The Two 'White Christmases'

That holiday favorite, White Christmas, is one of those films that doesn't have a soundtrack LP per se. But it does have two albums with some claim to authenticity because they separately feature the movie's biggest stars, Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney.

Bing and Rosie recorded for different companies (Decca and Columbia), each of which wanted its own product to capitalize on the popular film. So Decca assembled a 12-inch LP with Crosby and his co-star Danny Kaye, adding Peggy Lee to take over the Clooney spots. And Columbia came out with a 10-inch LP that had Rosemary singing eight of the songs from the film.

In this post, I'll discuss the Irving Berlin songs from that 1954 film, and assess the treatments found on the competing LPs. My presentation follows the order of the songs in the film. The download, however, keeps the two LPs separate and in their original running order.

White Christmas - The Old Man

The first song is, appropriately, "White Christmas," with Capt. Crosby singing to front-line troops who are about to get a new commander to replace the beloved Gen. Waverly (Dean Jagger). Bing's poignant rendition is interrupted by the appearance of the general himself. The troops serenade him with "The Old Man" (apparently carefully rehearsed for just such an occasion). The song has some amusing tongue-in-cheek lyrics such as, "We'll follow the old man wherever he may stray / So long as he stays away from the battle's fray."

A version of "The Old Man" is included on the Decca LP, where it was combined with "Gee, I Wish I Was Back in the Army," which appears much later in the film and will be discussed below.

Heat Wave - Let Me Sing and I'm Happy - Blue Skies

After the war, Crosby forms an act and then a production company with Kaye, who saved his life during the enemy attack that ended their Christmas Eve show. A montage shows them performing the Berlin oldies "Heat Wave," "Let Me Sing and I'm Happy" and "Blue Skies."

Once again, Clooney doesn't attempt these songs, but "Blue Skies" does turn up on the Crosby LP, yoked with "I'd Rather See a Minstrel Show" and "Mandy," which again are from much later in the film and will be discussed below.

Sisters

Clooney and Vera-Ellen were cast as a sister act. Bing and Danny catch them at a remarkable outdoor night club in Florida presided over by Herb Vigran, a character actor who seemingly appeared in every other film and television show for decades.

Trudy Stevens and Dick Stabile

The sisters perform "Sisters," appropriately, to the rapt attention of Crosby and Kaye. In the film, Vera-Ellen's singing voice was dubbed by Trudy Stevens, a very good vocalist who was the ex-wife of bandleader Dick Stabile - who himself appears in the film later on.

Rosemary and Betty Clooney

On the Columbia record, Rosie was joined by her sister Betty for the duet. The two had appeared together for years as the Clooney Sisters with Tony Pastor's band. Betty was to make a good number of records as a single, without achieving Rosemary's popularity.

The Decca LP also includes "Sisters," here given to Peggy Lee, at the time a Decca artist and someone who had been considered for the Clooney part. Lee's sister act consists of Peggy doing a duet with herself, seamlessly. Both versions are very good.

The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing

Still at the Florida club, Kaye and Vera-Ellen do a romantic dance to "The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing." Trudy Stevens again is the singing double for Vera-Ellen. As a dancer Kaye isn't terrible, and as a singer he isn't half bad, which is helpful because Decca had him do a solo for its LP.

The song also appears on the Clooney LP. She doesn't partake in the dance on film, except to sneer at the couple at the end. (Rosie's character is kind of a pill throughout a good part of the film.) Her version is quite good (as is her whole LP, for that matter).

Snow

The two couples end up on a train together heading to Vermont, where the sisters are booked at an inn. They look forward to the dubious delights of the winter weather in the song "Snow." (Berlin recycled this melody from a Call Me Madam outtake titled "Free.")

Peggy Lee

For the Decca record, Crosby and Kaye were joined by Peggy Lee and Trudy Stevens, who as mentioned above also dubbed Vera-Ellen's singing voice on the film soundtrack. Clooney did a very fine solo version for Columbia.

I'd Rather See a Minstrel Show - Mister Bones - Mandy

The gang shows up at the Vermont lodge only to find there is no snow and no patrons. In a remarkable coincidence, Gen. Waverly turns out to be the inn's proprietor. He insists on the sisters staying and performing, and the Crosby-Kaye combo come up with the idea of putting on their show at the inn to attract customers.

This provides a convenient excuse to bring in some musical numbers, starting with a minstrel show, an atavistic tendency in musicals that hadn't died out yet, but here thankfully does not involve blackface. The setting provides an opportunity for Berlin to bring in two of his songs from the Ziegfeld Follies of 1919, "Mandy" and "I'd Rather See a Minstrel Show."

In the film, Crosby, Kaye and Clooney sing in this sequence. On the Decca record, "Mandy" is yoked to "Blue Skies," as mentioned above, with "I'd Rather See a Minstrel Show" between the two, even though it is not listed on the LP's contents. It's been suggested that the Decca LP lifted these numbers directly from the soundtrack (sans Clooney) - I suspect that is the case.

On her Columbia LP, Rosie confines herself to a "Mandy" solo. She includes Berlin's original verse, which makes it clear that she is overhearing two lovers, not appealing to Mandy herself. The verse is not used in the film or on the Decca record.

Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)

Berlin's gorgeous ballad, "Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)," was the big hit from the film, and rightfully so. Crosby sings it incomparably, with such great feeling that it breaks through the reserve of Clooney. Their awkward kiss - interrupted by Waverly - nicely encapsulates both their relationship and Bing's ability to seem caressing in song and clumsy in the clinches. It's a wonderful scene.

Being the big hit it was, the number is done solo by Bing and Rosie on their respective LPs, which gives us two superior renditions.

Choreography

Back to the incipient stage show at the inn, we next have a specialty number for Danny Kaye, the clever but somehow distasteful "Choreography," in which Berlin and Kaye make fun of modern dance. ("Chaps who did taps / Aren't tapping any more / They're doing choreography.") In the film, Kaye's spoken intro is overdone, and on record his reading is even riper, if that's possible.

Robert Alton's choreography of this number is enjoyable, but you can't see that on the record.

"Choreography" seems tacked on to White Christmas to provide a specialty for Kaye, who was a last-minute substitute for Donald O'Connor. The latter would have partnered Vera-Ellen in the more intricate dance numbers. Those were beyond Kaye's ability, so the accomplished dancer John Brascia was pressed into service alongside Vera-Ellen for those spots.

It perhaps doesn't need saying that Clooney doesn't attempt "Choreography" on her album.

Love, You Didn't Do Right by Me

Through the intercession of the indispensable Mary Wickes, who plays the busybody major domo of the inn, Clooney thinks that Bing and Danny are going to use the general as to get publicity via a spot on the Ed Harrison (read: Sullivan) TV show. Disillusioned, she takes off for a solo engagement in a New York nightclub, leaving Bing and her sister behind.

At the Carousel Club, bandleader Dick Stabile talks her into doing her specialty "Love, You Didn't Do Right by Me," even though Crosby is in the house to patch things up. It's a very good number, although Berlin has her sing, "To send me a beau / Who had winter and snow in his heart / Wasn't smart," when the icy one is actually Clooney's character.

Clooney does the song beautifully, both in the film and on her LP. The Decca album assigns the number to her counterpart, Peggy Lee, who also handles the number well. However, her singing is too sophisticated for the character and abstracted for the situation, poking fun at Berlin's lyrics, "As they say in the song / 'You done me wrong'."

The dancer above with Clooney is George Chakiris, who went on to a notable career as an actor, singer and dancer on the strength of his success as Bernardo in the London cast of West Side Story and in the 1962 film version, for which he won an Academy Award. [Correction - loyal reader Geoconno points out that Chakiris played Riff in the West End production.]

What Can You Do with a General?

The weakest song in the score is surely "What Can You Do with a General?", which somehow reconciles Rosemary to Bing, even though it does just what she was afraid of - it exposes the general as a failure when Crosby sings it on the Ed Harrison Show. The song contains such lyrics as, "It seems this country never has enjoyed / So many one- and two- and three- and four-star generals unemployed" and "They're delighted that he came / But they can't recall his name." Waverly of course isn't unemployed - he is the owner of an inn large enough to stage a major show. Also, this is taking place nine years after the end of the Second World War. The generals are still unemployed?

The explanation in part is that Berlin recycled the number from an unproduced show. Crosby does do a version of the song for the Decca album. Clooney wisely ignores it.

Gee, I Wish I Was Back in the Army

Crosby and company end up putting on a major show at the inn for the general's benefit. One of the numbers is "Gee, I Wish I Was Back in the Army." An article on the National WWII Museum site observes, "The song 'Gee, I Wish I Was Back in the Army' highlights the mixed feelings of many war veterans... many veterans struggled to transition back into civilian life." The latter thoughts are true, but this jocular song hardly conveys that.

But the song is clever and well staged, and appears on both LPs. Crosby and Kaye handle the vocals on the Decca LP, with Clooney soloing on her record. The Decca LP, as noted above, combines this number with "The Old Man."

White Christmas

The film concludes with another presentation of "White Christmas." It's the high point of the show at the inn, and has the backdrop of a timely snowfall. "White Christmas" is essentially a solo song, so this ensemble version doesn't provide much of an emotional punch, and the staging is overdone, with kiddie ballerinas and unbecoming costumes. (Bing looks disconsolate above.)

The Decca LP replicates the ensemble approach, but Crosby's earlier solo performances are far superior. Clooney's version is one of the best things on her excellent record.

The Clooney album has backing by Columbia stalwarts Percy Faith, Paul Weston and Buddy Cole. Vocal support is by the Mellomen, a group that included the renowned studio vocalists Thurl Ravenscroft and Bill Lee.

On the Crosby LP, the chorus and orchestra are led by Joseph J. Lilley, a Paramount orchestrator who had worked with Bing as far back as 1942's Holiday Inn (which introduced "White Christmas").

In addition to the two LPs, the download includes scans of both covers, stills and discographical information. The sound is excellent on both albums. I transferred the Decca from LP; the Columbia came from the two-EP version of the 10-inch LP.

Two Bob Hope Soundtracks

I was looking through an old backup drive a few weeks ago and came across a number of LPs that I transferred many years ago, probably even before I had this blog. I've now remastered some of them and will be presenting them here periodically.

We start with two soundtracks from a few of Bob Hope's later and less remembered movies: Beau James from 1957 and Paris Holiday from the following year.

Beau James

I've seen Beau James, but not for many years, but I do recall that it is a romanticized film about jazz age New York Mayor Jimmy Walker. It was based on a book by hagiographer Gene Fowler, whose most famous opus was probably Good Night, Sweet Price, a similarly misty-eyed tribute to John Barrymore.

Jimmy Walker

In case you haven't guessed, Hope plays Walker, in a rare dramatic role. Both the film and the book seem to take the attitude that it was forgivable for "Beau James" to take loads of bribes because He Loved His City. The charming rogue stereotype worked overtime during that period, for sure.

The music has little to do with this, of course, and it at least is enjoyable. In it, music director Joe Lilley weaves together smooth versions of standards of the age (including "Manhattan," of course). Both Hope and columnist Walter Winchell intone obsequies to Walker over the title music. Winchell returns to do the same, even more fulsomely, over the closing number.

Imogene Lynn

The singing on the LP is handled by Hope and Imogene Lynn, who dubs the vocals of love interest Vera Miles. That's Miles on the cover, seemingly dressed as a nun, smooching a uninterested Hope, who appears to be an invalid.

Hope of course could sing, and introduced a number of notable tunes, but here the 54-year-old's voice is dry. The talented Lynn is much better, particularly in "Someone to Watch Over Me." A former band singer, she cycled through such vocal groups as the Merry Macs before becoming a studio artist who handled a good number of film dubbing assignments.

The one original song on the soundtrack is "His Honor the Mayor of New York," with music by Lilley and words by the ubiquitous Sammy Cahn. It is a duet by Hope and Jimmy Durante, set during a tribute dinner to Walker. The number eventually turns into a soft-shoe version of "Sidewalks of New York."

The anticlimactic "Tammany Parade March" follows, and completing the LP is the closing medley with Winchell voice-over. The columnist and radio personality would forever be associated with the Jazz Age, although the Walker regime (1926-32) was near the beginning of his career. A few years after this film was made, Winchell would provide the staccato intros for the wildly popular American television show The Untouchables, which dramatized (and romanticized) Eliot Ness' government agents battling the Capone mob in 1920s Chicago.

Paris Holiday

Hope returned to comedy and better voice in 1958 for his caper film Paris Holiday, sharing billing with French comic Fernandel and supported by Martha Hyer and Anita Ekberg.

The "soundtrack" album includes music written for the film by Joe Lilley, which is pleasant and well arranged. It adds two songs by Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen, the title tune and "Nothing in Common." The latter had been slated for the film - as a duet for Hope and Hyer - but was cut. So Hope decided to reunite with Bing Crosby to do a version for the quasi-soundtrack LP, adding a special version of the title tune as well. Bing did not appear in the movie, but does show up on the front and back covers of the LP.

In bringing in Bing for "Nothing in Common," Bob hoped to rekindle the repartee that marked their duets from their Road pictures. Cahn's lyrics even references the studio for those films, Paramount, even though Paris Holiday was released by United Artists. Some of you may be familiar with the version of "Nothing in Common" that Frank Sinatra cut with Keely Smith. Same tune, but completely different words by the remarkably glib Cahn - possibly the lyrics slated for the Hope-Hyer duet. Both the Hope-Crosby and Sinatra-Smith versions were recorded at about the time of the film's release in early 1958. On the LP, "Nothing in Common" appears twice, via the duet and an instrumental. The Cahn-Van Heusen title song shows up three times.

The album also offers a few chestnuts in blossom such as "The Last Time I Saw Paris" and "April in Paris." The liner notes explain that Hope's "madcap memories of Paris" inspired him to record these "for posterity" (and probably money). He sings both songs with chorus - very well, too. He indulges in a comic dialogue with a unknown actress in "The Last Time I Saw Paris," and a monologue in  "April in Paris."

The 45 picture sleeves

In addition to the LP, United Artists released the Hope-Crosby songs as a single with a double-sided picture sleeve, then packaged those numbers with Bob's Paris tunes to make up an EP.

Both albums are in good-sounding mono. I don't believe either was ever issued in stereo. Paris Holiday was United Artists' first soundtrack LP.

High Tor

Here is a fine musical adaptation of Maxwell Anderson's 1937 fantasy, High Tor, produced for television in 1956. It starred one long-time star, Bing Crosby, and one future star, Julie Andrews. The music was by Arthur Schwartz and lyrics by Anderson himself.

Julie Andrews and Bing Crosby

Crosby plays Van Van Dorn, who owns High Tor (a real mountain along the Hudson). The character is very close to Bing's usual persona, an unassuming, unambitious, but wise and highly principled fellow - a type that was a common hero figure in those times, an idealized American Everyman.

Nancy Olson and Everett Sloane

I am fond of the music, and the background scoring by Joseph J. Lilley (who did a lot of work with Bing and Bob Hope, among other major stars) adds greatly to the mood. Crosby narrates the story in characteristic fashion. Also in the cast are Everett Sloane (who even sings), Nancy Olson and the ubiquitous character actors Hans Conried and Lloyd Corrigan.

Here is an article on the production - thanks to noted musician Dana Countryman for the link.

This record was not reissued for many years, and may never have had an official reissue. It now (June 2023) has been remastered in very good ambient stereo.