Actors of one of the most popular Christmas movies were almost "killed" by artificial snow: shocking details of the 1950s
The 1954 American musical film White Christmas is one of the greatest holiday classics of all time. The Christmas movie became the highest-grossing film when it was released in the '50s and the highest-grossing musical of its time. The film starred the iconic Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen, and Danny Kaye. As it turned out, their lives were threatened during the filming, as well as the entire crew.
What is a Christmas movie without beautiful snowy landscapes and a blizzard? Of course, the directors had to use artificial snow. It is this decor that almost "killed" the cast of Merry Christmas. The resonant details were shared by the publication Mirror.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, asbestos was often used on film sets to imitate real snow because it was waterproof, fireproof, did not melt, and was easy to work with. Asbestos is the common name for minerals of the silicate class that form fine-fiber aggregates.
Actors were in danger due to artificial snow
Source: Screenshot from the movie
It was only in the 1960s that the deadly nature of asbestos was discovered. The small fibers, invisible to the naked eye, cause fatal diseases, including lung, laryngeal and ovarian cancer. There is no safe level of exposure to asbestos, so the toxic mineral could have filled the lungs of those who worked on the film.
Asbestos used to be used to create artificial snow
In 1989, asbestos-containing products were banned in America. Around the same time, the first bans on blue and brown asbestos were introduced in the UK, and at the end of 1999, it was completely banned. Today, the "magic mineral" is considered very dangerous and is classified as carcinogenic to humans.
The successful film with songs and dances tells a touching story of friends adjusting to life after World War II. The plot centers on two veteran performers. After the war, they formed a song and dance group that quickly became popular. One day, fate brings them together with two sisters-singers who are contracted to perform at the Columbia Hotel in "snowy Vermont" during the Christmas holidays. Although the men have completely different plans, circumstances lead them to go to the same hotel. The soundtrack to the movie White Christmas by the American composer Irving Berlin was loved by fans, and the most popular song of the same name became a bestselling single.
As OBOZ.UA wrote earlier, on the eve of the New Year holidays, Netflix presented a new Christmas movie called Family Switch starring Jennifer Garner, Ed Helms and others. No one expected it, but the cute family comedy received a flurry of hate online. The reason was an "incest" scene that confused and outraged viewers.
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