Have You Seen?! The Movie Podcast

Dreaming of a White Christmas

• Roll Credits Studios • Season 1 • Episode 10

Share episode

SEND US YOUR MOVIE SUGGESTION!

A classic can feel brand-new when you know where to look. We sat down with White Christmas and unpacked why this mid-century musical still wraps the room in warmth: the crooner intimacy of Bing Crosby, the elastic comedy of Danny Kaye, and a score by Irving Berlin that turns story beats into melodies you hum for days. We also trace the lineage to Holiday Inn, where the title song first landed, and how that shared DNA deepens the sense of tradition that keeps audiences coming back.

From the stage-like backdrops to the Vermont inn’s cozy interiors, the film showcases the best of practical moviemaking. We dig into VistaVision and the 4K restoration that brings texture back to faces, fabrics, and set pieces, then talk through old-school techniques like day-for-night shooting and meticulously framed long takes that let dance and character breathe. Costumes get a spotlight too: Edith Head’s silhouettes and color choices tell as much story as the dialogue, whether it’s a diamond accent breaking up a black gown or a monochrome suit turning Danny Kaye into a moving line on the screen.

Behind the scenes, casting near-misses and last-minute changes shaped the film we love, while on-screen chemistry turned scripted moments into magic. We celebrate ad-libs like the “Sisters” spoof, explore Vera-Ellen’s dancing paired with dubbed vocals, and share favorite quotes that still slip into everyday life. And we end where the movie does: with a finale that marries community, nostalgia, and snowfall into a payoff that feels earned every single December.

If you love film history, holiday traditions, or simply want to understand why White Christmas still fills theaters, this conversation is your winter ticket. Follow the show on your favorite podcast app, share it with a friend who knows every lyric, and leave a five-star review so more film fans can find us. What’s your favorite scene—and does it still hold up for you?

🎬 Have You Seen?! The Movie Podcast is a Roll Credits Studio production.

🎧 Listen where ever you get your quality podcasts: https://open.spotify.com/show/10QRGuPFPCaL6FWmFBxEyF

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/have-you-seen-the-movie-podcast/id1845758756

🌐 Visit Us: www.rollcreditsstudio.com

📱 Stay Connected:
🐦 Twitter/X: HaveYouSeenPodcast (@HYSPod) / X
📷 Instagram: Instagram
🎵 TikTok: haveyouseenpod (@haveyouseenpod) | TikTok

👥 Hosted by: Dylan & Joe

👉 Got a classic you think we should cover? Send us your movie suggestion!

Joe:

They had the the king and queen of Greece coming to visit. And so they decided that they were gonna refill it or stage the refing of it for them so they felt like they they were receiving the final part of it.

Dylan:

We're watching White Christmas for the very first time, and Joe's grew up with it every December.

Joe:

This week's movie, White Christmas, 1954, is rated G, totally family-friendly, festive, and safe for all ages.

Dylan:

Two entertainers team up with a sister act and head to a struggling Vermont Inn run by their former general. So growing up, my grandma had this on VHS tape. And my older sister, every time or a lot of times, when we went to grandma's house, she watched White Christmas. It didn't matter if it was around Christmas time.

Joe:

Yeah.

Dylan:

It was, you know, the middle of summer. And she'd be like, let's watch White Christmas. So I never watched it. Um like it kind of drove me nuts. Yeah. Because she would watch it so much. Uh-huh. Probably wore the tape out. Yeah.

Joe:

Yeah.

Dylan:

But so there's definitely parts of it that I remember that you know, watching it, I was like, oh yep, I remember that part. You know, kind of remember that part. Yeah. But actually being able to, you know, thread it all together.

unknown:

Yeah.

Dylan:

It was it was about time.

Joe:

Yeah. So um you never bothered to venture in and watch, you just kind of like what what like kept you away or what like repelled you from was it just probably because it was just something my sister liked. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um, yeah, I didn't see it till junior high or high high school. Yeah. When it came out. Yeah. When it came out, yeah, yeah. Right. You know, after the war, I decided to take a little afternoon in the cinema.

Dylan:

A day in the cinema. Brought to you by Joe.

Joe:

But uh, yeah. No, I uh I was at my aunt's house and it was Christmas time, and she was like, Oh, let's watch White Christmas, and I'm like, I've never seen that, you know. Um, you know, I'd seen all kinds of other movies, but not that one. So when I finally saw it, I was like, oh, that's what it's about.

Dylan:

Yeah. Um, I would definitely have to say though, like expectations going into it. I I knew the age of it, yeah, and I definitely was expecting to feel that a lot more than you really did. Yeah. I mean, I definitely felt like a lot of the sets were just stages. Yeah. And a lot of times you I felt like you could really notice that. Like, you know, towards the beginning when the they're outside dancing, um who who was it? Danny Kay and is it Vera? Yeah. Um Vera Allen. Vera Ellen, thank you. That when the two of them were outside dancing, like and they were across the bridge on top of the upside down boat or whatever it was, like with the lighthouse, with the lighthouse in the background, yeah, it I was like, oh my goodness, what are we watching, Joe? Yeah. But then like when it got to the inn and more definitely filled filled out more with practical sets and stuff, it definitely you know increased in production value in my eyes.

Joe:

Yeah. Well, I mean, that was production value at the time. Right. You know, like uh I forget how many millions of dollars it took, but it was it was a lot. Yeah. Um yeah, compared, yeah, compared to today, like you throw it on a computer, you know. Right. They could be on a blue screen the whole time. But right.

Dylan:

And you definitely have to appreciate it for that for that factor of the um you know, because I'm that whole background was hand painted and you know they they definitely did an excellent job painting it. Like I could never Yeah, yeah.

Joe:

Yeah. I mean, the whole construction of the set. Right. You know, even having sets within sets, because like you know, at the inn they're having all these different shows. Right. And then even when they're doing montages, there's different sets, you know, so there's just like just multiple things going on.

Dylan:

Yeah, for sure. And then like all the different uh musical numbers, the you know, all the different music that was in it. Like I definitely enjoyed that. I it's definitely not my flavor of of music, yeah, for sure. You know, kind of the old Croners. Right. But it definitely is um it's so it's so warm, yeah. You know, to just listen to that though.

Joe:

Yeah. That yeah, that old style, and you know, um there's uh just a random thought, but there's actually a a group called Postmodern Jukebox that does modern music in that style. Oh yeah, yeah, and it's really cool because I think I've seen their Megan Trainer cover. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, so it's like if you ever want that nostalgia but you want to listen to modern music. That's funny. But yeah, it's a good it's for me. I like that style. I like you know, jazz and all that kind of stuff. And being crossby is one of the uh you know great crooners right there, you know.

Dylan:

So yeah, definitely how did you how do you feel like it holds up like for a holiday tradition? Because I know you you've said a lot uh that you and your wife watch it every every winter, every December.

Joe:

And we usually watch Holiday Inn and then watch uh uh White Christmas. Okay. Um Holiday Inn is sort of a it's not a prequel, but it has the same kind of vibe and like they use the same set uh as um White Christmas. And yeah, that was actually where White Christmas the song came from. Um so so Holiday Inn is basically like Bean Crosby uh wants to go and settle and and quit the music business. Yeah. But but he goes and buys this farm and he he realizes he can't keep up the the farming. So he decides to do because he's an entertainer, he decides to do like one show every holiday and bring people in uh to the inn. Oh and so like he brings like he he invites people, they come and watch the show, they eat, blah, blah, blah. And so then they have a song for each holiday. Um, so there's a song called Happy Holidays, um, there's Abraham, there's a lot of these songs from Holiday Inn that went on to different places. Oh, interesting. And so when they get to December, it's White Christmas, and all the music is by Irvin Berlin wrote White Christmas. So some of the songs in White Christmas end up being recycled into the movie.

Dylan:

So yeah, but I think with Bing Crosby's performance, I mean it's it's I I don't know. If you I don't know if you want to say that it's iconic.

Joe:

Yeah.

Dylan:

But it definitely is such a recognizable voice and just the way he the way he sings. You know, it's there's no none other.

Joe:

Yeah. It it's definitely you you you definitely know that tone and the range, you know. Yeah. I mean, we're sitting in the living room listening to hearing Christmas music, and I was like, oh, is this right. Definitely so.

Dylan:

Yeah, and then his performance alongside Danny Kay is Danny Kay is just so funny about how he, you know, can use his you know body and kind of do do goofy things.

Joe:

Yeah, he reminds me of like the scarecrow or something.

Dylan:

Like I actually thought he was the same actor. Yeah, because the whole scene where he's the general, you know, he supposedly fell down the stairs because they're keeping the general away from the TV. Um he um he he the general walks into the room and he's on the floor. Yeah. And he's like, Oh, help me, help me, walk me around. And and so he he stands up and he's like still holding his knee to his chest while like standing. Yeah. Like see, that's that's crazy.

Joe:

The stamina, just right, you know, and then you know, the whole dancing sequence again, it's just that that whole thing is just a lot, yeah, you know. It um so originally when the concept of the movie came around, um, because um Fred Astaire had done previous movies with being Crosby, he had done Blue Skies, and then they did Holiday Inn together. They were gonna pair up for this one, oh, but um somehow Being Crosby wasn't gonna do it, and then it ended up being Fred Astaire alone, and then he felt like too old to like be the star of the movie anymore. Yeah. Um, he was also fighting back problems and knee problems from being an amazing dancer, right? So then he bowed out, and then being came back on somehow, and then they had Vera Allen and um Rosemary Clooney. Um she had signed like a seven-year contract with Paramount, and so really, yeah, so she was like, you know, ready, ready to rock and roll. Like, yeah, you know, I and and this was on her contract, like this this is gonna be one of your movies. So she was like ecstatic. She's like, I get to work with Bing Crosby and all these actors. Um, and so they had uh Donald O'Connor, um, who had just been in a movie with Bing Crosby, and then just before they started, he got sick and then had to like bow out. So then they searched and they got Danny Kay, and he Oh, so he was kind of last minute then. Yeah, yeah, he was so last minute, and but they hit it off so well, like that that I mean you can see it on camera, right?

Dylan:

Yeah, for sure, and like Danny Kay's high energy, yeah, you know, yeah, versus versus Bing Crosby's like you know, he just has that smooth, calm, calmness around him.

Joe:

Yeah, and the and the great part is like is that they play those parts well too. Like he's the more, you know, uh put together, stringent, right, in Danny Case, kind of the younger, like free, right, free spirit, and him and Vera Allen kinda, you know, uh get the plot together to and throughout the movie it's funny too whenever whenever he would hold his arm and like well remember when remember when, yeah. It's such a perfect perfect thing. Like it just um yeah, it it every once in a while me and my wife will do that to each other. Oh yeah, yeah.

Dylan:

Just because we know it so well that it's just funny, yeah, and then uh Rosemary and Vera Ellen, their dynamic, you would you wouldn't know that they weren't related. Right. They did such a great job with that, yeah.

Joe:

The funny thing is that so um Rosemary Clooney was a great singer, right? Yeah, um, she couldn't dance, but she could sing. Oh um so the um Vera Allen um was a disciplined dancer, she was like part of the Rockets, she was, you know, one of the Oh yeah, she was like she she had like behind the scene parts through a lot of movies in Paramount, and this was kind of one of the few where she got to step up, oh, but she couldn't sing. So like Rosemary Clooney couldn't dance, Vera Allen couldn't sing, and the funny thing that Rosemary Cloy Clooney said is that if they could have dubbed her dancing, it would have been a perfect movie.

Dylan:

So did did Vera Allen not sing in it then? Did they use somebody else's voice?

Joe:

Yeah, Trudy Stevens was the voice for Vera Allen. Really? Yeah, and a lot of there's a lot of back and forth because um even before we did this, I kind of looked into it just to try to verify. Yeah, and a lot of people have said, and I had believed for a while that um Rosemary Clooney had dubbed um Vera Allen's voice, and so then you have like you know, the sisters duet, and she's kind of duetting herself, you know. But it in reality, um, it was uh it was Trudy Stevens who came in and and uh dubbed dubbed Vera Allen. That's cool. So and thankfully Rosemary Clooney sang for herself because you know I just couldn't take Love You Didn't Do Right by Me if it wasn't her.

Dylan:

Yeah, because throughout the whole movie, her vocals just they hit hard.

Joe:

Yeah, they do. They do. I mean that even that that sequence of um it that song always gets me because she's just like she has this like perfect, like you know, Marilyn Monroe-esque and then her you know her gown and her diamonds and um and all that. So she really she really carries herself on screen.

Dylan:

Yeah, and the music for the whole thing, I I don't know, it's perfect. Yeah, like it really is.

Joe:

Yeah. Yeah. It's it's I mean, he's such a great composer. I mean, he it's like he was he was one of those guys that it just seemed like he kind of rolled out of bed and just wrote man, yeah.

Dylan:

Things just come naturally to some people. Um he was the only one who wrote all of the songs for it, or yeah, from from what I understand, yeah.

Joe:

Huh.

Dylan:

Yeah, because Sisters. Like I think that's one of my favorites throughout the whole thing.

Joe:

Yeah, yeah, Sisters, Sisters is great. I was uh last year we went and seen it in the theater when they released the 4K. Yeah. And my former boss was sitting next to next to me and me and my wife with with his wife. Yeah. And so uh when Sisters came on, they uh my wife and his wife sang it together, and then when they were starting to come out, I was like, Hey, you want to sing it together? And he just busted up. That's great. It was so great. I mean, it's one of those movies where like even in that sequence, um, it was a total ad lib for that to happen. Yeah, yeah. I mean, you could see it, and they did two takes and they used the second tick because they just could not keep it in.

Dylan:

That's you know that's fantastic because yeah, them dressing up as the as the two sisters is just hilarious. You like you have no idea that that's gonna happen, especially for a m a movie of that time, yeah. When that you know, I feel like that's super frowned upon uh you know at that time.

Joe:

Yeah, yeah, they pushed they pushed the barrier, but yeah, I mean it it for that time, yeah. They pushed the barrier, but it was just so hilarious, and they were just like, hey, let's try this out, and they did it, and you know, Danny Kay kept hitting um being Crosby and he just got the laughs out of both. I mean, just if it like they could barely hold it in at the end, you know.

Dylan:

Country blessings instead of sheep. Um any others that you can let's see.

Joe:

The theater, the theater. What has happened to the theater? That one always t um it it always makes me laugh because I I th I I'm uh trying to pronounce his name right, but I think it's George Katakas. He was in West Side Story, and the thing about West Side Story, so George Um Katakas, if I'm saying it right, um, so he was a background dancer, uh so every time you've seen the guys kind of put their arms out, like you know, straight and and all that, like yeah, and so um he ended up being in like the uh the lead in West Side Story. Oh but the funny thing about the whole um uh choreography thing, the whole choreography song is it's like it's almost like it makes fun of that before it happens because West Side Story is all about choreography, yeah. Yeah, it's it's like yeah, it's just a funny, funny song, and uh you know they he how they kind of cover a lot of different dance styles in that too. Yeah. Um so that that's one that we always laugh at. Um and you know, me and my wife will will you know say the theater, the theater.

Dylan:

Yeah, but you definitely I mean you definitely can't have the the music without the orchestra. And just excellent.

Joe:

Yeah. Excellent. Yeah, it that I mean that and that just brings it back to, you know, I and I know that there's still a lot of orchestras out there, but I mean there's there's also movies that have been made without but sound like they have, you know. And so it just it really goes back to like, you know, there's a person sitting there literally writing everything out, you know. Now you can use programs to write right now. Which is great, you know, it's a it's a definitely a time saver. Yeah, definitely a time saver, but just to have a real orchestra and you know, you know, back then they would show the film and they'd time it and you know, conduct it in front of the movie and make sure that everything lines up and and all that. And so it just um yeah, it just great.

Dylan:

Yeah, that I really want to to go see one of those movies that they play, like have the live orchestra for. Yeah. Because they just did that with um, I don't know, I feel like I see like the Harry Potter ones. Yeah, um Pirates of the Caribbean, yeah, Han Zimmer movies. Yeah, is it Hansimmer Zimmerman?

Joe:

I want to say that my wife did like three shows in a row that were Harry Potter. Yeah. Yeah. And she they the orchestra played to the movie. That's great. Yeah. I don't know where I was because it was probably, you know, I think she was out of town, so I couldn't take three days off to go see it. Right. But I have to keep the steady.

Dylan:

Yeah, but man, that'd be really cool to go see. But if I was playing in that orchestra, I would forget what I was doing and start watching the movie.

Joe:

Yeah. Um I forgot what I see what I had seen, but Hollywood Bowl um in California, they used to have a lot of those where you can go and kind of picnic and watch the movie and the orchestra's playing. Oh, that's so cool. Yeah, it's just it's a really cool thing.

Dylan:

Yeah, it definitely just goes to show like how the score really shapes the the film's um whole feel, whole vibe.

Joe:

Yeah, right. Yeah. Just I mean, everything to um, you know, when what in in snow, how they're on the train, and then they they kind of do the chick, chick, chick, chick, chick, right, right. Um one of the things about snow that at the beginning for like as far as cinematography, yeah, is how the the bartender pours the drinks and it looks like snow in a cup, you know? It's like it's like this frothy drink that he's pouring on the bar, and it's just kind of in the light of it's like in the frame of the four of them, and they're singing that song, and the snow he's dropping the snow into the glass, and then and then they um I thought it was like soapy, yeah, yeah, it looked like soapy, but um, but then they you know pull out the napkin and then they make the little sauce shaker and they have the little trees, and uh you know, just all that framing and everything that went into it.

Dylan:

It's like oh, and with that scene too, talk about framing. Uh-huh. Um, I really liked the shot where it was the close-up of that, and then it like pulls back and it's like you're look, you're looking kind of between their shoulders, and uh yeah, like it's so good. Yeah, yeah, it's it's just not really something that happens today. It's okay, let's cut from this shot to that shot to that shot. Yeah, this one they're like we do it in one take because we have to, right, right.

Joe:

A lot of a lot of cool stuff, a lot of cinematography.

Dylan:

Yeah. And that's something cool too, is just the sim cinematography of everything. It's just such a real craft that I feel like you kind of lose in the digital era, yeah, and you don't have to worry about um making sure that your shots fit because at the end of the day you can go in and cut and edit and whatever else you need to do.

Joe:

Yeah, I there's uh there's a podcast slash YouTube called Perf Damage, and um they work in the industry of cinematography and like or I I would say not cinematography but uh film restoration. Yeah. And so they work in these vaults where they gotta take care of film and all this stuff, and and so that they have a really good like three videos, three like hour videos on just kind of how they restored this movie. But all's that to say is um um this was the first movie in VistDivision, and so they created VistaVision to compete with uh Cinema Scope, and CinemaScope was basically like so you have um you know you have your normal size 35 millimeter, okay, and so you see a regular screen. So cinema scope was this screen that was just kind of almost around you, uh yeah, and so you would you would be in the theater and so you could kind of see your peripheral and the the the screen would cover that as well. So you can look to the left or the right, and there would still be the screen, and so you know it's just a bigger screen. It's kind of like what they're doing with IMAX now, you know, trying to kind of like with um Christopher Nolan doing using that for different movies and um or breaking cameras on sets, spending lots of money, but um so Paramount created uh you know VistaVision to compete with that, and and so they had their own kind of um way of of doing film and and making it brighter and cleaner. And so when they went to restore this film, it was it was in it was in good condition, and you know, they had to find different like I guess they found a German print and they found a you know English print, and they had to kind of choose between the two. Oh, interesting. Yeah, so there's a lot that went into it, but um it there was just a lot of technology going into it at at the time, and there was I guess they had said that there was a rumor that they were using 35 millimeter and Vist Division just in case the Vist Division didn't work out, but I guess they could never prove that. Um, so they were just you know full on let's do it and let's film this movie, and yeah, and so it's just I mean w watching so we watched the 4K uh the other night. Okay, and and to me, and and my wife, you know, we just got a new bigger TV, and we and you can just see the detail and yeah, and and just going from I mean from being that old to seeing it now and restored, it's just right, it's just amazing. Yeah, you know, like I first saw it on VHS. So seeing it on 4K is just you know, just the details are amazing.

Ad:

Is your holiday season looking a little too sunny? Has your living room been tragically deprived of Bing Crosby approved snowfall? Introducing snow on demand, the only aerosol product scientifically proven to turn any room into a winter wonderland or a mild safety hazard. Results may vary. Just point, spray, and watch as your home becomes the perfect backdrop for a dramatic musical number, emotional confession, or a spontaneous do what you absolutely did not rehearse. I used snow and demand in my kitchen. Now my floor is uh permanently festive. That's a snow and demand guarantee. It doesn't just bring the snow, it brings the experience. Warnings. Because who has time to wait for real weather? Make a Christmas white, even if Mother Nature said, nah. Snow and demand, shake the can and start the magic.

Joe:

So one of the biggest uh things is so you have the costume design. And um so many costumes too. Yeah, yeah, so many. And for each uh for each uh music number, whether it's at the inn or the montage, right um at the sisters, um, you have all these cool like coordinated costumes. Yeah. So the costume designer um the the costume. Costumes were created by Edith Head. So Edith Head was a famous Hollywood uh designer, costume designer, and she did like just tons of movies at the time. And you know, she had like a staff, she had, you know, just um just yeah, just an incredible designer everywhere. So like yeah, she coordinated uh so like Danny Kay's suit in the dancing. Um she made it so that it was like gray all the way through, and so from his pants to his socks to his shoes.

Dylan:

Oh yeah, yeah, I did notice that.

Joe:

So it was like he she kind of wanted to make him like a silhouette of some kind, and so like and then clash with um uh so and clash with Vera Allen, so like not clash, but like oh man. Sorry, so that he he would be a silhouette and then they would you know kind of have these different colors and stuff. Really interesting, yeah.

Dylan:

So I guess watching that I didn't I didn't really pick up on this whole silhouette thing. Uh-huh. I just thought it was weird that he was wearing the same exact color gray from head to toe. From head to toe. Literally. Yeah, literally.

Joe:

Yeah, but it was just this just this choice, you know, and and there's just a lot of so in the um um when when uh Rosemary Clooney is singing and um Love You Didn't Do Right by Me, the she had black um, you know, just a black um silk, you know, dress, and Edith had decided to put like a diamond kind of thing on the back to break up the black so something would pop out and um just that kind of stuff. And the biggest thing about her is she is one of a few who inspired the character Edna Mode in The Incredibles. If you look at her and you look at Edna Mode, yeah, you could see it. Wow, yeah, yeah. I mean, there was you know, they say there was a couple different people who inspired that character, but I I immediately when I saw The Incredibles for the first time, I I thought it was Edith Head. And I I know about her because at uh Universal Hollywood, yeah, there was a museum and there was a I Love Lucy museum, and there was also um a little area about Edith Head. Oh, cool, yeah. And so like she did costume design for I Love Lucy, yeah. Like, you know, and and if you ever watched that show, I mean there are some great costumes in that, you know. So yeah, just just amazing in this show that you know how many how many costumes from from the um the army, you know, the whole platoon, yep, you know, to to all the details of of of everything in there.

Dylan:

So yeah, it's funny on the train when they get to Vermont, you know, they just had this whole uh song and dance about snow. Yeah. And then and then they get off the train and they're like, We took the wrong train. Yeah, there's no snow here. There's no snow here.

Joe:

Yeah, it's it's it's pretty funny. Yeah. So I did notice that you pointed something out when the trains popped up. Do you remember? Yeah, I said that they were different trains. Yeah. Yeah. So the thing about that is that they were so they were trying to show uh so if you were to take a train to you know from what was it, Florida to Vermont. Yeah, if you were going to do that, you would have to switch trains.

Dylan:

So many times. Yeah. Yeah.

Joe:

So the reason why there's two different trains is because they were showing that they were switching trains. Gotcha. The other thing is that at the time, um, they didn't have the correct lighting at you know, in those days to do um nighttime shoots. Yeah. So they had to shoot day for night. And so what they would do is they would shoot the train during the day or whatever it was, and then they would bring down like the um the brightness of the film to make it look like it's dark. Gotcha, yeah. So if you notice, the first train has a light on and the next train doesn't. Yeah. There's some suspension of disbelief because that's just the way it had to be. But but that was when you said that, I was like, oh, I gotta, I gotta look, look into that because so yeah.

Dylan:

Um man, they did not do a good job selling that because the interiors of both those trains look identical.

Joe:

Right. Yeah, it doesn't look like they went anywhere or switched. Yeah, and it would just, you know, it's already a two and a half hour movie or whatever. Right. Take 15 minutes to switch a train. Come up with a song and yeah, song and dance to the station. Switching trains.

Dylan:

Yep.

Joe:

Yeah, it's it's that kind of stuff that I like about old movies. Because you can, you know, there's just you just had to pretend, you know.

Dylan:

Yep. Which song was your favorite? The switching train songs, obviously.

Joe:

Yeah. That was the hit. I'm gonna go buy the album just for switching trains.

Dylan:

At at the end of the movie, how were they able to give it such that strong Christmas feeling? Snow. I mean, because when you when you watch it, it just feel like Yeah. You know, it just feels like every Christmas that you've had all kind of wrapped up into one and yeah, the warm, you know, the warm feeling you get from that. Yeah.

Joe:

I think um I think the huge part of it is the general and and how they kind of give him that, you know, gift and attaboy and all that. And yeah, and then the whole the whole time, and even part of his hope is that there be snow so that there be people so that they can, you know, he can make a living. Right. And so just knowing that that snow is coming almost makes it like, okay, he's gonna he's gonna do okay. Right. You know. And so it just and and obviously, you know, the um the uh knight gets back on his horse. Yeah. And and you know the the two couples kind of become a you know, right, become a thing.

Dylan:

Yeah. It was really good in that scene too, where they used the stage to their uh benefit of having the the barn doors open, yeah, if you will, so that they can see the snow outside, and then yeah, you know, part way through that song, they you know, lift move all of the the props and stuff that they would normally just have there, and yeah, you see the snow behind it, and like watching that all open up is was really cool.

Joe:

Yeah, and you I kind of don't think about it at the time, but they make it seem so that it's a real situation, and so outside of the barn, right? You see people and the horses and staff and yeah, it's just they just put a lot of detail into it. Yeah, and it just feels good.

Dylan:

So what's your favorite do you have a favorite scene from the movie?

Joe:

Mutual, I'm sure. Probably like man. Yeah, it's hard because I have maybe not so many scenes as as quotes. Yeah. Um because I I'll say like if I'm doing sound check um and my wife is playing piano, I'll ask her to give a chingering. Yeah. So when they uh when they're announcing the engagement, um Danny Kay goes over to the pianist. He goes, Hey, can you give me a quick chingering? And then da da da and then and then he makes the announcement, hey guys. Uh oh funny. Yeah. So just quotes like that. Um what would my favorite scene be, though? I'll have I'll have to think about it. What do you got?

Dylan:

So I would say that my favorite is is the final white Christmas scene. You just it it comes it. It starts off with the general uh walking in, uh, surprisingly not in his bathrobe. Uh-huh. And um, you know, they set it up so that they're all of his suits are sent away, and so he kind of has to wear the the general outfit, and he's reluctant about it, but he still does anyways. And yeah uh seeing his granddaughter's reaction to that, and then when all of them walk into uh the dining room then where they have it all set up and all of the all of the other men there are in their uniforms and it's just such a good payoff.

Joe:

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I think the the writing in it's so good too, because even little things like um when they're sitting and opening the mail, I always remember that. And I I like the quote about, oh, you know, I think I'm starting to play trombone myself, you know, he's moving the reader. And then uh and then just that heartfelt moment because they're talking about horseshoes and and the general's like, well, you know, I I'm not gonna be playing horseshoes, I'm gonna go back to war and all that. And then once they're done with the conversation, he's like, Well, I guess I'm gonna go check out the game, you know, the horseshoe game. And and you just feel like fill for him, you know.

Dylan:

Yeah, it's just uh so yeah, kind of gets left behind in the in the world.

Joe:

Yeah. So yeah, one cool thing was when they um when they filmed the movie, it was such so it was so popular, and the actors in it were so popular, uh, that people like Humphrey Bogart, Jerry Lewis, uh go would go by the set. I mean, they're huge stars, you know. I mean, it was just like just kind of huge stars going by. Queen Elizabeth came by. Really? Yeah, and so at the end, the big thing was at the end of the movie, or you know, they had so they had filmed that that huge you know, white Christmas scene at the barn and everything, and they had rapped. Well, they had the the king and queen of Greece coming to visit, and so they decided that they were gonna re-film it or stage the refilming of it for them so they felt like they they were seeing the final, you know, part part of it. The only problem was being uh um Bing was such a avid golfer that he had already had time set up, so all the actors were you know were ready to to go, and and he's like, I'm out of here. And and Rosemary Clooney's like, What? He's like, Yeah, I I have a golf game. I'm I'm out of here. She's like, No. And he's like, Yeah, bye. And so they refilmed the whole thing or restaged the filming. They, I mean, they didn't even have uh film in the cameras, yeah. But but they they restaged the whole thing with uh without him there, and and his voice was over the monitor, and and they just they fooled them and they never said anything. Oh funny, but but they had fooled them, fooled the king and queen of Greece into thinking that they had seen the finale of the filming of yeah, that's really interesting, yeah. And it it's just one of those things that like you know you kind of have to make things happen, you're you know, yeah, especially with royalty. Yeah, yeah, but it was uh you know, it was one of those one of those movies where it was just the classic Hollywood, you know.

Dylan:

Yeah. All right, Joe. So out of ten blue dresses, what would you rate this film? Man, that's a hard one. Um 7.5?

Joe:

Okay, yeah.

Dylan:

Okay, you don't seem sure about that.

Joe:

Yeah, it's hard. It it's hard. I want to go eight because you know, we we watch it every year. Yeah.

Dylan:

Um and I'm surprised you did not rate it higher. Yeah. Because you, you know, of you watching it every year and multiple times in the season.

Joe:

Yeah. And again, um, with Holiday Inn being sort of a uh sister-brother movie to it, yeah. We usually watch them together, and so we will quote both of them, you know. Yeah, yeah. So it's hard.

Dylan:

Yeah, I would definitely rate it probably six, six out of ten.

Joe:

Okay.

Dylan:

Um it's good. I don't know how crazy well it holds up, but it's definitely one of those ones that you can confidently go back to and know exactly what you're getting.

Joe:

And yeah. And I I like the nostalgia. I I like the you know, sort of the I don't know, that time, you know? Just especially like the st the Hollywoodness of it. Yeah. You know, with just the costumes and the the way Hollywood was, just that big, you know, they just kind of threw it all out there. Yep.

Dylan:

Yep.

Joe:

Do you think it holds up today? I think it does. I I mean when I seen it in the theater, it was pretty packed. Yeah. Yeah. It was more than some movies that I've gone and seen. Yeah.

Dylan:

So yeah, I definitely would agree that it holds up.

Joe:

Our next uh on our next podcast, we're gonna uh take a look at a detective movie that was originally supposed to star Frank Sinatra. Frank Sinatra? Yeah, really. Yeah. So you'll have to guess which one that is. Is it a Christmas movie? I think it is. Some people don't.

Dylan:

Ooh. Well, thanks for listening to Have You Seen the Movie Podcast. Make sure to follow the show on your favorite podcast app, and if you're enjoying it, leave us a five-star rating. It really helps the show grow. We want to hear from you. Text us with your name and a movie suggestion using the link in the description, and we'll give you a shout out if your movie is chosen. You can follow all our socials in the description as well. Everything you need is right there. We'll be back next week with another movie premiere. Those who've seen us know that not a thing can come between us. Many men have tried to split us up, but no one can. Lord help the mister Who comes between me and my sister and Lord help the sister who comes between me and my man.