bosley crowther of "the new york times" was not impressed: "...the use of vistavision, which is another process of projecting on a wide, flat screen, has made it possible to endow "white christmas" with a fine pictorial quality. the colors on the big screen are rich and luminous, the images are clear and sharp, and rapid movements are got without blurring—or very little—such as sometimes is seen on other large screens. director michael curtiz has made his picture look good. it is too bad that it doesn't hit the eardrums and the funnybone with equal force."