it as "all very easy and graceful; it never tries too hard to dazzle; even in the rousing and topical Fourth of July number, it never commits a breach of taste by violently waving the flag. Instead, it has skipped back over the year in an affectionate and light-hearted spirit." Variety called it "a winner all the way" with "sterling" performances by the male leads. Harrison's Reports called it "a most delightful entertainment... The performances of the leading players are very good." Film Daily described it as "a completely satisfying musical filled with crisp comedy, fetching music, snappy dance routines, first-rate acting, smart story touches, and lavish and beautiful settings". Legacy The success of the song "White Christmas" eventually led to another film based on the song, White Christmas (1954), which starred Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen. It was an extremely loose remake of Holiday Inn, with a plot again involving an inn, but otherwise different from the earlier film. Fred Astaire was offered the second lead in the new film, but after reading the script, he declined. The role was then offered to Donald O'Connor, but he was injured before filming began. Danny Kaye ultimately took the role. In 2004, the American Film Institute listed White Christmas at No. 5 in its 100 Years...100 Songs. A colorized version of Holiday Inn was released by Universal on October 14, 2008. The colorization was done by Legend Films, which used Edith Head’s sketch artist, Jan Muckelstone, as a color design consultant for costume authenticity. The name of the Holiday Inn hotel chain was inspired by the film. The title of the film also inspired the 1946 renaming of a small 19th century inn in Intervale, New Hampshire. By right of precedence its owners were able to bar any other use of the name in that area of New Hampshire until they chose to relinquish it. Blackface controversy Beginning in the 1980s, some broadcasts of the film have entirely omitted the "Abraham" musical number, staged at the Inn for Lincoln's Birthday, because of its depiction of a blackface minstrel show incorporating racist images and behaviors. However, because Turner Classic Movies airs films uncut and unedited, the network has left the "Abraham" number intact during their screenings of Holiday Inn. AMC also aired the film intact before it became an advertiser-supported channel. To avoid advertiser objections, the edited version now airs