It was of course quite normal for songs to be re - recorded for commercial release, with film and record versions ending up quite different, with different accompaniments.  It was only in the 1950s that we started getting more or less genuine soundtrack versions on LP. 

I do agree that in this case the difference between versions is greater than some others, and yes, the film version is very attractive.

I claim no expertise on this particular are but would suggest possible reasons for re-recording (and reworking the arrangement) might have included the following -
The film studio and the record company were two separate organisations - each were doing this their way, with their own arrangers and choice of accompanists.
The film studio methodology might have been to record live with filming and thus not produce ideal audio for record - there could well be incidental (intended) noises.
There could have been competing rights involved.
In the case of 'White Christmas' there was of course even an inability to have the two stars perform on the same record for contractual reasons, so we have different performers.

In this particular case the song in the film lasts little more than one and a half minutes (and Bing ends it with a break into something else and a joke). The song in that form would have had to be expanded anyway.
The record company might well have been reluctant to pay the costs of a professional female chorus to replicate the arrangement used in the film even if they wanted to use the same arrangement.

I'm sure others might be able to adduce other reasons, possibly on a sounder footing than my conjecture.

It is interesting that the song originated years before and was inspired by an actual church - St Mary's, in Southampton, Hampshire, England, and the whole film title thus became built around it.


Wikipedia says 
A ring of eight bells was first installed in 1914. Cast at John Taylor's Foundry in Loughborough, they were given by Mary Ann Wingrove in memory of her late husband, Robert, in 1913, and brought to St. Mary's from Southampton Docks railway station in a horse-drawn procession. A further two bells were added in 1934.
Following the destruction of much of the church in November 1940, the damaged bells were taken away for safe-keeping. However, ten new bells were recast from the metal of the originals in 1945, again by Taylor's, and rang again in 1948.
In 1914, Australian composer A. Emmett Adams and British lyricist Douglas Furber were in Southampton when they heard the recently installed bells ringing across the town, inspiring them to write the song, "The Bells Of St. Mary's". The song was later made famous by Bing Crosby in the film of the same name and has since been recorded by many other artistes.

In origin the church is much much older than the bells on question, with foundations dating back to AD634 but the present church is the sixth on the site, being rebuilt in the 1950s following war damage.

Quoting on the authority of Fred Reynolds it seems other educational establishments have since adopted the song - The US Merchant Marine School, Bronx, NY, and the US Maritime Academy, King Point, New York.

Last edited by Richard Baker (08/12/2011 6:46 pm)

Two comments to make. (1) Quite often the on screen version of a song was different to the commercial recording. The film version of 'Rhythm On The River" is different to the recording. "I Wish I Was Aladdin". the film version (which I prefer) is much better then the commercial recording.
Now, "The Bells of St. Mary's". Was always told that it was Australian and written about Sydney's St. Mary's Cathedral. But from the quote by Richard I assume there was confusion that an Australian had a hand in the writing of the song and, again, people assumed it was about Sydney's Cathedral.

I did discover that my Sandyhook LP with the radio adaptation of Bells of St. Mary's includes a rendition of the song that is very nearly identical to the movie version.  It is not set off as a separate track.