The Twelve Days of “White Christmas”... Number 1. And a Snowstorm on the Cutting Room Floor

Okay, it’s time to wrap this series up and go unwrap some presents! So, let’s finish by looking at what was supposed to be the final shot of White Christmas:

Our heroes have rescued the general by inviting his old Army pals to fill up the empty rooms at the inn and, best of all, it’s finally started to snow, promising a steady stream of visitors well into the winter. The camera slowly pulls back and outside to show the exterior of the Vermont lodge and surrounding grounds being absolutely blanketed with flurries of white, as “The End” in distinctive Paramount Script appears in the foreground.

The exterior set was actually to be a finely detailed, handmade miniature. It was the perfect ending… except for the cost.

So producer Robert Emmett Dolan made the call to cut the scene, explaining that the studio “could not, in all honesty, spend $40,000 or $50,000 on a shot that we had no assurance the audience would still be in the theaer to see.”

Instead, we ended up Bing signaling the show crew to open the barn doors behind the stage to reveal a painted backdrop and then yelling, “Merry Christmas!” as if to assure as that there was a veritable blizzard outside.

Now go enjoy your Christmas, and thank you for spending a little bit of your holidays at The Danny Kaye Show.

The Twelve Days of “White Christmas”... Number 2. Two Trademark Tunes

Early drafts of White Christmas began on the theater circuit, at a performance of song-and-dance team Wallace and Davis. It was producer Robert Emmett Dolan who got on the idea to start the movie on the battlefield, with Wallace and Davis as soldiers performing for their fellow troops.

For years, Dolan had been receiving mail from ex-GI’s begging him to recreate the common wartime sight of soldiers listening to the song “White Christmas” overseas, as it stirred up memories of their families back home.

Best of all, adding the new beginning meant Bing Crosby didn’t have to wait until the end of the picture to sing “White Christmas.” He could croon it twice—once at the start, then a reprise with his co-stars at the finish.

The Twelve Days of “White Christmas”… Number 7. Six Names a-Changin’

Rosemary Clooney's character and her nightclub both got name changes.

After each screenplay draft of White Christmas was submitted to the studio, producer Robert Emmett Dolan and director Michael Curtiz would sit down with the writer in a story conference to review what they liked, what they didn’t like, what was missing, and what the lead performers were concerned about.

Norman Krasna wrote his first two drafts with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire in mind as the leads. The scripts had basically the same plot as would the eventual finished movie, except for the lead characters, who were venerable show business contemporaries (which Astaire didn’t like) and romantic rivals (which Crosby didn’t like).

Despite their stars' lingering concerns, in analyzing the second draft, the biggest changes Dolan and Curtiz suggested were changing most of the names. Instead of “Chuck Wallace,” they said Crosby should go by the mellower “Robert,” “Bob,” or “James.” (“Bob” stuck.) Instead of “Johnny Davis,” Astaire should be renamed “Phillp.” (It ended up as “Phil.”) Wallace’s love interest, “Helen,” sounded more attractive yet still level-headed as “Betty” or “Beth.” (They went with “Betty.”) “Judy” was fine for her kid sister. New York TV gossip columnist “Steve King” was to be renamed either “Ed” or “Walter” (to conjure up the image of Ed Sullivan or Walter Winchell. They went with the Sullivan-esque “Ed Harrison.”).

Dolan and Curtiz also wanted the two nightclubs renamed. For the Florida club, instead of “Fancy Free,” they suggested “Heads Up” or “Fiddle Sticks.” (It became the benign “Florida Theatre.”) And in New York, in place of the “Kit Kat Club,” they asked for either the “9 O’Clock Club” or “The Carrousel.” (They used the latter.)

All the characters’ personalities, however, remained the same.

The name changes were insufficient. A few weeks later, both Crosby and Astaire walked. Fortunately, one of them was eventually persuaded to return.