Wayne County Life

The one-time only showing of the high-spirited holiday classic, directed by Michael Curtiz and filmed in Technicolor and VistaVision for the big screen in 1954, will cap off the downtown Lyons shopping promotion, Festive Friday. Festive Friday, a “last minute shopping blast”, brings shoppers to downtown Lyons for an opportunity to buy that last minute, not-from-a-big-box-store gift, gift certificate or experience from downtown Lyons businesses. Businesses will be open late and offer light snacks and samples all day long. An afternoon and early evening of shopping is bound to leave you ready for a delicious meal so, before the free movie, LNB encourages visitors to sample the fare at our local eateries.

The musical was the highest grossing movie of 1954 and found many additional fans ten years later when the movie premiered on television where it continues to delight Christmas and musical film fans of all ages. Unfortunately, the home television screen is not capable of presenting the movie in the scale it was meant to be shown – in VistaVision, a spectacular widescreen filming process first used by Paramount Pictures with this musical. 

The plot of White Christmas revolves around Bob Wallace (Bing Crosby) and Phil Davis (Danny Kaye), who become a top song-and-dance act after serving together in the Army during WWII. Davis plays matchmaker and introduces Wallace to a pair of beautiful sisters, Betty (Rosemary Clooney) and Judy (Vera Ellen), who also have a song-and-dance act. When the sisters travel to a Vermont lodge to perform a Christmas show, Wallace and Davis follow, only to find their former commander, General Waverly (Dean Jagger), as the lodge owner. 

A series of romantic mix-ups ensue as the performers try to help the General. Splashy costumes and big dance numbers like “Mandy” and “Choreography” take full advantage of the Technicolor process and the VistaVision filming technique was meant for the big screens of yesteryear and that the Ohmann Theatre still utilizes. The film hums with the voices of Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and Rosemary Clooney singing songs from the catalogue of Irving Berlin including “It Happens Only When You’re Dancing”, “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep”, and, of course, “White Christmas”. 

For additional information, please contact Jerry Ashley, Lyons Main Street Program, 315-871-4220 or 315-871-4209 orlyonsmainstreetprogram@gmail.com