White Christmas (film) - Plot

Plot

On Christmas Eve, 1944, somewhere in Europe, two World War II U.S. Army buddies, one a Broadway entertainer, Bob Wallace (Bing Crosby), the other a would-be entertainer, Phil Davis (Danny Kaye) give a show to the troops of the 151st Division in a forward area. But the mood is somber: word has come down that their beloved commanding officer, Major General Thomas F. Waverly (Dean Jagger), is being relieved of command. He arrives for the end of the show and delivers an emotional farewell. The men give him a rousing send-off ("The Old Man"). An enemy artillery barrage ensues, and Davis saves Wallace's life by carrying him out of the way of a toppling wall, wounding his own arm slightly in the process. Using his "wounded" arm and telling Bob he doesn't expect any "special obligation", Phil convinces Bob to join forces as an entertainment duo when the war is over. Phil using his wound to get Bob to do what he wants becomes a running gag throughout the movie.

After the war, the pair make it big in nightclubs, radio and then on Broadway. Becoming successful producers, they eventually mount their newest hit musical entitled Playing Around. Phil is increasingly concerned that his pal Bob has not met a woman with whom he can settle down and several clumsy attempts to set him up with showgirls fail.

In mid-December, after two years on Broadway, the show is in Miami, and while performing at the Florida Theatre, they receive a letter from "Freckle-Faced Haynes, the dog-faced boy", a mess sergeant with whom they'd been acquanted back in the war, asking them to audition his two sisters. When they go to the club to audition the act ("Sisters"), Phil notices that Bob is smitten with Betty (Rosemary Clooney), while Phil has eyes for her sister, Judy (Vera-Ellen).

Following their number, the girls join Bob and Phil at their table, and believing he may have found the right girl for Bob, Phil brings Judy on to the dance floor so that Bob and Betty can get to know each other better. Phil and Judy hit it off ("The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing"), and Judy tells Phil that she and her sister are headed for the Columbia Inn in Pine Tree, Vermont, where they are booked to perform over the holidays. Back at the table, Betty reveals to Bob that Judy herself, not her brother, sent them the letter. The two get into a brittle argument, and the prospects for a romance seem doubtful.

When the girls' corrupt landlord claims the sisters burned a $200 rug and is trying to have them arrested, Phil hears the news and helps them escape out the window, giving the girls their own sleeping-room accommodations aboard the train to Vermont.

To give the girls time to make it to the train, Phil convinces Bob to don the girls' forgotten costumes and lip-sync "Sisters" from a record after which the boys arrive on the same train two hours later. The girls are all over Bob in appreciation for giving up their sleeping accommodations and Phil uses "his arm" once again to convince Bob to travel with the girls to Vermont for the holidays ("Snow").

When everybody arrives to put on the show at the Pine Tree Ski Lodge, there's not a flake in sight and the weather is so unseasonably warm, chances of it falling appear dim. The boys discover that the inn is run by their former commanding officer, Gen. Waverly, who has invested all his savings and pension into the lodge, and it's in danger of failing because of the lack of snow and consequent lack of patrons.

Deciding to help out and bring business up to the inn, Wallace and Davis bring the entire cast and crew of their new musical Playing Around, and add in Betty and Judy where they can. At the same time, Bob and Betty's relationship starts to bloom ("Count Your Blessings") and they begin to spend a good deal of time together. Meanwhile, Bob discovers the General's rejected attempt at rejoining the army, and decides to prove to the General that he isn't forgotten.

Bob calls Ed Harrison (Johnny Grant), an old army buddy, now the host of a successful variety show (intentionally similar to that of variety show pioneer Ed Sullivan). Bob tells Ed that he wants to make a televised pitch to all the men formerly under the command of the General, asking them to come to the inn on Christmas Eve as a surprise.

In response, Harrison suggests they go all out and put the show on national television, playing up the whole "schmaltz" angle of the situation and generating lots of free advertising for Wallace and Davis in the process. What Bob doesn't know is that nosy housekeeper Emma Allen (Mary Wickes) has been listening in to the phone conversation on the extension but has only heard about the whole schmaltz suggestion, hanging up before Bob rejects the idea.

Mistakenly believing that her beloved boss will be presented as a pitiable figure on a primetime coast to coast broadcast, Emma reveals what she heard to a shocked Betty who is originally loath to believe Bob would pull such a stunt for his own gain, but mistakenly comes to believe he would indeed stoop to such depths.

The misunderstanding causes a now-disillusioned Betty to grow suddenly frigid to an equally-baffled Bob. Unaware of the real reason for her sudden change of behavior, Judy becomes convinced that Betty, ever-protective of her little sister, will never take on a serious relationship until Judy is engaged or married. She pressures an extremely reluctant Phil to announce a phony engagement, but the plan backfires when Betty abruptly departs for New York City, having received a job offer.

Distraught, Phil and Judy reveal to Bob that the engagement announcement was phony, and Bob, still unaware of the real reason behind Betty's annoyance, heads to New York to explain. Bob goes to see Betty's new act ("Love, You Didn't Do Right By Me") and reveals the truth about the engagement, but is called away by Ed Harrison before he can find out what is really bothering her. Meanwhile, back at the Inn, Phil fakes an injury to distract Gen. Waverly so he won't see the broadcast or Bob's announcement.

On the broadcast, Bob proceeds to ask the veterans of the 151st Division to come to Pine Tree, Vermont, on Christmas Eve ("What Can You Do With A General"). When Betty is backstage in the greenroom between performances, she catches Bob's pitch on a television set and realizes she was mistaken. All is set right, and she returns to Pine Tree just in time for the show on Christmas Eve. Emma convinces Gen. Waverly that all his suits were sent to the cleaners, and suggests he wear his old uniform to the opening of the show. Initially reluctant, he agrees. When the General enters the lodge where the show is to take place, he is greeted by his former division, who sing a rousing chorus of "The Old Man". Just as the following number ("Gee, I Wish I Was Back In The Army") ends, he is notified that snow is finally falling.

In the finale, Bob and Betty declare their love for one another, as do Phil and Judy. The background of the set is removed to show the snow falling, everyone raises a glass, and toasts, "May your days be merry and bright; and may all your Christmases be white."