银色圣诞

Paramount Pictures’ very first VistaVison extravaganza and American’s Yuletide staple, Michael Curtiz’s WHITE CHRISTMAS, conceived thematically but unofficially as a sequel to Mark Sandrich’s HOLIDAY ANN (1942), stars the top-notch crooner Bing Crosby as Bob Wallace, paired with Danny Kaye’s Phil Davis, they are the Wallace-Davis singing duo that makes their mark in NYC.

After ending up with a sisters act Betty and Judy Haynes (Clooney and Vera-Ellen), in Pine Tree, Vermont for the Christmas season, Wallace and Davis buckle down to help revitalize the inn owned by their former commanding officer in WWII, General Waverly (Jagger, embodying the star-spangle wholesomeness without a hitch), by bringing their entire hit musical to the place, a stunt will provide dear reminiscence for the retired general, whose livelihood is at stake if there is not enough patronage in this seemingly snow-less season, miracles, even a meteorological one will occur to save the day, gracing the festive atmospherics with a patriotic congratulation, but most importantly, it is an elderly military man’s easily bruised pride that should be treated with kid gloves.

Elsewhere, the quartet’s romantic vibes are served as a bare-bones plot devise, especially when Judy gets her wire crossed with Bob, a small setback only to be conveniently ironed out and she arrives at last minute on the scene, but seamlessly performs the centerpieces alongside with her costars as if she has never left and rehearsal is completely hogwash. But plausibility is never of major concern if you have show-tunes galore from Irving Berlin to smooth anyone’s ruffled feathers, the titular song is rehashed from HOLIDAY INN by Crosby, who is genial as ever, but the gaping age difference between him and his romance conquest is only accentuated under the VistaVison scrutiny; Clooney is a very fine chanteuse, but not nimble-foot enough to keep up with the rhythm and dramatic chops are significantly wanting here; Kaye is at his best in his buffoonish antics, and Vera-Ellen, the legit terpsichorean among the quartet, suffers from the fact that the bloom is visibly off the rose, and technically her movement is not on the par with Cyd Charisse or Ginger Rogers (for the former’s sheer grace and the latter’s apparent effortlessness), plus, she has no Astaire by her side to work wonders.

A lavish banquet on both ocular and aural levels, but there is something missing among all the varicolored pageantry and hubbubs, may it be the self-serious message it strives to send, or the lack of chemistry between the leads or charisma oozed from its players, or perhaps, it is not the right season to watch it, its magic diminishes when there is no Christmas tree or snow to facilitate our expectant preparedness.

看雨中曲和阿斯泰尔的舞蹈，留意到梦境舞蹈中扮演黑社会的女人的舞蹈演员Cyd Charisse，她的好几个片似乎都是以芭蕾为基底，没见过踢踏舞或者其他类型，我就有个疑问：好莱坞黄金时代芭蕾是不是和踢踏舞不太兼容到一个人？

银色圣诞里，Vera-Ellen和danny跳的第一个舞，感觉是涉及了好多种舞：首先感觉他的基础是芭蕾舞，而这段舞中间又见到有踢踏和交谊舞，在船壳背上跳的是弗拉门戈。丽塔海华丝的舞蹈感觉是很放松，并有一点俏皮玩乐，在卡门裏面的弗拉门戈，比较起西班牙弗拉门戈大师跳的，就显得鬆垮和轻佻。Vera-Ellen比较西班牙弗拉门戈大师的，也是缺少那种挺拔和力量的感觉，可能是要顾及整段舞的基调吧。

银色圣诞后来有段穿灰蓝色衣服女舞者跳的，有点现代舞的感觉。