Anyone else notice the fire scene in the movie? At the end of White Christmas right at "and may all your Christmases be white" the fire in the background ignites like someone pours kerosine on it. this is a family favorite for me and my whole family who loves this movie laugh at this scene
shareIt's an early special effect. The "fire" is projected onto a screen in the fireplace by a projector on the floor. At one point, Linda (Marjorie Reynolds) steps in front of the fireplace, and you can briefly see the "fire" image projected onto the front of her long dressing gown. After watching the scene for the umpteenth time, I noticed these lights dancing on the bottom of her dressing gown, and wondered what the heck is that? Sure enough, it was the image of the flames that light up the fireplace during the scene. They did a lot of cool things with back and front projection in the old films.
shareYou're right! I never noticed that before. I noticed the flames flare up at the end of the song but I never noticed the fire showing up on her dressing gown. I never heard of them projecting fire into a fireplace but I guess they could have. I always assumed it was a "practical" set piece, maybe with gas fuel, a plaster log and a flue to disperse fumes. But unless it was lens flare, the flame on her gown gives credibility to what you suggest.
shareIt wasn't a projection. It was a gas fire, which was turned up and then down at the end, as the room lights dimmed, for a dramatic effect to end the song and the scene. It's a musical comedy, and was not intended to strictly document reality.
shareI've noticed this, but what I love as the scene fades to black, so does the fire...
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