35 Surprising Things About 'White Christmas' That Even Movie Buffs Don't Know

The composer was an Oscar presenter in 1943 and happened to open the envelope and read his own name as the winner. After winning for his Holiday Inn rendition of "White Christmas," he joked with the audience, "I'm glad to present the award. I've known him for a long time."

As Betty Haynes, Rosemary Clooney plays Vera-Ellen's older sister in the movie, but she was actually seven years younger. When the film came out, Clooney was 26, and Vera-Ellen, 33. Even more striking? Bing Crosby, who plays her love interest, was 51 when the movie debuted. That's a 25-year-age gap! (It's also funny to note that Dean Jagger, who played the retired, elderly general was actually born a few months after Crosby.)

Because Vera-Ellen was two inches shorter than Rosemary Clooney, wardrobe gave her higher heels to wear. That way, the two women would appear to be similar heights during their performances.

The film instantly gained notoriety and buzz the year it was released for being in VistaVision, Paramount's then-brand-new process of projecting on a wide, flat screen. The result was a better pictorial quality and better on-screen colors.

Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye's comedy act wasn't originally in the story. The actors were goofing around and director Michael Curtiz found it so hilarious that he wrote the scene in. Apparently, the actors found it comical, too: The laughing during the number is real. The take in the film was the best one they could get of the two, who kept cracking each other up.

General Waverly's Columbia Inn in fictional Pine Tree, Vermont, made its debut a decade before in Holiday Inn. The set on the Paramount lot was refurbished for the next Christmas classic.

When the character Judy Haynes sings, you're actually hearing singer Trudy Stevens. The only time Vera-Ellen's real singing voice is heard is when they disembark the train in Vermont and the quartet sing the opening lines of "Snow."

Vera-Ellen started dancing at age 10. And at 18, she became one of the youngest Radio City Rockettes, performing in several Broadway shows before heading to Hollywood. Fun tidbit: Growing up in Norwood, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati, she carpooled to dancing classes with Doris Day!

The actress once said the movie would be perfect if only they could have "dubbed" her dancing. In fact, her character only has two major dance scenes throughout the whole film. In "Sisters," the props distract from the rather simple choreography, allowing her to keep up with Vera-Ellen.

Throughout the film, dancer George Chakiris accompanies the Haynes sisters in an uncredited role. But soon after, he received the credit he was due: He later won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as Bernardo in West Side Story.

After Fred and Bing's success in Holiday Inn, this film was intended to reunite them. But Fred had "retired" by the time White Christmas was shot 12 years later and he declined. Next, the part was offered to Donald O'Connor (known for Singin' in the Rain), but he pulled out after an illness. Finally, the part went to Danny Kaye.

Rumor has it, anyway. As stated on IMDb, the camera belonged to NBC's Channel 4 station in New York (which changed its name to WRCA-TV in 1954).

The iconic scene when Bob tells Betty his theory of what foods cause which dreams was almost completely improvised. (Then, he launched into "Count Your Blessings" and we stopped caring that buttermilk with liverwurst sandwiches sounds absolutely vile.) In fact, much of Bob's dialogue was based on Bing's own conversation. So thank him for gems like, "weirdsmobile."

In a blink-and-you-miss-it moment, Bing's character says that the menu is not the same as "Toots Shor's." As it turns out, that was a very real restaurant on 51st Street in Manhattan — a favorite celebrity hangout at the time.

According to the supplemental info on the DVD, she wanted the role because she hoped to perform with Bing Crosby. The decision kicked off a lifelong friendship. "I was so in awe of him," the actress later said in a documentary by Rabbit & Snail.

The actor apparently caused plenty of retakes by making everyone break character with his humor. His on-screen jokes and antics had everyone cracking up while filming.

Yes. Long before his sizzling moves appeared in films like Cabaret, Chicago, and All that Jazz, a young Bob sent Vera-Ellen spinning and tapping across the stage.

When Bob looks at a picture of Benny Haynes, "The Dog-Faced Boy," it's actually an image of a grown-up Carl Switzer. He's best remembered for playing Alfalfa in the original Our Gang, also known as the The Little Rascals.