Birth of the Blues (1941) - film review

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Summary

Birth of the Blues is an American film first released in 1941, directed by Victor Schertzinger. The film stars Bing Crosby, Mary Martin, Brian Donlevy, Carolyn Lee and Eddie ’Rochester’ Anderson. Our overall rating for this film is: good.

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Credits

Director: Victor Schertzinger
Script: Harry Tugend, Walter DeLeon, Erwin S. Gelsey, Wilkie C. Mahoney
Photo: William C. Mellor
Music: Robert Emmett Dolan, Kerry Mills, Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Cast: Bing Crosby (Jeff Lambert), Mary Martin (Betty Lou Cobb), Brian Donlevy (Memphis), Carolyn Lee (Aunt Phoebe Cobb), Eddie ’Rochester’ Anderson (Louey), J. Carrol Naish (Blackie), Warren Hymer (Limpy), Horace McMahon (Wolf), Ruby Elzy (Ruby), Jack Teagarden (Pepper), Danny Beck (Deek), Harry Barris (Suds), Perry Botkin Sr. (Leo), Minor Watson (Henri Lambert), Harry Rosenthal (Piano player), Donald Kerr (Skeeter, Barbershop Musician), Barbara Pepper (Maizie), Cecil Kellaway (Granet), Ronnie Cosby (Jeff, as a boy), Ted Lewis (Himself, Ted Lewis), Duke Ellington (Himself, Duke Ellington), Louis Armstrong (Himself, Louis Armstrong), Tommy Dorsey (Himself, Tommy Dorsey), Jimmy Dorsey (Himself, Jimmy Dorsey), Benny Goodman (Himself, Benny Goodman), Paul Whiteman (Himself, Paul Whiteman), Rose Allen (Woman in theater), Roscoe Ates (Cab driver), Kathryn Bates (Woman in theater), Brooks Benedict (Dance Floor Extra), Nell Craig (Woman in theater), Jimmie Dundee (Jake (a thug)), Pearl Early (Woman in theater), Sarah Edwards (Dowager in cafe), Edward Emerson (Mayor’s son in cafe), Betty Farrington (Woman in theater), John Gallaudet (Dude in pool parlor), Grace Hayle (Fat woman in cafe), Brandon Hurst (Headwaiter in cafe), Payne B. Johnson (Boy in theater), Yvonne Jungquist (Girl in illustrated slides), Alice Keating (Woman in theater), Richard Keene (Stage manager), Charles Lane (Wilbur, Theater Manager), Jeni Le Gon (Black girl in jail), Jimmie Lucas (Man outside of jail), James T. Mack (Undetermined role), Sam McDaniel (Black clarinet player), John ’Skins’ Miller (Skinny man in cafe), Bert Moorhouse (Cafe Diner), Mantan Moreland (Black trumpet player), Edmund Mortimer (Cafe Patron), Joe Ploski (Dance Extra), Oscar Polk (Man in Jail), Victor Potel (Trumpet player (beer garden)), Lillian Randolph (Dancing Woman), Keith Richards (Man in illustrated slides), Cyril Ring (Cafe Patron), Bert Roach (Fat man Sleeping in Theater), Constantine Romanoff (One of Blackie’s Thugs), Hayden Stevenson (Stagehand), Mary Thomas (Child in theater), Bess Wade (Woman in theater), Evelyn West (Woman in theater), Pat West (Proprietor of pool hall), Ernest Whitman (Fancy-Pants, Doorman), Guy Wilkerson (Man outside of jail), Harry Wilson (One of Blackie’s Thugs)
Country: USA
Language: English
Runtime: 87 min; B&W

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