Birth of the Blues (1941)

Director:

Victor Schertzinger

Writers:

Harry Tugend (story)
Harry Tugend (writer) ...

Release Date:

7 November 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Music

Tagline:

Strike Up The Band ! * Here comes happiness . . . in a merry medley of romance . . . and rhythm !

Plot:

Jeff grows up near Basin Street in New Orleans, playing his clarinet with the dock workers. He puts together a band...

Plot Keywords:

Scat Singing | Jazz | New Orleans Louisiana | Musician | Murder

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Bing Crosby	...	Jeff Lambert
Mary Martin	...	Betty Lou Cobb
Brian Donlevy	...	Memphis
Carolyn Lee	...	Aunt Phoebe Cobb
Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson	...	Louey (as Rochester)
J. Carrol Naish	...	Blackie
Warren Hymer	...	Limpy
Horace McMahon	...	Wolf (as Horace MacMahon)
Ruby Elzy	...	Ruby
Jack Teagarden	...	Pepper
Danny Beck	...	Deek
Harry Barris	...	Suds
Perry Botkin Sr.	...	Leo
Minor Watson	...	Henri Lambert
Harry Rosenthal	...	Piano player

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

UK:U | Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #7330)

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Night Court: The Blues of the Birth (#7.24)" (1990)

Soundtrack:

Waiting at the Church

The little girl sparks a sort of magic

As with many musicals of the era, the little girl of the film sparks a sort of magic, something Carolyn Lee was quite good at. She first appears as six-year-old "Aunt Phoebe" sliding down a spiral banister and landing on Bing Crosby's lap, after which she smashes his lucky hat. Bing, nice guy that he is, takes her on his lap and smiles tremendously. So Phoebe becomes a sort of mascot/hanger-on of the early New Orleans blues band that struggles to survive against strong prejudices against "darkie" music. Every time she opens her little mouth to say a few lines I found myself giggling at her. Some of her pranks are quite memorable. I especially liked the scene where she paints herself in white-face and puts a girdle on for a dress. Her little broom dance with Rochester is also adorable. Carolyn was a very funny little girl. Towards the end of the movie Bing picks her up and lullabies her to sleep with the #1 hit song of 1941, "Melancholy Baby". I never imagined this song was written to sing to six-year-old Carolyn Lee. The Melancholy Baby scene alone is worth the price of admission.

The movie is well filmed, the jazz is great, the acting good and the story interesting. Bing is at his best, Mary Martin is gorgeous and Brian Donlevy with his rakish mustache is quite the rogue. One thing I liked about the film was the close, friendly relationships between the African-American and White jazz musicians. Seems like the jazz folks were ahead of their time and we can only wish that the rest of the country will eventually catch up.