White Christmas has been my favorite movie, forever. When I was growing up in the 1960s and '70s, I watched it every December with my mother. It was one of her favorites, too. Each year as Christmas approached, we would scour the TV listings for its airing. Sometimes we watched it with grainy reception from a UHF channel from the nearest city. Sometimes we had other obligations and caught only the last few minutes of it, which is the best part anyway. On very rare occasions did we miss seeing it all together before the holiday season was over. It was one of our traditions.

When VHS tapes became available, White Christmas was the first movie I got to own. I still have it and watch it regularly. I can't write a neutral review of this movie. But I can tell you all about it, because I know it by heart.

Here's the story. Two men who served together during World War II join forces again after the war, now as a musical act. Bob Wallace (Bing Crosby) and Phil Davis (Danny Kaye) find success first as a song-and-dance duo, and then as producers of their own musical revues. While performing in Florida, they meet a pair of singing sisters: Betty (Rosemary Clooney) and Judy Haynes (Vera-Ellen). The women are heading to the Columbia Inn in Pine Tree, Vermont, where they are booked for the Christmas season. The men follow them, initially at Phil's insistence. It turns out that the inn is owned by their former commanding officer, Major General Tom Waverley (Dean Jagger). And since there's no snow on the ground, the general's ski lodge business is not booming. (They had no snow-making machines back then.) Bob and Phil figure out ways to help him, both financially and personally. And at the same time, of course, they're on track to fall in love with Betty and Judy. All of these developments are jeopardized a bit because of misunderstandings made by the nosy and gossipy housekeeper, Emma Allen (Mary Wickes). Naturally though, everything works out in the end in this romantic comedy-buddy musical.

The film is an obvious vehicle for the music of Irving Berlin. It capitalizes on the popularity of Bing Crosby's recording of "White Christmas." The movie Holiday Inn came out in 1942, and "White Christmas" won an Academy Award for Best Original Song from the musical. The song hit #1 on the charts soon afterward, and it rose up in the ranks again every few years during the holiday season. According to the fifth edition of The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (1992) by Joel Whitburn, "White Christmas" would become the best-selling single of all time. Why not use it as the premise for a full-length movie, then?

In addition to the title tune, you'll hear snippets of familiar Berlin songs at first: "Heat Wave," "Let Me Sing & I'm Happy" and "Blue Skies." Throughout the movie -- which is sometimes a musical within a musical -- we enjoy "We'll Follow the Old Man," "Sisters," "The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing," "Snow," "I'd Rather See a Minstrel Show," "Mister Bones," "Mandy," "Count Your Blessings," "Choreography," "Abraham," "Love, You Didn't Do Right by Me," "What Can You Do with a General?" and "Gee, I Wish I Was Back in the Army." Most have memorable lyrics and are ear-catching enough to linger in your mind, afterward.

And the dancing! Clooney, Crosby and Kaye can hold their own for the basic tap numbers. It's Vera-Ellen and John Brascia who are the real toe-tappers here. I love their moves in "Mandy," "Choreography" and "Abraham." I always wished that I could take lessons and do all of these steps myself. Alas, I'll have to be satisfied with prancing around on the living room rug, with my poor imitations of them.

This movie would have been vastly different if the role of Phil Davis had been played by Fred Astaire or Donald O'Connor, the initial #1 and #2 choices. Danny Kaye brings out the comedy in the actors around him, and he just naturally puts more fun into every scene. Bing and Rosemary are such veteran singers that it's a joy to hear their familiar voices here. By the way: Vera-Ellen's singing voice is dubbed in by Trudy Stevens. But Vera makes up for her lack of musicality with her dancing prowess. (Watch for her to lose her balance for a second, though, when she does Latin-style dancing with Danny on an overturned wooden boat in "The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing.") And I love Mary Wickes. LOVE her. She is perfect for the role of the busybody housekeeper.

Some critics call White Christmas a re-make of Holiday Inn. I disagree. Both showcase Irving Berlin's songs, and both star Bing Crosby. But the similarities end here. And I believe that this movie is the better one, with more universal appeal.

Even today, 65 years later, this movie can be relevant to a contemporary audience. Oh, sure, there are cultural differences to brush aside. A number of folks smoke here without concern. Vermont politics has changed too, over the years. But clothing and hairstyles aside: this movie is just plain fun. And it reminds of us the WWII era and the days afterward, when people supported one another and, yes, loved one another. My mother probably liked the movie for all of these reasons. It took her back to her teen and early adult years, when it seemed to her that anything was possible.

No matter how many times I watch White Christmas, I'm always in tears by the end, whether I watch it in December or in July. So pass me the tissue box, please. I've got to play this videocassette again.