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White
Christmas
Genre: Musical/drama
Date: 1954
Directed by: Michael Curtiz
Alfalfa portrays: A GI whose snapshot
is shown to Bing Crosby
Alfalfa's screen time: 3 seconds
Lines of dialogue spoken by Alfalfa: 0
"White
Christmas" and image© Paramount Pictures Home Video
This Bing Crosby vehicle
features one of Alfalfa's most unusual appearances— as a GI
who is the subject of a snapshot that is shown to Crosby during
a break in a cabaret show. Crosby and Danny Kaye invite the Haynes
Sisters (Rosemary Cloonery and Vera-Ellen) to their table following
completion of the sisters' singing duet. The girls' brother Benny
served in the Army with Crosby and Kaye.
Crosby:
That's quite an act you kids have there. Funny thing, Benny never
told us that there was so much talent in the family.
Judy [Vera-Ellen]: Benny didn't want to take advantage
of an old Army friendship. You know how shy he is...modest and retiring.
I have a recent snapshot [she pulls out a photo of her brother and
shows it to Crosby].
Crosby: Oh? [looks at photo of Alfalfa] He always was a good-loking
kid.
Crosby
then trades incredulous looks across the table with Kaye.
If we are permitted to consider this an actual role for Alfalfa,
White Christmas marks the third and final appearance by Alfalfa
in a Crosby film (the first two were Dixie
and Going My Way.)
These appearances with Crosby are significant because it was Crosby's
"crooning" singing performances on which some of Alfalfa's
own singing was derived in the Little Rascals (Learn To Croon, Just
An Echo In the Valley). Alfalfa reportedly did not like Crosby,
however, primarily because he felt that Crosby unfairly quashed
many of Alfalfa's and his adolescent co-stars' hi-jinks during breaks
in filming on Going My Way.
White
Christmas was a quasi-remake of 1942's Holiday Inn. The role of
Phil Davis was originally intended for Fred Astaire. After Astaire
pulled out, he was replaced by Donald O'Connor, who also left the
production prior to filming. Danny Kaye was O'Connor's emergency
replacement.
Special
thanks to Alfalfa fan Myron Shulman for alerting 4alfalfa.com to
this Alfalfa sighting.
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