New Orleans

New Orleans is an entertaining but dated little film. Set in 1917 jazz and ragtime music are frowned upon by decent society. When a young classically trained singer falls for Nick Duquesne the self proclaimed "King of Basin Street" her mother and polite society will stop at nothing to close Basin Street and chase Nick out of town. Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday appear and in particular this is a must for Louis Armstrong fans. This film is in the style of 1950's and 60's rock and roll movies. Corny but entertaining.

Five of my seven stars are for "all that Jazz"....the sixth star is for the underlying story of how music crosspolinates ...the 7th star goes to Arturo de Cordoba, One of the most active Mexican actors during their Epoca de Oro cinematic age (1945-1956). His participatiin in this film accentuates the commitment by the film makers to create this most wonderful window into the worst and best of our National culture...during an era of great prejudice and Nativist activity.

A fellow-jazz-fan in the US recently sent me this on video. I enjoyed it immensely. I can't pretend it's a good film. The story and its treatment are reminiscent of the straight bits in Marx Brothers films (the ones that had straight bits, that is). But instead of Groucho and Harpo, Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday do their stuff, and bring the film to life.

Plus points for jazz fans are that several of the numbers are seen and heard complete, rather than faded out; both Billie and Louis were still near their best; the other musicians, including Kid Ory and Barney Bigard, get to solo, and you hear -- and see - an early version of the Armstrong All-Stars really swinging. There's also a rare sight of the great (and now disappeared) Lucky Thompson behind Louis in one sequence.

A personal note: one of my very first records (78 rpm, early 1950s) was Louis' "Where the Blues Was Born". I guess I had the studio, not the soundtrack version, but both are terrific. It was amazing to SEE that long-treasured performance.

"New Orleans" would not go down well with latter-day jazz musicians because Billie's shown as a maid, and Woody Herman (white) comes into the story for no earthly reason beyond the fact that he was a big name in 1947. But if you can see and hear past all that, the music makes it worthwhile.

OK, it's not a good film. But how many jazz films are? "Jammin' the Blues," "Pete Kelly's Blues," "Sven Klang's Combo," "Round Midnight," and that's it. Only three of those are feature-length, and two are European. For anyone who loves the music, "New Orleans" is well worth viewing.

This was a Rare Event in Hollywood in 1947.

An Honest Presentation of "Race" Music, in this case "Jazz" Taking the Country by Storm and Causing a Caustic Culture-Clash Post WWI.

The White Musical "Establishment" Fought Hard to Keep this "Low-Brow" and Unwanted Form of Mostly Black Music from "Tainting" and Corrupting the Upstanding Youth and "Respectable" White People.

The Same Thing Happened in the Mid 1950's when the Blues and Country had a Baby and They Called it Rock n' Roll.

This Film Features the Only Film Appearance of Billie Holiday, Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, Woody Herman, and a Number of Real-Life Black Musicians.

There's Plenty of Music.

Opera is Interspersed for Contrast with Dorthy Patrick Playing a Singer Seduced by the "Flip-Side".

The Story Surrounding the Music is Typical. Confrontations Between Powerful Mainstream Organizations and Street-Level Jive-Joints.

Some of it Involves the "Environment" where Crime and Decadence Flourishes and the Movie has a Scene that is "Norish" in its Stark Presentation of the "Streets"

The Film was Thought Lost, but has been Discovered and what a Treat it is.

Deserves More Respect for its Place in Hollywood History for Taking a Chance with a Straight-Forward Display of the Music and Culture.

A Hidden Gem.

Without Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday and their musical supporting cast, this would be a forgettable melodrama. To me the most interesting aspect of this movie is the contrast of cultures - the stuffy white world symbolized by classical/operatic music (some very excellent), the blues/jazz world of the downtrodden but resilient black population and the white "early adopters" of their music. The music is tremendous. Although this movie would never win an Academy Award except for music, the cast is overall excellent given their material. Anyone who loves Armstrong or Holiday should own this. I saw this on Turner classic movies and I'm going to buy it.