Birth of the Blues

Birth of the Blues is a 1941 American musical film directed by Victor Schertzinger and starring Bing Crosby, Mary Martin and Brian Donlevy. The plot loosely follows the origins and breakthrough success of the Original Dixieland Jass Band in New Orleans. It was well-received by critics on its release. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score. However, many of the songs, such as St. Louis Blues by W. C. Handy, were not new. Plot Although he is only twelve, Jeff Lambert is a very talented clarinetist, and although the boy's father has spent a small fortune to have Jeff taught the fundamentals of classical clarinet, the lad prefers to spend his time in New Orleans with a group of black jazz men who perform in a dive on Bourbon Street. As the boy grows into manhood, his love for jazz intensifies, and he forms his own group, much to the chagrin of his aging father. Moving ahead, we find Jeff (Crosby) in his late twenties, and he and his boys have been unable to secure a job at any of the classier New Orleans cabarets and have been forced to limit their playing to street corners and to one-night stands in some of the dingier nightclubs. When his lead trombone player asks Jeff why the band can't seem to get anywhere, Jeff replies that he thinks the main problem is that the group lacks a hot trumpet player. He begins to search throughout New Orleans in the hope of finding a trumpet man who can fill the bill. He finds one in a local jail and promises to bail the fellow out as soon as he can raise the money. This he does, and the trumpet player, named Memphis (Brian Donlevy), agrees to become a member of Jeff's band.