- Irving Berlin’s White Christmas movie contains a secret tribute to a US president, University of Sheffield research has revealed
- Documents held in the US Library of Congress show how the American songwriter documented his admiration for President Dwight D Eisenhower through the character General Waverly
- Berlin’s manuscripts reveal he previously wrote a full, unpublished musical called Stars on my Shoulders about Eisenhower, that depicted him via the character of retired ‘General Waverly,’ who was being persuaded to run for president
- The unpublished musical - Stars on my Shoulders - was intended to be part of Berlin’s real-life campaign, revealed in his letters, to persuade Eisenhower to run for the presidency
- Berlin went on to use songs from Stars on my Shoulders and the character General Waverly in White Christmas, which was released two years after Eisenhower was elected
One of the most loved Christmas films, which has been a staple family movie for generations, has a secret tribute to a US president, according to new research.
An expert in the history of Hollywood musicals, Professor Dominic Broomfield-McHugh from the University of Sheffield, discovered Irving Berlin’s festive favourite White Christmas documents the American songwriter’s admiration for President Dwight D Eisenhower.
While studying manuscripts and letters written by Berlin held in the US Library of Congress, Professor Broomfield-McHugh found evidence suggesting the character Major General Tom Waverly - played by Dean Jagger - is Berlin’s tribute to Eisenhower.
The letters suggest his admiration came from when Eisenhower served in the US Army during the Second World War and how, in February 1944, he visited the cast of a musical Berlin wrote for US Soldiers - This is the Army - as it toured to London.
Eisenhower was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe and planned two major military campaigns, including the invasion of Normandy in 1944, before retiring once the war ended.
According to the documents, Berlin took part in a campaign to persuade Eisenhower to run for the US presidency. As part of this, he wrote a musical about Eisenhower called Stars on my Shoulders, which depicted him as General Waverly - a retired general who, like in real life, was being persuaded to run for president. However, the musical was never produced.
Berlin went on to release the musical Call Me Madam in 1950, which was a satire of Washington politics. In the second act, politicians sing a song called “They Like Ike” in which they discuss why Eisenhower would make a successful candidate for president.
Eisenhower attended its opening and further correspondence uncovered by Professor Broomfield-McHugh shows that Berlin sent the song “They Like Ike” to him to encourage him to run for the presidency. When Eisenhower decided to do so in early 1952, Berlin not only took part in a rally and donated three times to his campaign, but he also tweaked the words of the song to “I Like Ike”, which became his campaign song and slogan.
Eisenhower won the presidency in 1952, and in July 1954 he awarded Berlin the Congressional Gold Medal – one of the two highest civilian honours in the USA – in recognition of his contribution of patriotic songs to American life.
Three months later, Berlin released White Christmas, using songs from the unpublished Stars on my Shoulders as well as a repurposed General Waverly.
Professor Dominic Broomfield-McHugh, Professor of Musicology at the University of Sheffield, said: “First heard on a Christmas radio broadcast in 1941, Irving Berlin’s song White Christmas remains ubiquitous at this time of year, thanks to Bing Crosby’s multiple classic renditions. Its appearance in the 1954 film of the same name is probably its most familiar form, as a result of its annual screenings on television.
“Yet amidst the Santa costumes and snow, the heart of the film’s story is a tribute to General Dwight D Eisenhower, whom Berlin had worked behind the scenes to help elect as President in 1952 and again in 1956.
“Berlin first met Eisenhower in London in February 1944 during a command performance of This is the Army, which Berlin wrote and appeared in throughout the world in aid of the Army Emergency Relief Fund. Eisenhower gave a speech to the cast, which was made up entirely of members of the army, to thank them for their service. Six years later, Berlin mentioned the speech in a letter to Eisenhower, showing how much impact it had had on him: ‘I have never forgotten…that inspiring talk you gave to the boys backstage’, Berlin wrote. That’s probably when he realised that Eisenhower had the oracy skills to make a great President.”
Professor Broomfield-McHugh added: “While we associate the movie White Christmas with the winter holidays, it’s really about how two former members of a regiment in the Second World War - played by Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye - come to the rescue of their former General, who has retired and opened a hotel in New England. He is struggling in civilian life, so they use their fame as performers to pay tribute to the General and thereby draw attention to the hotel.
"The first image at the beginning of the film is the General watching Crosby’s performance of the title song.
“Given his participation in supporting Eisenhower’s election, can there be any doubt that the General Waverly of the film represented the General Eisenhower of the Oval Office?”
Professor Broomfield-McHugh is set to share his research findings on Berlin and Eisenhower during a Christmas lecture series at Gresham College. The lecture is available to watch online.
