White Christmas (1954)
87%RT Audience Score: 88%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
1 nomination total
It may be too sweet for some, but this unabashedly sentimental holiday favorite is too cheerful to resist
White Christmas is the perfect holiday movie to watch with your family, especially if you want to see Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye sing and dance their way into your heart. Sure, it’s a bit cheesy and syrupy, but that’s what makes it so charming! Plus, the Technicolor and VistaVision make everything look so pretty, you’ll feel like you’re in a winter wonderland. So grab some hot cocoa, snuggle up with a blanket, and get ready to sing along to “White Christmas” for the millionth time.
Production Company(ies)
Svensk Filmindustri
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Paramount Studios – 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
1954
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 0m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 14, 1954 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 21, 2000
Genre(s)
Holiday
Keyword(s)
starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen, Dean Jagger, Mary Wickes, directed by Michael Curtiz, written by Norman Krasna, Norman Panama, Melvin Frank, produced by Robert Emmett Dolan, holiday, Christmas, musical, comedy, romance, box office hit, budget, critic reviews, reviewed by Jack Moffitt, TIME Staff, Martin Chilton, Emma Cochrane, David Jenkins, Wendy Ide, Clyde Gilmour, PJ Nabarro, Virginia Graham, Sean Axmaker, John Beifuss, Tony Sloman, Bing Crosby as Bob Wallace, Danny Kaye as Phil Davis, Rosemary Clooney as Betty Haynes, Vera-Ellen as Judy Haynes, Dean Jagger as General Thomas F Waverly, Mary Wickes as Emma Allen, Irving Berlin, Vistavision, Technicolor, Mono sound mix, Paramount Pictures, Norman Krasna, Norman Panama, Melvin Frank
Worldwide gross: $1,099,207
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $13,809,411
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,856
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,505,934
US/Canada gross: $928,298
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $11,662,270
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,574
US/Canada opening weekend: $566,045
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $7,111,261
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,036
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Danny Kaye – Phil Davis
Rosemary Clooney – Betty Haynes
Vera-Ellen – Judy Haynes
Dean Jagger – General Thomas F. Waverly
Mary Wickes – Emma Allen
Director(s)
Michael Curtiz
Writer(s)
Norman Krasna, Norman Panama, Melvin Frank
Producer(s)
Robert Emmett Dolan
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
1 nomination total
Academy Awards
All Critics (44) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (34) | Rotten (10)
It will be a poor showman who can’t get an audience into the theatre when he can base his sales talks upon such expertly assembled and tangible box office ingredients.
December 20, 2021
Jack Moffitt
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
A big fat yam of a picture richly candied with VistaVision (Paramount’s answer to CinemaScope), Technicolor, tunes by Irving Berlin, massive production numbers, and big stars. Unfortunately, the yam is still a yam.
October 3, 2018
TIME Staff
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
A good musical with a lot of star power.
December 22, 2014 | Rating: 4/5
Martin Chilton
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Great songs, gentle humour and a dose of syrup which is not to everyone’s tastes, but worth buying to keep that Christmas spirit going until next year.
December 4, 2012 | Rating: 3/5
Emma Cochrane
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Paramount’s first film in (lavender-hued) VistaVision was this pornographically soppy but, nonetheless, hearty and humorous 1954 festive romp.
December 12, 2008 | Rating: 3/6
David Jenkins
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
White Christmas is the cinema equivalent of an inappropriate festive snog under the mistletoe — you know you probably shouldn’t enjoy it but you just can’t help yourself.
December 12, 2008 | Rating: 4/5
Wendy Ide
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Danny Kaye and Bing Crosby at their best are funny enough together to deserve a sequel, although not all the production numbers in this big Irving Berlin musical are successful.
November 5, 2019
Clyde Gilmour
Maclean’s Magazine
There are one or two diverting aspects to keep the film from being a mere parlour game in waiting for Crosby’s seasonal number.
January 8, 2019 | Rating: 3/5
PJ Nabarro
Patrick Nabarro
However, between the painful alpha and omega of this film there is a lot of extremely pleasant entertainment.
June 19, 2018
Virginia Graham
The Spectator
This 1954 holiday classic, directed by reliable studio hand Michael Curtiz (Casablanca), is sentimental, contrived and stiffly silly, yet it still charmed its way to become the biggest hit of its year…
January 13, 2017
Sean Axmaker
Seanax.com
Something of a forced march, but worth seeing for its old-school studio vibrancy and for Curtiz’s ability to compose for depth as well as breadth within the widescreen frame.
December 18, 2014 | Rating: 3/4
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
Kaye is superb, especially in his knockout dance routine with Vera-Ellen, and the direction from veteran Michael Curtiz rightly embraces the sentiment rather than keeping it at bay.
December 12, 2014 | Rating: 4/5
Tony Sloman
Radio Times…
Plot
Having left the Army following W.W.II, Bob Wallace and Phil Davis team up to become a top song-and-dance act. Davis plays matchmaker and introduces Wallace to a pair of beautiful sisters (Betty and Judy) who also have a song-and-dance act. When Betty and Judy travel to a Vermont lodge to perform a Christmas show, Wallace and Davis follow, only to find their former commander, General Waverly, as the lodge owner. A series of romantic mix-ups ensue as the performers try to help the General.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny comment about the film White Christmas on Fresh Kernels.
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