Birth of the Blues (1941)

Best movie of this year hands down!

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

I think I saw a clip of this movie when I watched a special on PBS a couple of decades ago called "Remembering Bing", that clip being of Crosby and Mary Martin whistling. Anyway, this was quite entertaining despite the inaccuracies that abounded. In the New Orleans sequence where a bunch of black musicians were playing, it took me awhile to realize that one of them was Mantan Moreland with his familiar bug eyes-who I knew was a native of Monroe, Louisiana. Nice color sequence involving slides being shown. One might be put off by some of the violence shown near the end but it did result in a touching scene involving Eddie "Rochester" Anderson. So on that note, I do recommend Birth of the Blues. P.S. Since It's a Wonderful Life is my favorite movie, I do like citing when players from that are in something else. Here, it's Charles Lane, Sarah Edwards, and Lillian Randolph from there who appear here. Oh, and a few decades after this movie, Bing's daughter Mary played a character on "Dallas" who was revealed to have shot Mary Martin's son, Larry Hagman, as J. R. Ewing there.

Yes, once again, early Hollywood proved it had little regard for truth when it came to representing history! Expected. Yes, the musical numbers, rather than being purely representatives of early southern blues and jazz compositions, are a mixed bag of early 20th century Tin Pan Alley compositions, mostly ballads, 3 genuine blues or ragtime compositions by southern African Americans(AA) or whites, and even a British music hall standard in "Waiting at the Church". Presumably, the brass assumed that audiences would want more variety in musical styles than just blues or Dixieland, and I can't fault them for that. At the beginning, it says the film is dedicated to the pioneers of such music in New Orleans and Memphis. Well, the only connection with Memphis is a cornet-playing jailbird in NO, played by Brian Donlevy, who usually played villains. He seems to represent a combination of NO-based Caucasian Nick LaRocca, coronetist and co-composer of the featured "Tiger Rag", and AA W.C. Handy, who was for a time based in Memphis, did play the coronet, and did compose the two featured blues numbers "Memphis Blues" and "St. Louis Blues", often converted to jazz by others. We might expect a much more direct recognition of Handy's importance in a film of this title. For a much more historically-relevant treatment of his life and career, check out the later film "St. Louis Blues". That title song,only heard as sung by Bing during the opening credits, was, like most of the songs, actually a Tin Pan Alley composition. Even the opening "At a Georgia Camp Meeting", staged as played by an all African American band and sounding from the title like it was derived from an AA spiritual, was actually an early Tin Pan Alley composition.Yes, the screenplay is very hokey, the way Bing, Mary Martin(MM) and Donlevy meet and all serendipitously end up staying with Bing for want of other accommodations. Expected. We are left guessing about the true nature of the relationship between 6 y.o. 'aunt' Phoebe and MM. Maybe she is MM's daughter or niece, and maybe she is actually her aunt. Yes, possible. In any case, although no Shirley Temple, she served as an occasional quirky diversion from the adult drama and music, and functions as a sleeping 'prop' during Bing's soulful rendition of "My Melancholy Baby". Of course, the composer didn't have an actual child in mind when he wrote the lyrics. Typically, Bing, Donlevy and MM form a budding romantic triangle, with Donlevy aggressively pursuing MM, who is more attracted to the laconic Bing.J.Carrol Naish, as a shady restaurant owner(Blackie), who's willing to send his goons to wreck competing establishments that want to take his new draw of Bing's revolutionary band, is a bit extreme, but possibly realistic, and certainly adds to the drama. His nickname (Blackie) was formerly given to Clark Gable, in a similar role in "San Francisco", and presumably connotes his evil disposition beneath a sophisticated facade. Toward the end, when Bing's 'Basin Street Hot-Shots' get an offer from a Chicago establishment, Blackie is willing to hold the band hostage at gun point to prevent their leaving! Bing and Donlevy are the heroes in getting the band safely on the boat for Chicago, while Blackie meets his end in poetic justice fashion(see film for details).The film dramatizes the difficulties pioneer Caucasians had in getting blues and various jazz forms accepted by snobbish conservative white society as legitimate musical forms for their listening and dancing. It also acknowledges, to some extent, the pioneering role of AAs in creating these musical forms. As for its characterization of AAs, it's typical of its times, with stereotypes, meant to add to the humor. I noted that all the jailbirds shown, except Donlevy, were AA's, some acting crazed with the Dixieland music. Perhaps more a reflection of southern legal prejudices, ignorance, and poverty than of their character. Certainly, Bing showed that he much valued his servant Louey(Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson) as a friend, when he appeared near death. Along with Phoebe, Louey, with his gravely voice, served to lighten the serious drama.I enjoyed the music, on the whole. Along with the traditional Dixieland numbers, a standout was the "Wait til the Sun Shines, Nellie", sung by Bing and MM, in a Dixieland style. According to the screenplay, this rendition served as the bridge to white acceptance of Dixieland jazz. Bing's mellow rendition of "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" was enhanced by accompanying slides of appropriate paintings, in color, in this otherwise B&W film.. MM's "Cuddle up a Little Closer" was done at a very slow tempo, appropriate for a cuddling couple. This would be redone more famously by Betty Grable, a few years later, in "Coney Island". Unlike some viewers, I didn't find a problem with MM, either as an actress or singer. Ruby Elzy(AA)'s soulful rendition of "St. Louis Blues", as Louey apparently hovers near death, is also memorable.

The blues is a black American invention...period. So, seeing and hearing Bing Crosby and a bunch of white actors singing what they refer to as 'the blues' and its birth is pretty funny....in a sad way. It's a lot like the 1950s when black rock 'n roll songs were remade by dull white singers--such as when (I kid you not) Pat Boone remade Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti"--and outsold the original! Sad...very sad.Now despite the title of the film being 100% ridiculous, there is one other problem with the film. Most of the music is NOT the Blues but Dixieland--a much happier and bouncier variation on Jazz and the Blues. Now I don't mind this style of music--but this isn't the film's title! So is the film worth seeing? Well, yes--provided you don't take the film very seriously. The actors (Bing Crosby, Brian Donlevy and Mary Martin) are fine--but very white and middle-class. An enjoyable film but not at all a tribute to the black men who created this music. While the black men are mentioned (such as by using enlightened phrases like folks referring to it as 'darkie music'!), this is clearly a white-wash--though an enjoyable one.

In this musical comedy set in New Orleans in the 1890's, a clarinet player with a passion for jazz, played by Bing Crosby, organizes a band of white musicians in an effort to bring this "blue music" to the white café society of New Orleans, during an era when whites looked down on jazz as a product of Black people.The film's screenplay is not very good. Characters are poorly defined. They exist only to further the contrived plot. For a musical, there's too much dialogue, composed largely of supposedly humorous one liners. That may have worked in 1941. But times change. Sixty years after the film, the script now seems dismissive of serious social concerns, and is therefore not funny. Meanwhile, the shallow plot dilutes the impact of the film's music. Blues numbers include "Melancholy Baby", "Memphis Blues", and several others. But they are uninspired, and seem tangential to the talky script. The only musical number I found even faintly memorable was "St. Louis Blues", performed with passion by diva Ruby Elzy.One thing I did find interesting was the inclusion of a couple of bit part actors who would later become well known. Mantan Moreland (from the Charlie Chan series) shows up toward the beginning as a trumpet player. And Barbara Pepper (as Doris Ziffel from "Green Acres") shows up off and on in the film as a nightclub hussy.Given the title, I was expecting a blues extravaganza, not a talk fest. Even so, "Birth Of The Blues" might have some value given its historical subject matter. And it probably would be a good film for fans of Bing Crosby, for whom the film functions as a cinematic vehicle.