The 70th Anniversary of the Movie "White Christmas"

This year marks the 70th anniversary of "White Christmas", the movie musical based on Irving Berlin's classic popular Christmas melody of the same name. And in the spirit of the Christmas season, many movie theaters are offering showings of the 1954 film on the big screen on December 15th, 16th, and 17th.

Being a post-World War II musical, the plot centers around two soldiers portrayed by Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye who became a song and dance duo after the war's end. After an old army buddy asks them to review his sisters' singing act, they team up with the female pair as portrayed by Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen. And their performing gigs lead them to the empty Columbia Inn in Vermont. An inn that is near bankruptcy due to the lack of tourists as a result of no snow. And also an inn that is coincidentally owned by their former General in the army, General Waverly. Leading to the song and dance duo trying to devise ways to spare their old army general the fate of poverty and bankruptcy.

The movie musical features at least 17 songs, all of which were written by Irving Berlin. A Russian Jewish composer who arrived in the USA at the age of five. And whose compositions form a large part of The Great American Songbook. With The Great American Songbook being a loosely defined canon of 20th Century American jazz standards, popular songs, and show tunes. Irving Berlin is also known for his composition of "God Bless America" which was first made popular by the "Songbird of the South", the contralto, Kate Smith.

In "White Christmas", audiences are treated to the vocals of the crooner, Bing Crosby. Whose vocal style took American popular singing beyond the belting associated with Broadway stars like Al Jolson and Billy Murray. A relative of the classic hymn writer, Fanny Crosby, Bing Crosby's biggest hit song of his career was his recording of "White Christmas" which he introduced on a Christmas Day radio broadcast in 1941. Rosemary Clooney stars in "White Christmas", as well. A 1950s pop singer, she is the aunt of actor George Clooney of "ER" television fame.

The running time for the technicolor film, "White Christmas", is two hours and five minutes.

Luisa Reyes is an attorney in Tuscaloosa with a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Judson, a master's degree in library science, and a law degree from Samford's Cumberland School of Law. She is also a piano instructor and vocalist.