she’s from a guest shot on The Beverly Hillbillies!

The Edith Head costumes and the sets are meant to be over the top but sometimes veer into awesome ugliness. Head cleverly uses the clothes to further Louisa's story, but I was surprised how many costumes were visions of monochromatic vivid colors. I was getting visions of Liz Taylor's Vincente Minnelli-supervised wardrobe in The Sandpiper. And the Pepto Bismol pink mansion of Gene Kelly’s Pinky is truly stomach churning.

Husband Pinky Benson decrees that his mansion be painted in his honor, in
"What a Way to Go!" Wafer slim Shirley MacLaine sports a contrasting black bikini.

Broadway’s Adolph Green and Betty Comden, the couple that wrote this story, also gave us Singin' in the Rain and Auntie Mame. Sadly, their script and wit seems very broad and sporadic in their last feature film together.

There are few zingy lines and most of the movie parodies of each marriage are mildly amusing, except the Ross Hunter-esque "Lush Budgett" sequence, which is so one-note that it quickly becomes tedious. The musical number with Gene Kelly is a great take off on MGM numbers, and still fun in its own right. Shirley and Dick Van Dyke’s expressive faces and graceful forms make their silent movie spoof fun. And Paul Newman and Shirley are certainly sexy enough in their French “art” film parody, though it’s pretty tame.

Shirley MacLaine & Dick Van Dyke are charming in the silent movie fantasy scene that symbolizes their marriage in "What a Way to Go!"

The director J. Lee Thompson was an odd choice for comedy as he previously helmed The Guns of Navarone and Cape Fear. He next directed Shirley in the 1965 bomb John Goldfarb, Please Come Home! Written by William Peter Blatty, who rewarded his friendship with Shirley by modeling her for his heroine in The Exorcist, thus creating the urban myth that MacLaine's daughter needed an exorcism!

Shirley MacLaine's Louisa in wearable art, courtesy of artist husband Paul Newman
 in "What a Way to Go!"

While I hardly laughed out loud during the entire movie, What a Way to Go! is generally amusing. But it all feels like a pile of frosting—on a cupcake! Shirley MacLaine didn’t carry another hit movie until The Turning Point over a dozen years later. Even then, Anne Bancroft was pulling equal weight. Frankly, Shirley never carried a movie on her own during MacLaine’s leading lady heyday.

There are worse ways to go than watching What a Way to Go! Watch the stars and lavish production, with your brain turned off.

Actress Gari Hardy with Paul Newman, in a deleted scene from "What a Way to Go!" Is it my imagination or is she supposed to resemble Marilyn Monroe? If so, that seems in bad taste as this film was intended for Monroe, before she died two years earlier.

 

 

 

 

Monty Still Has ‘A Place in the Sun’ 1951

Elizabeth Taylor & Montgomery Clift, romantic dream team of 'A Place in the Sun.'

Montgomery Clift co-starred in several hit films with veteran stars, but 1951’s A Place in the Sun was the classic that Monty carried and cemented his stardom.

A Place in the Sun is based on Theodore Dreiser's 1925 tome, An American Tragedy, which was loosely taken from a real life drowning death earlier that century. Some have criticized Sun for being too lightweight in comparison to the novel. True, but Paramount failed once before, filming a gloomy ’31 version of this doomed romantic triangle of the ambitious young man romancing a poor girl, and a socialite. Director George Stevens wanted to make serious points about our society’s values. Yet, he was realistic enough to know that a young love triangle would draw audiences and make the drama as a whole more palatable. This was especially so, after he started working with stars Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor, and saw the sparks fly.

Montgomery Clift, the ambitious young man torn between Elizabeth Taylor & Shelley Winters.

Despite the romantic triangle vying for screen time with the damning message on wealth and social status, Sun is still a rather dark romantic picture. Clift as the conflicted protagonist spends most of his screen time leading a double life, covering up, and is at least partially responsible for the death of the young factory girl he has impregnated.

Montgomery Clift at age 29, during filming of 'A Place in the Sun.'

Clift is incredibly intense and vulnerable in this film. With each major scene as George Eastman, he becomes so stricken with tension and guilt, sweaty and hunched over, that he looks like he's in physical pain. At his best, Montgomery Clift is the greatest of "the big three" method acting gods, IMO. Imagine instead James Dean or Marlon Brando as George Eastman. Both could have been quite interesting, but Monty's far less mannered than James Dean, and far more open in his emotional torment than Brando. Marlon often backed his rawness with brute masculinity. Not that there's anything wrong with that! But it was almost a buffer for audiences, where Clift let his vulnerability show freely, with no apologies.

Monty as George Eastman, attempting to articulate his motives.

Did you know that Elizabeth Taylor was the only actress to appear as leading lady to all three of the '50's "method actor" greats—Clift, Dean, and Brando?

Monty wasn’t keen on Hollywood, but he still seemed drawn to movies, and only occasionally went back to the theater. Whatever his mindset, Monty’s situation mirrors his character’s, in that Clift desired, but was uncomfortable in a wealthy world that Elizabeth Taylor inhabited with ease.

Elizabeth Taylor as a wealthy girl who embodies poor, lonely boy Clift's dreams.

A Place in the Sun was actually filmed in the fall of '49 and wrapped up in early 1950. Several reasons have been given as to why the film wasn't released until nearly two years later, in the fall of '51. One factor for sure was George Stevens, always a methodical director, became even more so in his post-war work.

Montgomery Clift, at the peak of his powers and youth in 'A Place in the Sun.'

Montgomery Clift wasn’t the only person who influenced Elizabeth on the Sun set. George Stevens was another important person in Taylor’s life with his direction of her at the beginning and ending of her adult box office stardom.  A Place in the Sun was her first serious drama in ‘51. Giant turned Taylor into a super star in ‘56. And 1970's The Only Game in Town was Steven's final film and the last time Elizabeth Taylor received her million dollar salary.

Clift as George, the first time he lays eyes on Elizabeth Taylor, as Angela Vickers.

Someone astutely said that Elizabeth Taylor's look in A Place in the Sun set the standard for brunette beauty for a generation. Taylor also met another pro on this film who would become a lifetime associate and friend: Edith Head. Edie's violet-sprigged dress became THE prom gown for at least one movie season.

Sexy and seventeen! Elizabeth Taylor in her first iconic film look.

Elizabeth Taylor was just 17 when she filmed A Place in the Sun. Her co-stars, Montgomery Clift and Shelley Winters, were both a dozen years older than her. In the scene where Winters’ character, Alice Tripp, hems and haws for an abortion from a doctor, and he asks the pregnant girl her age. Tripp replies 22, while Winters was 29 in '49. The difference was Monty had significant stage experience and Shelley had come up the show biz ladder the hard way. Both had significantly more life experience than Elizabeth. Taylor started in movies at age 10 and was a star in National Velvet by 12. Extremely protected by both her parents and MGM, Elizabeth once aptly said that she "was a virgin both physically and mentally." Yet none of that shows on film, which is a testament to Taylor's innate screen ability.

Elizabeth's maternal quality was a Taylor character film constant, whether the recipient was a horse, dog, or leading man.

A trait that George Stevens focused on in Taylor was her maternal quality. Notice how many times Taylor cradles Clift in A Place in the Sun, as if she's mothering him. That she pulled this off and the "Tell Mama all" scene as a teen is most remarkable. A few have written that Stevens wisely avoided the movie clichés of great romance. In Sun, Angela's always on the periphery, and the first time George sees her, she doesn't even notice him. 

Shelley Winters is Alice Tripp, a factory girl who falls for Clift's restless George.

For Shelley Winters, who was playing sexy tarts with hearts, Sun was her big break as a serious actress. Like Cher later in Silkwood, a strong director required Winters to leave her glamour and ego at the door. Shelley wore little makeup, stopped bleaching her hair, and bought clothes off the rack, some even borrowed from her sister. While she knew the role was a winner, Winters’ ego as a woman was rightfully hurt, as Shelley was held up unflatteringly as a comparison to a gorgeous teenage Taylor. A wag once said, "George Stevens brought out something in Elizabeth Taylor that would make men kill for her, and something in Shelley Winters that made men want to kill HER."

Shelley Winters about to go into full whine mode in the row boat!

Director Stevens implies to great effect. How did that first night with George and factory girl Alice get by the censors?! Or when Alice goes to the doctor after she becomes pregnant? Even implied candor got censored back then. And yes, this was the first of many movies where water was not Shelley Winters' friend!

If looks could kill. George listens to Alice's oblivious plans for their married life.

It's been said that the wonderful Anne Revere, who plays Clift's pious parent (and also played Taylor's mother in National Velvet) was greatly edited out of her place in the sun because she was blacklisted. I question that, because I'm not sure how much more she would have fit in the over two hour film. You see her when George calls her after he’s connected with wealthy relatives and again when he's in trouble for murder. Since she lives afar, where else would she have fit in a scene? 

Anne Revere plays Clift's religious mother, who visits him on death row.
By the time 'A Place in the Sun' was released, Revere was blacklisted.

The only performance I found less than stellar was Raymond Burr as the district attorney. Glowering menacingly, he becomes more threatening to the point of his histrionic breaking of the oar in the boating accident reconstruction scene. Also, having watched a lot of Perry Mason in the last year, I was surprised how much heavier Burr was in his early years as the heavy.

Elizabeth Taylor & Montgomery Clift became best friends on this film.

Clift and Taylor became fast and famous friends, and often looked for vehicles to perform in. They reunited in the ill-fated 1957 epic Raintree County, where Monty endured his near-fatal car accident. They appeared two years later in Suddenly, Last Summer. This film was a triumph for Elizabeth and Katharine Hepburn, with Monty on the sidelines, who was hard to cast at this point.

Clift's George Eastman, whose dreams have ended on death row.

Taylor and Clift were to reunite for 1967’s Reflections in a Golden Eye. The role of the closeted army major seemed ideal for Clift, with Taylor reprising her bitchy southern belle persona. Clift was considered uninsurable at this point, and Taylor shut up the studio suits by offering her million dollar salary as insurance for Monty. Everyone was amazed, including Monty. Sadly, Clift died at 45, before filming started. Monty was replaced by Marlon Brando. And Taylor was obligated to make a movie that she had agreed to do, for Monty's sake. How fitting it was that Clift and Taylor first met at the beginning of his stardom, and that Elizabeth was one of the few who stood by him to the end. Monty only made a handful of films, with a few that are bonafide classics. For that, Montgomery Clift will always have his cinematic place in the sun.

Life and art often blurred for Elizabeth Taylor, but who was always there for her dear friend Montgomery Clift.

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‘White Christmas’ Still a Stellar Crowd Pleaser 1954

1954’s White Christmas, while not a classic, is still a pleasant holiday perennial, 65 years later.

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White Christmas is the holiday movie version of a fruitcake, a treat to some, indigestible to others, but for the majority, the idea of the movie is a satisfying enough experience. I find fruitcake and White Christmas one and the same—picking out the icky stuff—whether it’s neon candies in the cake or fast-forwarding anything that involves unappetizing Danny Kaye in the flick. I focus on what’s tasty, and I do like an old-fashioned cake, which White Christmas resembles: Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney’s smooth singing, Vera-Ellen’s excellent dancing, mostly great Irving Berlin Songs, a fine supporting cast, and lavish production values—all delightfully delicious.

The "boys" perform for the troops at the opening of "White Christmas."

The plot of White Christmas is as slim as Vera-Ellen’s figure: WWII soldiers Bob Wallace and Phil Davis (Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye) bond during war time and also revere their general, Tom Waverly (Dean Jagger.) Post-war, the duo becomes show biz dynamite, later producing their smash hit shows. They meet a sister act, Betty and Judy Haynes, (Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen), and the sparks soon fly, i.e. Crosby and Clooney, and Kaye and V-E. They follow the sisters to Vermont for a gig, only to find their old general is running a white elephant of an inn, which likely won’t see a white Christmas! The guys brainstorm to bring their show to the inn and Bob/Bing goes on “The Ed Harrison Show” to promote the event. Clooney’s Betty thinks they are just exploiting the General, which causes the only dramatic tension in the film, a silly misunderstanding. By showtime, at the now snow-covered inn, all is resolved.

Crosby, Clooney, Kaye, and Vera-Ellen perform "Snow," charmingly staged.

White Christmas was a top-grossing film of 1954 and made multiple fortunes for Paramount ever since, as the movie became a perennial favorite. This movie-movie was old-fashioned, even in ’54, and that’s part of its charm. Still, had White Christmas been made even a half dozen years later, I doubt if it would have been such a mammoth hit. This film was one of the last hurrahs for studio era Hollywood, when Bing and Danny were at the peak of their movie stardom, and nearly the last movie appearances of Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen. The film was the biggest hit that long-time director Michael Curtiz ever had—and this is the guy who made Casablanca and Mildred Pierce! Interestingly, 20^th Century Fox put out their own all-star Irving Berlin extravaganza in ‘54, There’s No Business Like Show Business. While it too was a commercial success, White Christmas made more than twice as much, at half the cost, than Show Business.

One of two all-star Irving Berlin musicals in '54, the other was Fox's "There's No Business Like Show Business." 

Throughout White Christmas, you have to not just suspend disbelief, but take your lumps of coal along with the gems. The film opens in ’44, with Bing and Danny as soldiers, performing for the boys. Overlook that Crosby was over 50 and Kaye was 43, and then Bing soothingly launches into his signature song “White Christmas,” with soldiers thinking longingly of home, a touching moment.

Bob Wallace and Phil Davis' rocket ride to fame, in 'White Christmas!'

After the war, Wallace and Davis launch into a warp speed rise to stardom, in one of those movie montages that always make me smile. In White Christmas’ case, especially so, since it reminded me of the old Bugs Bunny spoof, “We’re the Boys of Chorus.” When the “boys” meet the girls, we are treated to the classic duet “Sisters,” which is then spoofed by Bing and Kaye, with Danny especially having a delightful time camping it up.

'White Christmas' montage to fame reminds me of this!

Soon, the guys are tagging along with the gals to Pine Tree, Vermont, where they reunited with General Waverly, who is now an innkeeper. His hired help seems to consist mostly of the delightful Mary Wickes, a welcome presence in any film. Along with no snow, there are practically no guests. The duo decides to bring their latest show to the inn, with the help of the ladies. The “Let’s put on a show!” cliché is pretty irresistible to me, too!

Luckily, the "Minstrel Show/Mr. Bones" number segues into Vera-Ellen's "Mandy."

Unfortunately, the first number up is “I’d Rather See a Minstrel Show/Mr. Bones.” At least it wasn’t done in blackface, but it still feels mighty dated. But then comes the zingy finish, “Mandy,” a wonderful, upbeat tune that becomes a wow with the dazzling, energetic dancing of Vera-Ellen and John Brascia. Bing and Danny perform nimbly with the accomplished V-E, but when Brascia takes over, wowza! Brascia looks like a dark Richard Egan and is obviously having a great time as he struts his stuff. He also had the distinction of dancing the previous year with Joan Crawford, in Torch Song’s infamous “Two-Faced Woman,” which WAS filmed in blackface.

Even better is when sizzling John Brascia takes over the dancing with Vera-Ellen!

Bing and Rosie have a great rapport when their characters aren’t bickering. A sweet number is “Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep).” This is intimately performed when the duo are having a late night snack at the inn. I have never cared for Bing Crosby as a person, but as a performer, Bing’s laid back presence was great in both comedy and drama, and his natural style has aged well. Of course, Bing was blessed with a beautiful voice that served him well for many decades.

Rosemary Clooney & Bing Crosby bring their warm, mellow personas to 'White Christmas.'

Clooney didn’t make a lot of movies, they probably weren’t her forte. Plus, the singer’s natural looks and figure were at odds when beauty and glamour were still everything for a film actress of this era. But I enjoy Rosie’s relaxed style in White Christmas, and her singing is top notch, especially in her big torch number, “Love, You Didn’t Do Right By Me.”

Rosemary Clooney's torch number, "Love, You Didn't Do Right By Me," with gorgeous 20-year-old George Chakiris.

The film’s worst number comes with “Choreography.” Some folks adore Danny Kaye, but I find him insufferable. Kaye’s constant “on” demeanor makes Mickey Rooney look subdued. I find Kaye to be the male equivalent of Betty Hutton, practically begging the audience for adoration. “Choreography” is one of those reactionary ‘50’s musical numbers mocking current trends—here, modern dance and beatniks! Danny and the chorus girls are all done up in black, complete with Kaye in a beret and guy-liner. This reminds me of those “rock and roll” spoof numbers from other ‘50s musicals—also very lame. Director Curtiz too often lets Kaye go into his shtick, and it’s like watching Seinfeld’s “Kramer” go off on a fey tangent. To give Danny his due, Kaye is an agile, energetic performer, and he gets on with Bing quite well.

A little bit of Danny Kaye goes a long way. Above, Kaye camps it up in "Choreography."

The best tunes in White Christmas are the simply staged songs: Bing’s title tune for the boys; Danny and V-E’s nimble The Best Things Happen When You’re Dancing; the quartet harmonizing on Snow, charmingly performed in a train car; John Brascia and Vera-Ellen dancing like dervishes to Abraham; even Rosemary’s Love number is subtly staged, with young George Chakiris getting some face time as one of the male dancers. The showstopper numbers are fun, but the gaudy Fab Fifties colors are nearly nauseating!

Dean Jagger as General Waverly is the heart of "White Christmas."

Dean Jagger is a strong presence as General Waverly, with those brilliant blue eyes, radiating warmth and strength. Jagger provides the substance amidst the blizzard of sentiment in White Christmas. His two big bookend scenes at the beginning and finale of the film provide genuine feeling amidst the fluff. Dean is dynamic.

Vera-Ellen, right, performs "Sisters" with on-screen sister Rosemary Clooney.

Vera-Ellen performs well enough within the conventions of this kind of musical, but she really comes alive in the dance numbers. Plus, V-E looks lovely in her Edith Head costumes, showing off her whippet slim figure. Watching White Christmas hit me that Vera looked a good deal like Mitzi Gaynor, also a dancer at the tail end of the musical era. Another coincidence is that Mitzi was the second female lead of her Irving Berlin movie, There’s No Business Like Show Business.

Vera-Ellen look-a-like Mitzi Gaynor with The Merm in her Berlin bonanza,
'There's No Business Like Show Business.'

Although this semi-remake of 1942’s Holiday Inn was bookmarked for a Bing Crosby-Fred Astaire reunion, it wasn’t meant to be. Fred backed out, then Donald O’Conner got sick, that’s when Danny Kaye took over. I’m surprised frequent Crosby co-star Bob Hope wasn’t considered, or that Paramount didn’t go with their younger musical-comedy team, Martin and Lewis. However, Bing and Danny were at the zenith of their movie stardom in ’54.

Mary Wickes is wonderful as always, with Rosemary Clooney, in 'White Christmas.'

Age is a bit absurd in White Christmas. Jagger refers to Crosby as “son” when they are the same age. Par for the era’s course is the 25 year age difference between Crosby and Clooney. And Kaye’s “boyish” antics are a bit hard to take at age 43. Clooney is the older “mother hen” sister, when she was 7 years younger than Vera-Ellen.

If 'White Christmas' deleted dated numbers like "Gee, I Wish I Was Back in the Army," "I'd Rather See a Minstrel Show," & "Choreography," the result would be a near-perfect 1 hour and 45 minute movie! 

The finale is a fitting wow, though I winced at the lyrics of “Gee, I Wish I Was Back in the Army.” When Clooney sees Bing appeal to his former soldiers on “The Ed Harrison Show,” she realizes Crosby is on the level. Everyone reunites at the inn for the big tribute to the General. While it’s sentimental, Jagger and the cast put it over, with a reprise of White Christmas as the camera pulls away in a dazzling shot of the snow falling outside, the stage show, and the audience. White Christmas has its highs and lows, but ends on a lovely high note.

The fabulous closing shot of 'White Christmas.'