In Birth of the Blues, Bing Crosby, Brian Donlevy, and Mary Martin invent the blues. Well, slightly more accurately, they learn the blues from Black folks and then they teach white people to love Black music. (In other words, we don't get the birth of the blues in this film; we get its rise in popularity among white people.)
There is only a mere wisp of a plot, and the movie itself is honestly not that interesting. How can it be when the stakes are will people understand that blues music is awesome or not? We know they're going to. In fact, the entire film is premised on the fact that we already know the blues are great. Much of the film's humor comes from white people being confused by the blues; the audience is supposed to feel superior to these fools.
Still, there are some solid numbers in Birth of the Blues, including a gorgeous rendition of "My Melancholy Baby" sung by Bing, and a breathtaking "St. Louis Blues" sung by Ruby Elzy in her final film performance.
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