Blue of the Night (1931)

Too much of everything

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Proclaiming that she's engaged to radio singer (obviously not knowing what he looks like), the determined Marjorie Kane gets the chance when she keeps bumping into him on a train. But her unrelenting suitor (Franklin Pangborn) refuses to let her go and the confusion just gets worse when her friends tell her that they've invited the real Bing Crosby to their pool parry. Bing keeps the deception going for his own amusement, creating more comical mayhem in between songs. This would be Bing's farewell to short films as feature film stardom was right around the corner, giving his fans no doubt of what he really looked like. Moderately amusing with the comical idea of Pangborn being interested in a woman the most unintentionally funny gag in the film.

This is one of Bing Crosby's earliest films--one of several shorts he made for Paramount in the early 30s. It's well made compared to other similar films but also a short that seems a bit dated today, as Crosby's sort of crooning doesn't age well.The film begins with Crosby going on a train trip. There he meets an odd but pretty lady to which he's attracted. However, she tells him she's engaged...to Bing Crosby! Well, this is possible, as Crosby was well known for his records and the radio but his face was still a bit of a mystery to most folks. Later, when the lady goes home, the newspapers begin reporting that she's engaged to Bing! And, when Crosby shows up, it's apparent HE gave the papers the story. But she STILL doesn't know who he really is! Naturally, there's a lot of singing in this one and the addition of comedy makes this a bit more enjoyable. Not a great film but for what it is, it's pretty good and an interesting piece of our history.

Blue Of The Night is not the best of Bing Crosby's Mack Sennett shorts which were being used to introduce Crosby as Paramount's new star in terms of comedy. I agree with the person who says it's real hard to imagine Franklin Pangborn as a jilted lover. Pangborn and Bing would later work together in Dr. Rhythm although Pangborn's scenes are with Beatrice Lillie and they're marvelous.But Crosby aficionados will treasure this short subject because besides singing the song that would be his theme we get a chance to hear him Every Time My Heart Sings and My Silent Love, a couple of really great numbers that he never did a studio recording of. They're real gems from Bing's early crooning days and must for every fan to have.For that reason this film is precious.

Holy cats... Blue of the Night has cute society girl Babe Kane on a train bragging to Der Bingle that she's engaged to none other than Der Bingle. Then he goes off and gets a story planted announcing the engagement. Babe is in a tither and in an inspired bit of casting designed to challenge the suspension of disbelief, the lightly loafered Franklin Pangborn appears as the jilted fiancée, who overhears what he thinks is a plot. This Bing is a fraud? When Bing shows up at the party he bets his way-cool 1932 Cadillac roadster against five bucks that Bing is an impostor. Bing left is i.d. back at home so he sings-- and whistles--- his way through the title song long enough to prove he's the real deal and drives off with Babe in Pangborn's car. Several things distinguish this from Bing's other shorts: it wasn't directed by Mack Sennett so it doesn't have a tacked on car/motorcycle chase, it has very high production values and best of all the ravishing 17-year old Toby Wing (with a decidedly southern drawl) in a swimsuit... humma humma! Otherwise, it's got the typical 'Bing ends up engaged or married plot with the happy couple leaving a debris trail of unhappy relatives and fiancées in their wake' plot that never varied much. As Crosby's shorts go, this is one of the better ones. VIII out of X.