Art of the Title

  • Title Sequences
  • Designers + Studios

White Christmas (1954)

White Christmas
Well, you're not exactly Superman, but you're awfully available.
—Judy Haynes
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Post
  • More

In October of 1954, when White Christmas was released, it was advertised as “the most fabulous music-and-mirth show in motion picture history!” and it certainly was. Starring Bing Crosby, the number one box office star at the time, and Danny Kaye, the number three, and featuring the most successful song in American history, it’s no surprise that Irving Berlin’s White Christmas was the highest grossing film of that year.

Additionally, as the title sequence announces, it was the first movie to be shown in Paramount’s new VistaVision format. This was a higher resolution, widescreen variant of 35mm film created by engineers at Paramount Pictures that allowed the projection print to have a finer grain. This can be seen right off the bat in the background for the Paramount logo, which was created especially for the wide-screen projection and appears more realistic and has more depth than before. It was more clear, more sharp, and the expanded width gave a greater feeling of depth.

Trailer for White Christmas (1954)

The difference in the format came from the way that film passed through the VistaVision camera – horizontally instead of vertically, exposing an area measured by eight sprocket holes for each frame of negative instead of four, which was the standard at the time. The result was an exposed area that was almost three times as large as that of a negative passed through another movie camera.

Plus, movies made in the VistaVision format were easily disseminated. They worked with standard 35mm film projectors, making them compatible with existing theatre systems. It’s surprising, then, that VistaVision as a format only lasted about seven years in the American market. As film stocks with finer grain and anamorphic processes such as CinemaScope began to appear on the market, VistaVision was quickly overtaken. Paramount dropped the format in 1961, but it lingered on in a handle of films, particularly in European and Japanese productions.

In the 1970s, its influence could be seen in the new 70mm film formats that emerged: IMAX and OMNIMAX, both of which are oriented horizontally like VistaVision was. It also found a home in special effects process work, beginning with 1977’s Star Wars, and appearing in effects-heavy films including Back to the Future (1985), True Lies (1994), The Matrix (1999), Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010), and most recently Interstellar (2014).

IMAGE: White Christmas "The End" card

White Christmas (1954) "The End" card

  • Credits

Title Design: uncredited

Illustrator: Dorothea Holt Redmond
Special Photographic Effects: John P. Fulton

Music:
 Irving Berlin
Music Direction and Vocal Arrangements: Joseph J. Lilley
Orchestral Arrangements: Van Cleave

Support Art of the TItle

Related

  • It's a Wonderful Life

    It's a Wonderful Life

    summary

  • Die Hard

    Die Hard

    summary

  • Bad Santa

    Bad Santa

    summary

  • Scrooge

    Scrooge

    summary

  • Singin' in the Rain

    Singin' in the Rain

    title only

  • The Palm Beach Story

    The Palm Beach Story

    summary

Title sequence

  • Category

    Film
  • Styles

    1950s, copyright line, main title, typographic
White Christmas
  • Film Director

    Michael Curtiz
  • Release Date

    October 14, 1954
  • Aspect Ratio

    1.85:1
  • Studio

    Paramount Pictures
  • Country

    USA
  • Language

    English
  • Reviews

    Reviews on Letterboxd
  • IMDb has full details

Article

  • Writer

    Lola Landekic
  • Published

    December 1, 2015

Subscribe to Art of the Title

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS

Support the site

  • About
  • News
  • Titles
  • Features
  • Designers
  • Studios
  • Sponsorship

Art of the Title is made with ❤ in Toronto and is supported by readers like you.

© 2007–2025 Art of the Title, LLC. All rights reserved.
Works appearing on Art of the Title are the property of their respective owners.

  • Gold Sponsor

    NOW OPEN! LET’S TALK

  • Silver Sponsor

    NOW OPEN! LET’S TALK