White Christmas

This movie is one of my favorite Christmas movies. I didn’t discover it until a few years ago but since then I’ve watched it every Christmas without fail. It’s a cute little romance story set in a surprisingly warm Pine Tree Vermont in December staring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen.

Our main characters, Bob Wallace and Phil Davis met in World War II. Bob already had a solo voice act before the war but after Phil saved his live, injuring his arm in the process, his solo became a duet. Now that the two have become wildly famous, Davis has taken it upon himself to secure Bob’s happiness and find him a wife, his ulterior motive being a little time all to himself. Enter Betty and Judy Haynes, sisters of an old army pal of Bob and Phil. Betty is the ‘mother hen’ older sister and Judy is the manipulative scamp. If it’s for their greater good, she’ll do it without hesitation. When Bob takes notice of Betty, Phil instantly decides to sent them up, whatever it takes. This leads them straight to Vermont and a snowless ski lodge run by Bob and Phil’s former army General.

Enter the plot. General Waverly, his granddaughter and his house keeper run this ski lodge. The problem is there’s no snow. No snow means no skiing, no skiing means no business and no business means no money. They’d already hired the Haynes sisters to perform for their guests which now don’t exist. Our four main characters decide to help out the old General by bringing the whole Wallace and Davis show up to the lodge. Bob soon learns, however that this isn’t quite enough to lift General Waverly’s spirits and decides to doing something extra special for the old man.

I like this movie for two main reasons. The first is the romance. This is not your typical romance. Bob and Betty don’t hate each other but they’re not exactly friendly either. They spend the movie going back and forth between getting along perfectly and squabbling about something. Usually it’s Betty getting offended or misled about Bob’s intentions and pushing him away. Poor Bob. Naturally, Phil and Judy can’t be left out. Initially they get along very well but the romantic spark is rather downplayed by their schemes to get Bob and Betty together. I’m not entirely sure how it is that Phil is the one who gets the girls when he acts rather awkward in reply to Judy’s advances. Bob and Betty’s relationship feels extremely natural, despite their friends pushing them towards it. Even after they kiss for the first time it’s not a huge change for them. They just keep going as they had before, pretending it was no big deal.

The other reason I love this movie is the music. Yes, White Christmas is a musical. Again, though, it feels natural. A lot of the time the music is in context. Bob and Phil are professional performers, with their own TV show and everything. Betty and Judy are more armature but they have a lot of talent and also perform for a living. So with a few exceptions the song and dance numbers happen during a show or rehearsal. Even those few songs that occur outside of the show feel natural because we know this is what they do. It just seems right for Phil to sing to Judy as they dance, and for Bob to serenade Betty during their late night chance meeting.

So if you haven’t seen it, go watch it. If you have, watch it again. It’s a good movie.

Masquerade

I thought I would give you all something original. Since there's poetry flying everywhere, here is a short story I wrote towards the end of my senior year.

She danced across the ball room, her red dress flowing out around her as she whirled from partner to partner. She flowed from masked man to masked man as seamlessly as the music that accompanied her, never once missing a beat. Her face was hidden behind a gold trimmed silver butterfly, its wings decorated with feathers that tickled her ears. She glided across the dance floor, white mask after white mask flashing before her eyes. She cared not who these men were, nor did they care who she was, tonight was all about the music, and the dancing, as it should be.

She felt him before she saw him. His presence was made known to her by the beating of her heart, suddenly wild and out of sync with the music. She stopped and the music stopped with her, as if they were connected. Her partner continued a step, letting her go as she turned to stare. Even the gold mask that covered his face could not hide him from her. The crowd seemed to part as he strode towards her, his swagger ever bit justified by his status. He offered her his hand and she took it, powerless to resist.

“Dance with me.”

His command was answered immediately with movement. Her feet followed his lead without her willing them to, gliding into the next dance as the music started up once more. She continued to stare as he moved her, hand pressed against the small of her back, fingers squeezing hers, eyes dancing along with their bodies.

“I told you,” he said. “You can’t hide forever.”

“I can try,” she replied. “I don’t want to go back.”

“You don’t have a choice.” he said, twirling her before pulling her into a dip. “I played your game, now we play mine.”

She noticed now that everyone was watching them. As he swung her back into the dance, they were alone on the floor, alone with the music.

“This was meant to be,” he told her. “We were destined for this.”

“Destiny is for mortals,” she replied. “We should be able to choose our fate.”

He laughed at her. “Fate is bigger than even us,” he told her. “You of all people should know that.”

The music slowed and their movements slowed with it. Soon they were standing in the center of the floor.

“It’s time to go,” he said. He leaned in and kissed her on the lips. “And this time, there is no running away.”

She blinked, her vision blurring. “You didn’t…” she said, her body quickly growing numb.

“I did.” he smiled as blackness closed in on her. Her mask fell from her face as she went limp in his arms. He didn’t bother to pick it up as he left with her.