Birth of the Blues poster

Birth of the Blues( 1941)

TV-MAMusicRomance
56%
User
Score

Strike Up The Band ! * Here comes happiness . . . in a merry medley of romance . . . and rhythm !

Overview

Jeff grows up near Basin Street in New Orleans, playing his clarinet with the dock workers. He puts together a band, the Basin Street Hot-Shots, which includes a cornet player, Memphis. They struggle to get their jazz music accepted by the cafe society of the city. Betty Lou joins their band as a singer and gets Louie to show her how to do scat singing. Memphis and Jeff both fall in love with Betty Lou.

    Top Billed Cast

    1. cast image

      Bing Crosby

      Jeff Lambert

    2. cast image

      Mary Martin

      Betty Lou Cobb

    3. cast image

      Brian Donlevy

      Memphis

    4. cast image

      Carolyn Lee

      Aunt Phoebe Cobb

    5. cast image

      Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson

      Louey

    6. cast image

      J. Carrol Naish

      Blackie

    7. cast image

      Warren Hymer

      Limpy

    8. cast image

      Horace McMahon

      Wolf

    9. cast image

      Ruby Elzy

      Ruby

    10. cast image

      Jack Teagarden

      Pepper

    11. cast image

      Danny Beck

      Deek

    12. cast image

      Harry Barris

      Suds

    13. cast image

      Perry Botkin Sr.

      Leo

    14. cast image

      Minor Watson

      Henri Lambert

    15. cast image

      Harry Rosenthal

      Piano Player

    16. cast image

      Donald Kerr

      Skeeter, Barbershop Musician

    17. cast image

      Barbara Pepper

      Maizie

    18. cast image

      Cecil Kellaway

      Granet

    19. cast image

      Ronnie Cosby

      Jeff as a Boy

    20. cast image

      Ted Lewis

      Self (archive footage)

    21. cast image

      Duke Ellington

      Self (archive footage)

    22. cast image

      Louis Armstrong

      Self (archive footage)

    23. cast image

      Tommy Dorsey

      Self (archive footage)

    24. cast image

      Jimmy Dorsey

      Self (archive footage)

    25. cast image

      Benny Goodman

      Self (archive footage)

    26. cast image

      Paul Whiteman

      Self (archive footage)

    27. cast image

      Roscoe Ates

      Cab Driver (uncredited)

    28. cast image

      Charles Lane

      Wilbur - Bijou Theater Manager (uncredited)

    29. cast image

      Mantan Moreland

      Black Trumpet Player (uncredited)

    Social

    Review 1Discussion

    A review by CinemaSerf

    6
    Written by CinemaSerf on Sun Jul 27 2025
    It’s set in the American Deep South in the late 1930s so of course there are going to be unsavoury racial overtones, but in some ways this films strives to suggest that by using jazz music and the wholesomeness of Bing Crosby, there might be some green shoots of desegregation starting to emerge. The young “Jeff” is a pretty prodigious talent, but is regularly strapped by his father for playing with “darkie bands” in New Orleans. Undeterred, he grows up (into Bing Crosby) and establishes his own multi-racial and multi-talented band. They struggle to overcome the prejudicial attitudes on the city...

    Media

    Videos 0Backdrops 3Posters 6

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    Facts

    Status

    Released

    Original Language

    English

    Budget

    -

    Revenue

    -

    Keywords

    • jazz
    • new orleans, louisiana
    • scat singing