There are films that we regard as Christmas films that aren't really all that festive apart from a fleeting reference. Meet Me In St Louis for example features Judy Garland's stunning version of 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas' yet follows the family throughout the year. It's A Wonderful Life ends on Christmas Eve but isn't really any more Christmassy than You've Got Mail, another film we watch at least once a year. One would imagine that a film with the word Christmas in the title would drip with glitter, tinsel, plum puddings and Christmas trees but White Christmas doesn't scan as a Christmas film for some reason. It is a fine musical but was only really created in order to capitalise on the song, maybe the plan worked because 'White Christmas' has been named as the richest song of all time. 

White Christmas has a feeling of a film that was rushed out and hastily cobbled together to cash in as the brilliance is reserved for the musical sequences that showcase the four person starring line up of Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Vera Ellen and Rosemary Clooney. Story-wise the plot has borrowed from the well worn formula (even in those days) of 'let's do the show right here'. Crosby and Kaye are two entertainers who unite after the war and become a sensation, the two female leads play a double act who grab the men's attention making them decide to follow them to a hotel in Vermont where they have a booking. There's no snow so the hotel is doing badly and by coincidence that never happens in real life the hotel is owned by the retired General they served under. Rather than giving the cast of their show the Christmas holiday off they drag them along to do a show on Christmas Eve in order to bring business to the place. Of course there's a happy ending and for good measure it snows on Christmas Eve. It isn't a tear jerker by any means but despite the often slapdash nature this remains one of the best throwaway rainy day afternoon movies of all time. We watched it today by the way.

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