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Film Festival: Summertime Blues

St. Louis Blues is the 1958 Hollywood version of W. C. Handy’s life, formulated as a vehicle for his music as opposed to an accurate biographical portrayal. However, St. Louis Blues is well worth it because of the music and the fine performances.Although his exact place in the pantheon of blues greats is debated, W. C. Handy was important for his early role in the popularization and publishing of the blues.

It’s time for a visit to Beale Street and “Professor” William C. Handy –Memphis native, blues pioneer and composer of the St. Louis Blues. Young Will lives in Memphis with his Aunt Hagar and his father, a fundamentalist preacher. Reverend Handy strictly interprets the Bible to say that the only music that should be allowed is church music, and, heaven forbid, any dancing. Will spends the first 250 pennies he ever earns on a treasured cornet, which his father finds and throws under the wheels of a horsecart.

“That’s right, Reverend, stick to your guns. You stick to them because, after all, prejudice is a time saver. — I beg your pardon. — A busy man like you, you can form an opinion without wasting time bothering about facts.”–Gogo and Reverend Handy

Will returns to Memphis after completing college, but he just can’t seem to settle down to a life of teaching music and playing organ at church. He writes tunes all the time and ultimately gets hired by a politician to lead a band and write a campaign song. Beale Street chanteuse, Gogo, lures him into working with her as her accompanist in a speakeasy. And from that point on, we see him work his way to national recognition and his place in history as a blues pioneer.

“Don’t fall in love with me, Will. I’m no good for you to fall in love with. I’ll tell you why. Because Gogo could only love Gogo, and I wouldn’t want you to get hurt. I’ll tell you something else. You could never love anyone as much as you love your music. “– Gogo

It’s well worth seeing the film just for the stars and the music: Nat “King” Cole stars as W.C. Handy, Pearl Bailey as his Aunt Hagar, Eartha Kitt as Gogo, with other roles by Ruby Dee and Mahalia Jackson.

Cole plays the piano throughout the film (Handy was famous for the cornet) and sings a wonderful version of Careless Love. Eartha is at her fiery best and gets to wear some very revealing costumes. Many of Handy’s familiar tunes are featured, some with updated lyrics: Yellow Dog Blues, Careless Love, Morning Star, Beale Street Blues, St. Louis Blues, and Friendless Blues. Watch out for Ella Fitzgerald and Cab Calloway.

Love St. Louis Blues for the performances and the music, but sing the blues because of the fictionalized story; Handy would have been much better served by an accurate portrayal of his life.

Let’s talk story

In Lisa’s Home Bijou, I’ll share my reviews of classic films and hopefully inspire you to have a few film festivals of your own. I am proud to claim Betty Grable as a distant cousin. My “film career” began when my parents named me for Leslie Caron’s character in An American in Paris.

Affiliate links: if you make a purchase using these links, I’ll receive a small compensation towards maintaining this blog, at no extra cost to you.

This is an update of a review that appeared originally in RETRO magazine, Nancy Eaton, editor.

Film Festival: Summertime Blues

ONE OF THE HOMES OF JAZZ AND THE BLUES is Basin Street in New Orleans, the setting for this 1941 musical starring Bing Crosby and Mary Martin.

Let’s get one thing straight to begin with: Bing Crosby did not invent the blues. With apologies to real New Orleans bluesmen like Louis Armstrong, Buddy Bolden, and Jelly Roll Morton, this movie is enjoyable simply because Bing Crosby and Mary Martin have so much fun in it.   ”Birth of the Blues” is a fictional tale of a bunch of New Orleans white boys (plus one from Memphis) trying to convince the city’s high society to develop a taste for jazz.

The story opens in New Orleans in the 1890’s, where Jeff Lambert (Bing Crosby) gets caught practicing his clarinet with the laborers down on Basin Street. The film then jumps to Jeff as an adult, looking for a few white jazz players to complete his band, “The Basin Street Hot-Shots,” (which appears in reality to be Jack Teagarden‘s band.) The first job they land is to play between features in a silent film theater. The band gets kicked out of the theater because the patrons find the jazz they play to be scandalous.

“- I don’t know, Jeff, folks seem to like it. – Of course they do ‘cuz they don’t know no better. You like oysters, don’t you? – Sure. – How do you like ‘em best? – Horseradish and Tabasco. – Well, you see what I mean? Up til now folks never had Tabasco in their music. We’re gonna improve their taste. – You got it!” — Pepper and Jeff

Betty Lou Cobb (Mary Martin) joins the band as a singer, and she enlists Louie (Eddie “Rochester” Anderson) to teach her how to scat. His involved explanation is the comedic highlight of the movie. The Basin Street Hot Shots finally land a gig in a café, during which time Betty Lou invents the famous “Cake Walk,” an important dance of the period. (Note: The cakewalk, a Southern dance, was performed at the 1876 Centennial Exposition and became a staple of touring minstrel shows. The cakewalk was first filmed in 1903.) During this same gig, the bass player invents the technique of playing without a bow.

“- Of course, I mean, how can I learn to sing like you and Jeff? – Well I just open my mouth and it comes pouring out sweet and hot. … – You and Jeff wouldn’t sing it that way would you? Tell me, Louie, what’s the trick to it? – It’s very easy, of course it’s not hard to explain. For instance, take the bass. All songs have a bass. See that, just keeps on going. Of course it’s not going nowhere… Then you take a lot of notes and surround that old bass and get closer and closer…” –Betty Lou and Louie

Bing, Mary, and Jack Teagarden do a nice production number by Johnny Mercer, “The Waiter, the Porter, and the Upstairs Maid.” The movie winds up with the band leaving for the bright lights and big time of Chicago and fades out showing clips of jazz greats — Ted Lewis, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Paul Whiteman, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, and Jimmy Dorsey.

This film is loaded with great music, including “Birth of the Blues,” “Georgia Camp Meeting,” “By the Light of the Silvery Moon,” “After the Ball,” “St. Louis Blues,” “Waiting at the Church,” “Cuddle Up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine,” “Wait ‘Til the Sun Shines, Nellie,” “Melancholy Baby,” and “St. James Infirmary.”

Mary Martin spent most of her career on Broadway and is famous for the roles she created in “South Pacific”, “Peter Pan”, and “The Sound of Music”. She did not make many movies, and this is one of the few available on video. It’s a real treat to see her trademark flirtatious style in action.

Enjoy this movie for a tuneful, jolly, silly, sassy good time. Jazz : A Film By Ken Burns will give a historical perspective.

Let’s talk story

In “Lisa’s Home Bijou”, I’ll share my reviews of classic films and hopefully inspire you to have a few film festivals of your own. I am proud to claim Betty Grable as a distant cousin. My “film career” began when my parents named me for Leslie Caron’s character in “An American in Paris.”

Affiliate links: if you make a purchase using these links, I’ll receive a small compensation towards maintaining this blog, at no extra cost to you.

This is an update of a review that appeared originally in RETRO magazine, Nancy Eaton, editor.