White Christmas might as well be called White-washed Christmas because it does sweep so many elements of its songs that were used in racist ways in the past under the rug. Most of the songs were not written for the movie, and it’s just a tour through decades of Irving Berlin’s music, including many songs he wrote when he was in the army because White Christmas is about a pair of WWII veterans. It was nostalgic racism in 1917, and maybe made more sense then, but just it’s just weird in 1953. Choose from White Christmas sheet music for such popular songs as White Christmas, Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep, and Sisters. The “Abraham” number in White Christmas is purely a dance break. Boots reboot… Here’s what happened a week ago tonight, when Boots Riley and The Coup liberated Ypsilanti, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOTWN8apuA8, http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=543803, 106 members of Congress are guilty of sedition, Florida ramps up the negligent homicide bodycount in the run-up to the GOP convention. But it’s important to understand the cultural context of the movie and the music to see where it fits in a larger, longer story of American culture and race. Why show children this crap? And, yes, Doug, I think that Danny Kaye found himself vomited on my dinner companions quite often. “White Christmas ” I just laugh so hard at the choreography Dance. }. You should have an “I’m mostly white” button made the next time the Klan comes to town, Pete. The shapes and costume, are pulled right from Graham’s choreography. http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=543803. I love Holiday Inn too (although the black face scene does make me cringe). But it always matters. Did they remove it with CGI? And that’s what brings us back to White Christmas where this song and so many other are scrubbed of their racial and formerly racist context. And thanks for the link, ATF. Thanks for the great stories and “go Clementine ” Holiday Inn is a 1942 American musical film directed by Mark Sandrich and starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, with Marjorie Reynolds, Virginia Dale, and Walter Abel. Christmas is celebrated by Christians marking the birth of Christ. The idea to make a movie based on the song “White Christmas” itself, which already had been featured in a movie, might have been a cash grab that came from the fact that the song became such a touchstone for soldiers serving in World War II (Bing Crosby talks about how singing it for the troops was a deeply emotional experience, one that’s recaptured in the film). One of Berlin’s first big hits and the second song we hear in White Christmas is “Blue Skies.” Originally composed for a forgotten Ziegfeld production called Besty, “Blue Skies” has one of the most complicated racial histories of any song out there. Have a tip or story idea? “The only thing is,” she said, “I don’t know if I could keep my face like Wednesday Addams for that long.” I told her that, during practice, you were probably allowed to smile, and that it was just during performances that you were required to look suicidal. But, I made something up, and we paused the movie for a few minutes, so that Clementine could try out a few moves. The racist parts of it aren’t there. Dance. I’m not going to mine for outrage and call White Christmas a racist movie. Dance “Modern Dance”, Your email address will not be published. The “Abraham” number in White Christmas is purely a dance break. “Blue Skies” in particular only gained racist associations with blackface after it became popular. In “Holiday Inn,” the song and dance numbers were performed in the dining room: For “White Christmas,” the stage was moved into an attached barn: In real life, Rosemary was originally part of an act with her sister Betty: First, a detour. Franklin Pierce (1853-1857) is believed to have been the first President to put a Christmas tree in the White House. With Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen. The 1954 musical is a classic for a host of reasons: the sparkling dialogue, the incredible dances with Vera Ellen, the comedy of Danny Kaye, the fantastic costumes by Edith Head, and the indelible voices of Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney. Through one number after another in "White Christmas", Vera Ellen astonishes in her ability to dance through a number of choreographic styles with grace and authority. And thanks for letting me find the name of the I suspect that I’m right, but I don’t know. Interesting! If you ask me what movie I put on first thing in December to get in the holiday spirit I’ll tell you right away that it’s White Christmas. I was searching all over to find the name of Now, back to White Christmas. ... dances and musical numbers Joseph J. Lilley ... music director / vocal arranger ... Christmas Movies Ranked a list of 40 titles I’ve never smoked and would have an asthma attack after about 10 seconds of hopping around like him. He came up in the teens, garnering success as a songwriter and served in the army, writing songs for all-soldier revues during World War I (we’ll come back to that). With dancer and wife, Tybee Arfa (1932–1982) , he formed the dance team Brascia and Tybee , which, beginning in 1957, began appearing as the opening act for artists like Frank Sinatra , Lena Horne , Tony Martin and George Burns , among others. One of many army-centric numbers repurposed for White Christmas. Directed by Michael Curtiz. show her any of rosas danst rosas! Many of the army related songs we hear in the show are from the same revue – called Yip Yip Yaphank – that “Mandy” comes from while others are repurposed from the 1943 movie Holiday Inn, where the song “White Christmas” was first heard on screen. The Irving Berlin songs, the dance numbers, and yes, the "schmaltz" are just the right combination to put even the Grinchiest person in the Christmas spirit. The same goes for Irving Berlin himself, who was part of a larger American cultural tradition that was suffused with racism, and he did his part both to perpetuate and subvert it. It was during the Abe Lincoln song, right? White Christmas ties directly into Hollywood’s checkered history with blackface, minstrel shows and the complicated legacy of one of America’s greatest songwriters: Irving Berlin. This song, like other racially icky songs, is actually used in White Christmas in a non-racist way. When I watched on Netflix, there was no blackface during the minstrel number. I don’t think there’s an answer here, only a conversation. But there was a snag: Fred Astaire didn’t like the script and refused to participate. Dec 23, 2016 - Director Michael Curtiz (left) walks through a dance number with Bing Crosby (center) and Danny Kaye (right) on the set of "White Christmas", 1954. Ah! Read the original review. Explicitly and textually it’s not racist…but that’s only because there are no black people in it aside from one bartender in the club car in the “Snow” scene. But is that okay? See more ideas about white christmas, vintage dance, 1950s dance. I thought the dancers were lovely, actually. We actually hear “Abraham” only in an instrumental version as Vera Ellen dances her tail off. General Waverly's Columbia Inn in fictional Pine Tree, Vermont, made it's debut a decade before, in Holiday Inn. Dance to your hearts content !! 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