1h 30min | Drama, Music, Romance | 18 April 1947
Director: Arthur Lubin
Stars: Arturo de Córdova, Dorothy Patrick, Marjorie Lord, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Woody Herman and His Orchestra.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039655/
Watched online, mediocre copy. Ordered a disc for my collection.
I don't know that WH was the white trailblazer who brought jazz across the color barrier, which is how this shows things.
OK, my rating is inflated. The film is not that good. But here's why it's very worthwhile and enjoyable:
- BH's only screen appearance as an actor (other than an extra role). Yes, she plays a maid in the first part of the film, but then she works as a singer, and...
- BH sings!
- LA plays plenty and acts
- This is a racially integrated film! There is no way to excise the black performances and have anything left but a short subject of WH, and/or an incomprehensible story about an opera singer (DP, dubbed). I don't think I've seen this much integration before, except where blacks are totally subservient. Of course, this still isn't a major studio release, but UA is a mainstream distributor.
Majestic Productions Inc., distr. UA, dir. Lubin; 8
