Hear My Voice

Hear My Voice, A Children’s Translation of Gospel Readings of the Catholic Mass for 2009 , was written by Jonathan Stampf and illustrated by Robert Conrad and was written as a result of the difficulty that Mr. Stampf and his wife were finding in keeping their two young children attentive and involved in the Sunday Mass. In Stampf’s words: “The inspiration came from the challenge of keeping our little girls occupied and behaving at Mass. We tried the glass children’s room in our church, but that was more like a day care center than Mass. I saw parents in the pews supply their kids with baggies of Cheerios and coloring books, and though we resorted to that once or twice, that didn’t sit right with me. I saw some parents supply their kids with bible story books or children’s prayer books: a step in the right direction, but this still left the child disconnected from the Mass. Then it occurred to me to look for children’s bible stories synchronized with the lectionary cycle. Finding none, I wrote this book, the first in a series of three.”

How many times as parents have we been faced with this same challenge? I read or heard once, years ago, that it was a most excellent way to prepare the family the evening before Mass by reading the Sunday readings. We tried that for a short time and I know it helped me to be able to gain more out of the readings as I was at least a little familiar with what was being read and could glean something as I dealt with dropped soothers, squirming toddlers and bathroom calls. However – I doubt it made much impact on the younger children – the very age group that Jonathan Stampf has directed his translations to – the six through eight year old in the pew, never mind the ones even younger than that.

Eventually in the flurry of the evening before bath and prep time as well as the last minute angst of getting all out the door in time for Mass on Sunday morning– this effort was dropped. I simply did not have the time to figure out what day of what season we were in and then the appropriate readings. Even with the ease of the internet, I simply found myself unable to make this a priority. One of the advantages of Hear My Voice is that it is dated so that one only needs to flip through the book and find the correct date. In an index in the front of the book you can find a list of the dates for all the Sundays of the last months of 2008 and all of 2009, with the corresponding Mass description beside it. For instance this November 30^th will be the First Sunday of Advent, while the twenty fifth of October of 2009 will be the thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary time. However – this ease of use does limit the reuse of this book unless you have the wherewithal in the next B Cycle to follow it by the church calendar. In that case you could most certainly reuse it again in three years time.

As noted in my quotation above Mr. Stampf intends to release a second and third volume to match the upcoming cycles so that ultimately one would need all three volumes – assuming you have enough children in the correct age range for the next three years.

But what about the younger children in your family, you might well ask? Will they get the readings as well? And how about my older kids? Well, Jonathan has cleverly added both illustrations for each and every reading, and the actual liturgy to be read that Sunday is also included in a side column in smaller print. These are taken from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of the second edition.

I can foresee a variety of ways in which one can make use of this book – depending on how much time one wants to invest in it. It can simply replace the bedtime story prior to evening prayers or one could build an activity around it. There are many sites online that will allow one to print off coloring pages and it would not be hard to find a bible coloring page to accompany the reading and when that was not possible, crayons and blank sheets can be passed out the younger crowd along with encouragement to draw about what they are hearing. The six through eight year olds can be seated closest to you and look at the pictures more closely so as to closely imitate the intention of this book which is to have the parent “to read a passage with their child the evening before Mass, and leave the book with him or her, giving the child time to paint in the details of their understanding onto the simple illustrations.”

If you have older children as I do, the addition of the actual liturgy is a great addition as it can then be read aloud to the rest of the family while the younger ones cuddle in to you and absorb the pictures.

As to the choice of art, it is a style that might appeal to some more than others. I myself prefer the older style of art as depicted in the many Rev. Lovasik books we have on our school shelf. However, when I showed it to six year old Emma without reading any of the text to her, she was able to correctly identify what was happening and appeared to enjoy the illustrations. She was inspired enough to flip through the book briefly and asked me to read one or two passages for more details as to what the picture was about.

Jonathan has striven to remain true to the actual meaning of the text being read in church and in his words “This book does not try to change the gospel stories to be stylish or impose the latest slang onto them. It is a children’s English translation, for our children to understand and hear Jesus’ voice more clearly as He speaks to them in the pages of the Gospel.“ From my reading of the book I find that, for the most part, Jonathan has achieved this faithfulness to the actual Gospel being shared, a feat I cannot imagine was easy. There are a few spots that jumped out at me – one of them from his website itself where he gives four samples of the readings complete with the accompanying illustration and the actual Sunday Gospel.

Now we come down to price for this useful volume. It is 18.95 plus shipping and handling. When I quoted this to one mum after Mass today an eyebrow went up and then she made a good suggestion. 'Take a look at what is out there online and see how the price compares.' Well – Peg, I did and the only thing that I could find was the actual Children’s lectionary of which not all cycles/volumes are currently in print as they are in the process of rewriting them. Luckily I was able to take a peek inside one volume on Amazon and so can give you an eye witness comparison.

The lectionary is a substantially larger book as it covers all the readings from that cycle, including the responsorial psalm and, of course, follows the church calendar without actual dates, eliminating that ease of use that Hear My Voice offers. Nor did the Lectionary offer any illustrations so as to help a parent engage the youngest children who will not necessarily follow the actual reading but might be enthralled by a lively picture that relates to the reading. This official lectionary sold on Amazon for 23.07, (when in print) and while one would need to repurchase the Hear My Voice volumes for a few years in order to take advantage of the ease of use for the dates – the price of 18.95 is well within the range of the average Catholic magazine subscription which range from 16.95 to 24.00 per year.

With Advent a mere stones throw away – I think this would be an excellent time to invest in something of this sort. I know I am looking forward to using my readers copy to help us prepare the evening before each of the upcoming Sundays in Advent. I plan to add to this review after Advent and report as to the difference I found it made, but as the book is scheduled for release on or about the fifteenth of this November and it is following a calendar that starts this November 30^th, I felt it was more advantageous to you, the reader, that I share something of it now.

By the way - do you have your Advent candles yet? If not, best grab some quick and if you liked this review you should buy a copy of Hearing My Voice and start preparing for Advent.

Book Review: The Shining Company

The historical novel is one of my favorite genres. I think the first one I read was War and Peace, which I am really due to reread, given I read it at the ripe old age of eighteen.

While The Shining Company is not in the same league as War and Peace, it is a great read and is actually more driven to the interest level of the teen reader than that of an adult. Nor is it completely appropriate for a younger child of say, eleven or ten. It deals with war in a very realistic manner which will likely appeal to the older teens, especially the male reader, but might be over whelming to a younger lad.

The Shining Company drew my interest in from the very start when the main character, Prosper finds himself at the nearby Monastery dragging his birthday gift behind him, a young slave; a boy his own age. Not only is Prosper annoyed with his father for this gift but worse, the boy is wounded and now Prosper must waste his Name day caring for his servant. Prosper is motherless and his father cares for him little given as Old Nurse is want to say that Prosper is “long-boned and tawny-fair like my mother, who died in giving me life.” It seems that Prosper’s father keeps what ‘ heart warmth’ he has in reserve for his oldest son Owain.

We see later in the day that Prosper does have some feelings when his young cousin begins to ask some very basic questions of this newest member of their household, such as what is your name and Prosper feels some shame that he did not think to ask such a common question as that. Luned, Prosper’s pretty cousin quickly learns Conn’s name as well as his place of origin and in short time we see the beginnings of a friendship being forged between the three youngsters.

The setting for this story is the 600s and the characters in this book are almost all drawn from men who actually lived and fought in the great battle of Catreath (pronounced Katreth and is now known as Catterick) The memories of the three hundred warriors who fought this battle against the Saxon that were invading their homeland have been immortalized in the Poem
Y Gododdin by one of the few survivors of the war, the poet Annerin.

The author of The Shining Company, Rosemary Sutcliff opens the story with our hero speaking to us as an adult and first referencing this poem Gododdin, as well as its author Annerin, but then quickly backtracks to his youth and how he came to be a part of this epic battle. Not only he, but Conn.

Myself, once I arrived at the detailed battle scenes I skipped through the descriptions garnishing only enough to get the general idea of who was winning and moved on as quickly as possible to the next scene. The author does a great job of leading the reader to imagine how difficult life was at that time as well as how brutally war was fought. Again, I believe the male teen reader, especially one who enjoys military history will especially enjoy this book. Still, I believe it can also hold the interest of a young female reader as Sutcliff draws a sympathetic character in Prosper. She also engages our interest in his friendship with Conn which continues throughout the book, with one of them finally winning the heart of the fair Luned.

For those studying early history this book makes a great addition to your library, bringing a very distant time back to life for the reader. It is also somewhat poignant to know that each and every warrior that we are introduced to actually existed and served in the Shining Company under the leadership of King Mynyddog and his son Ceredig, typically referred to as the Fosterling due to the circumstances of his birth, the King only having three legitimate children with his queen - all of them girls.

I highly recommend this book as a good read but again caution you that the battle scenes are detailed and some parents may wish to read the book themselves before deciding which children in their family are ready to read it.

For those interested I have included a link to an interview with the author. This interview took place before Sutcliff had even written The Shining Company, but she finishes the interview mentioning her plans to write it.

Movie Review: Christmas In Connecticut

Last year as I was searching Netflix to create a Christmas watch list for the family, I remembered a movie that I had seen the last part of years before on the Classic Movie channel. I could not remember its title or who had stared in it. I only remembered that it was about a young woman who had created a fictional magazine character who was married and lived on a farm with her husband and their infant child. The crisis comes when the owner of the magazine she is writing for invites himself to her idyllic home for Christmas Eve and she must scramble and conjure up a husband, farm and baby in just a few days. What I had seen of it was extremely funny and I very badly wanted to try and find it again.

Somehow, I managed to stumble across the movie; Christmas in Connecticut staring Barbara Stanwyck and Denis Morgan, directed by Peter Godfrey and was produced by Warner Brothers 1945. While I more or less remembered the plot line, when we watched it as a family I discovered it was even more comical than I recalled and certainly a bit more complex.

Elizabeth Lane, (Stanwyck) is the authoress of a magazine column in Smart Housekeeping owned by tycoon Alexander Yardley (Sydney Greenstreet). Just as I recalled she had indeed invented a sham housewife, husband and infant, along with a fictional farm life in Connecticut for the magazine. However, she had also become famous for the wonderful gourmet meals she provides recipes for in her column, as well as the serene family life she has spun for her readers. In cahoots with Lane, is Dudley Beecham (Robert Shayne) her editor. When the big boss, Yardley, calls editor Beecham to demand that Mrs. Lane drop by his home and discuss the arrangements that he has made to have a homeless war hero spend Christmas with her and family on the farm in Connecticut both Lane and Beecham begin to learn the true meaning of the expression “Oh what tangle webs we weave, when first we begin to deceive!”

Rather than admit the truth to Yardley who is a stickler for honesty and integrity, they dig themselves further into the hole by conjuring up a dream farm and family and then whilst Lane struggles to play the part of the happily married wife of architect John Sloan (Reginald Gardiner), we watch her fall in love with the war hero Jefferson Jones (Denis Morgan). Adding to the comedy of the situation are the 'stand in' babies who keep changing sex as their mothers drop them off for Sloan’s housekeeper to baby-sit. Then there is the problem that Lane can not even boil water, let alone create these master pieces she has been cooking these past years in her fantasy double life. Enter the adorable Felix, (S.Z. Sakall) the chef who worships Lane as the result of some favor she did for him in the distant past, and who has been providing her with the recipes for her column. All of this adds up to a huge mix of laughs, funny lines and good fun for the family to watch.

Our whole family enjoyed this movie, bringing lots of guffaws from the older ones in the gang. Today when I watched it again on my laptop to refresh my memories, even Nathaniel, six, and Emma, four, happily sat by my side and watched it intently, often discussing together what was happening.
“That man is leaving now.”
No he’s not. See, they is still dancing!”
Perhaps it was more the treat of spending time alone with Mummy but they did appear to remain engaged the whole movie.

This movie, still available in black and white, can be found on DVD and can be purchased through Amazon or Movies Unlimited. I believe though that I bought our copy for less than you will find it for on either of these sites though half.com, including shipping. This movie, in my humble opinion, is well worth harboring in any family movie library.

Movie Review: The Great Rupert

The Great Rupert, now sold under the name of A Christmas Wish, was produced by George Pal Productions in 1950, and appears to be often listed as a class B film, sometimes not even showing in some of the actors’ bios. However, it is quite a delightful little movie, especially if you are a Jimmy Durante fan.

We came across it quite by accident when our oldest daughter was here for Thanksgiving and she grabbed some one dollar DVD’s on a rack as she checked out at a local grocery store. Looking for something different to watch Sunday while home with an ill child I stuck the DVD in the player, never thinking it would be worth reviewing, after all it was only a one dollar rack special.

Durante quite steals the show while Rupert, the creation of George Pal and one of Hollywood’s earliest attempts at animation comes in at a close second. It is Rupert’s tricks that turns the Amendola family's fortune around. When we are introduced to this out of work, vaudeville family act we learn that they are both homeless and penniless. When Mrs. Amendola (Queenie Smith) asks Mr Amendola (Durante) if he has checked their other account in Chicago, Durante pulls a letter out of a coat pocket and reads to his wife, and daughter Rosalinda;

“Dear Mr. Amendole:

This is the last monthly statement we will mail you as we believe it is hardly worth the three cents to tell you that you have two cents.”

They then run into another luckless vaudeville act, Joe Mahoney the once famous lion tamer, who now is trying to convince others that his dancing squirrel (Rupert) is box office material. Amendola, after blowing a lot of smoke and mirrors about how they have been booked in Europe where a good human pyramid act is still appreciated, he learns that Mahoney has just been evicted this last half hour and better yet, managed to live at this location for six months without paying the rent. All pretext is dropped as Mr. Amendola grills Joe for the details, and they leave poor Mahoney in the park while Amendola quickly drags his girls to the address provided by the former lion tamer before some other misfortunate should stumble upon the vacancy.

The land lord’s son, Peter Dingle (Tom Drake) is in the apartment practicing on his tuba and when he sees the beautiful Rosalinda, ( Terry More) he is smitten and easily bamboozled out of the first months rent, putting him squarely in his father’s (Frank Orth) miserly bad books. Before long we are drawn in a tale that has both an innocent romance between Peter Dingle and Rosalinda which is marred only by the foil provided by theatrical agent Phil Davis (Chick Chandler) and a touch of the story of Scrooge while we get to watch Mr. Dingle’s miserly ways slowly become his ruin and Mr. Amendala’s generous soul become his salvation . All of this is aided by the antics of Rupert who moved right back into the apartment the same day his trainer had set him free in the nearby park.

All in all, the whole family enjoyed this film, even while in black and white. The music when Durante sometimes played piano and sang in his typical style that he was so famous for caught the baby’s attention and the other children were quite amused by the simple actions of the animated squirrel. While we are tempted to laugh at this 1950’s attempt at animation, it is interesting to know that “This technique is where it all started and the same basic process is the building block of all computer CGI today from JURASSIC PARK to TOY STORY.” (To read more click here. ) As well, I was fascinated to learn through my research about this film, that Rupert's producer, George Pal, had his office directly across from Gene Roddenberry who received a lot of advice from Pal on the making of his Star Trek series.

This DVD can be rented from Netflix and is also available for sale online from various websites. If you decide that you wish to own your own copy it can be found for as little as 9.95 but be sure to search about if you come across some the ones I found at 24.99. Although I liked the movie very much, I would be hesitant to spend more than ten dollars on it myself, but then I am not an avid Jimmy Durante fan!

101 Inspirational Stories of Reconcilliation

When 101 Inspirational "Stories of the Sacrament of Reconciliation" came in the mail, I was interested in it. My mum had written an article in it about teaching children the Sacrament of Reconciliation. However as I skimmed, through the pages in search of my mum's article, the titles of these true stories of Reconciliation caught my attention, 'Why Are You Here?', 'A Heavy Burden', and 'I was Forgiven'. I wondered what they were about. Finally, I found my mum's piece. After reading it, I decided to read one of the stories. Once I had read one, I had to read another.

The different stories and experiences, all ending with the same joyful feeling of miraculously complete forgiveness, have me always looking forward to the next one I read.

I find that the best time to read these stories is when I am cuddled up in bed. I look carefully at my conscience, thinking of all I have done well that day, and what I have not done well that day. Then I read a true story of God's merciful forgiveness. I know that no matter what I did wrong, He is waiting to forgive me!

This book has helped me in a real way because each story I have read seems even happier and more wonderful than the last. Reading about other peoples' fears and troubles with this sacrament, and how they were corrected, has helped me to see that my fears are nothing to worry about -- they even seem silly. At last I found myself wishing, with all my heart, that I could go soon to Reconciliation, instead of dreading the next time I had to. I have always loved this sacrament very much, but normally I hate actually confessing my sins, even though I know I will feel sooo wonderful and clean afterwards!

This is not a book I would have normally thought of reading. I usually like nice long ongoing stories whether true, or fictional. I am so glad that I did start reading it though and I think it would make a great addition to any family’s library and any parish library as well.

This book can be bought online HERE and you can learn more about the editor of this book HERE. If you do read it, be sure to come back and let the rest of know what you thought of it.

The author of this review is 13 yr old Anna G.
owner of the blog:
Beans are Gross and Other Interesting Thoughts.

Movie Review; Eloise at the Plaza

This made for TV movie is based on the main character of the classic book series about Eloise, in particular Eloise at the Plaza. Eloise was born into being one day in1948 when her creator, Kay Thompson late for work was asked;
“Who do you think you are? Coming here five minutes late.”
To which she responded with an airy, childish voice: ” I am Eloise. I am six.” From this statement a classic was born and continued to grow and develop until finally in 1955 Kay Thompson and the artist Hilary Knight locked themselves in a suite at the Plaza and stayed there until they emerged book in hand; Kay Thompson's Eloise: A book for precocious grownups.

Miss Eloise, (Sofia Vassilieva ) a most precocious six year old, is a permanent fixture of the Plaza Hotel of Fifth Avenue at Central Park South, New York, much to the bane of Mr Salamore, (Jeff Tambore) the manager of the Plaza. Nanny (Julie Andrews) is the sole caregiver of Miss Eloise, but the whole staff are often pulled into her antics and thus are also engaged in the care of this incredible child who has ‘everything’ listed at the top of her to do list.

In Eloise at the Plaza , directed by Kevin Lima, we are introduced to this highly articulate child who at first glimpse appears to be parentless. While her father is never referred to in the movie, Eloise does have a mother who is never really home but calls daily or Eloise would miss her too terribly to bear. One would normally be tempted to feel sorry for a child living such a lonely lifestyle, wandering alone about the hotel, charging her lunch to her account and seemingly answering to no one, and only her Nanny to say ‘I love you’ to at bedtime; but her enthusiasm for life and ability to turn the whole world around upside down and seemingly into complete chaos, quickly chases away any sorrow you might otherwise feel for her. She is too busy having an incredibly, deliciously, busy life to feel sorry for.

Almost immediately in the movie we discover that the Plaza is awaiting the arrival of a Prince, and Mr. Salamore is in mortal dread of Eloise learning of said arrival. Adding to his discomposure is the reality that on this same date the Plaza is hosting the annual Debutante Ball, the very same that Eloise’s mother attended so many years ago. We learn from Nanny and Eloise that Eloise’s mother “has grace” and wore a Dior dress with rose buds in her hair. It is Eloise’s plan to attend the ball this year so as to begin to prepare for her year as a Debutante, but is the staff’s job to make sure that Eloise neither learns of the secret arrival nor attend the Ball. Too much is riding on it for her to be allowed to carry out her usual antics. Yet Eloise is way ahead of them all and we, the audience, are captivated as we watch it all unravel. Somehow Eloise pulls us along with her complete confidence that all will turn out well and for the better, no matter how badly it all seems to turning out.

Tambore is perfect in his role as the harried and zealous general manager of the Plaza and hints of Mary Poppins peek out at us while we watch Julie Andrews play the part of Eloise’s Nanny. Other main characters in the movie are Philip, Eloise’s dreaded French tutor and Linda the debutante whom Eloise focus’s her Cupid’s arrow on. Linda’s mother's self imposed importance is painful to watch as she directs, bullies and harangues her daughter throughout the movie. And we can not forget Sir Wilkes (Canadian Kenneth Welsh) whose heart strings are being pulled unknowingly by Nanny, much to Eloise's delight.

Not having read the original books I can not account as to how accurately the movie portrays the written Eloise, but in this movie the actress looks remarkably like Knight’s renderings of her and her character as portrayed by Vasalievia is a real charmer.
It is great fun to see how she and Nanny take so much delight in each other company and the ending leaves you hungry for more of Eloise.

The movie ends with a hint as to the fun to come in the next movie Eloise at Christmas Time when Christine Baranski is introduced as Prunella Stickler, the newly hired event co-ordinator, in the last scenes of Eloise at the Plaza. Look for a review to be posted soon for Eloise at Christmas Time.

Although there is not a lot of depth to the movie, it will make an adorable addition to any home’s collection of DVDs and would make wonderful holiday viewing. So reserve or pick up a DVD of Eloise at the Plaza from your favourite movie rental proprietor, pick up your favorite snacks and sit down with your family and sit back to laugh, maybe tear up a little and generally have a good time.

Book Review; A Whisper in My Heart

Based on a true story, A Whisper In My Heart, is the touching account of an 'orphan’s’ transition from feeling abandoned to knowing she is loved by the family that forgot her behind the Communist curtain in Europe in 1956 . We meet with Klari, for the first time, as well as her mother and extended family when at nearly 10 years of age Klari is reunited with her parents in Toronto, Canada. Only we are privy to her private thoughts while she struggles with the difficulties of being unable to speak the language of her new country and the fears she faces as she becomes acquainted with her parents as well as the Canadian way of life. Angry with her parents for leaving her behind when her mother, father, aunt, uncle and cousin escaped seven years earlier from Hungary, Klari is determined not to share her fears and frustrations with those whom she feels betrayed her, first by leaving her behind and then by ripping her away from all she knew and was comfortable with.

This exciting and emotion filled narrative keeps you engaged through to the very end. It holds appeal for children as young as eight and kept my attention as well. My daughters, aged 12 and 14 also enjoyed it thoroughly and could not put it down until finished. Something that occasionally caused a problem at chore time.

Catholic writer, Kathy Clark, author of A Whisper in My Heart is the only daughter of a Holocaust survivor. Both her mother and aunt were two of hundreds of Jewish children who escaped certain death by being hidden in monasteries all across Europe during the genocide of WWII. In their case they were hidden in the convent of the Daughters of St. Vincent de Paul (Nicknamed Angel Guardian House) in Hungary.

Later in life Kathy’s mother and step-father, along with other family members, escaped communist Hungary in the dead of night. Believing the journey too dangerous for her enfant daughter, her mother had to make the heart wrenching decision to leave the then two year old Kathy behind in the care of her maternal grandparents. Little did any of them realize that it would be seven years before the Communist government of Hungary could be convinced, through the tireless efforts of Kathy’s grand father, to release Kathy and allow her to emigrate to Canada so as to re-join her parents.

Born Jewish, Kathy Clark later converted to the Catholic faith and, with her husband Bruce Clark, has raised six children. It was her daughter’s questions about Kathy’s childhood and the memories that these evoked that led to her writing A Whisper In My Heart.

This book not only entertains, but also educates and can be used as the spring board for many ideas and questions well worth discussing. After sharing in Klari’s struggles in a new country we can discuss with our children (or students) how we can make new emigrants feel welcome in our country. This book also provides an opener to discussing the blessings and benefits of living here, in the free world, when we are faced with the question as to why a family would take the risks that Klari’s family took so as to come to North America. It also provides a doorway to history when children ask us about Communism. No home library should be without it.

You can buy directly from the author by writing to:

kathy_clark(at)yahoo.com

Or you can click HERE to order this book.
I have ordered from this company and received good service as well as quick delivery of my purchases.

White Christmas - a Classic

White Christmas was produced in 1954 and starred Bing Crosby , Danny Kaye , Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen . We watched this last night and it was thoroughly enjoyed by all the age groups represented by our family which run from being in the late forties down through the early twenties, teens, single digits and ultimately finishes with infancy. Okay – Elsa, at 7 months, might be a little young to add her two bits to this review but she was often engaged, glancing at the TV screen with interest and cooing along with the melodies.

I read an original review and was struck by how the writer had not particularly enjoyed the movie in stark contrast to our family's enjoyment and our wish that there were more innocent movies of this type still produced today. Little did the author of this review realize that this would become a Christmas Classic.

We enjoyed the dance routines as well as the slick timing of Danny Kay as Bing's foil in this musical. Many of the lines while possibly considered corny by some, brought laughs from all ages groups in this family of 14.

The story line is that of an army general fallen on hard times and a Captain (Bing Crosby) and a Private (Danny Kay) from his army career become a successful music act and while in pursuit of a sister act (Clooney & Vera-Ellen) they show up at his Ski Resort in Vermont; where no snow has brought business to a stand still. Wallace and Davis (Crosby & Kaye) decide to bring their act to the inn so as to generate some income for the General and help him save his inn.

There is a slight romance plot to it, tastefully done and adds to the enjoyment of the story line. The dance routines are awesome and Kaye, I think, completely steals the show with his perfect delivery as well as his dancing. Crosby is at his usual best but Kaye shone, so much so that I am inspired to look for other movies that he is in.

If you have forgotten this classic or have never watched it, take time to include it in your Christmas line up this season as it is very enjoyable and takes you back to a time of innocence as well as when it was still okay to wish one another a Merry Christmas without fear of being ‘un PC’.

We rented this through Netflix, but it can be found on Amazon and, no doubt, in your local movie rental store.