It takes a stubborn sort of nostalgia to appreciate this holiday-themed musical. The title number may give you goose bumps in December, but the rest of the film is dull enough to induce hibernation. Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye play Army buddies who have gone on to a lucrative crooning career. They team up with a sister act (Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen) to put on a holiday show at the struggling Vermont resort owned by the general under whom they once served. Irving Berlin standards set the tone for most of the musical numbers, so the movie feels less like a holiday film than a greatest-hits package.
