It's hard to overstate just how big Crosby was back in the day... he dominated records, radio, and movies from the 1930's to the 1950's. The man has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His smooth, warm baritone voice wraps around listeners like a warm sweater; his distinctive singing style became known as "crooning" and influenced a whole generation of singers- for example, Perry Como, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, and some guy named Frank Sinatra. Bing was also a success in the movies. Besides Going My Way, for which he won an Academy Award, and its sequel, The Bells of St. Mary's, Crosby also starred in a slew of "Road" movies with Bob Hope, Holiday Inn with Fred Astaire, and High Society, with Sinatra, Grace Kelly, and Louis Armstrong, to name a few. And then there was that modest little success called White Christmas.
So, if you've only ever seen Bing Crosby in White Christmas, I recommend giving Going My Way a watch... it truly contains some of his best work. And Barry Fitzgerald is, of course, simply incredible.