Dixie

Boy, that was a tough slog getting through all the history lessons and moral instruction regarding slavery. Yes, yes, it was a shameful period in America and minstrel shows were degrading, but most contributors forgot to evaluate "Dixie" - the movie, that is.

Well, let me have a bash at it. When I think back on "Dixie", the first thing I think of is the ballad, "Sunday, Monday or Always", done to perfection by Bing at the beginning and at the end. Much of the rest of the movie is forgettable and uninspired. Paramount had assembled an excellent cast which is largely wasted in this fictitious biography of a forgotten songwriter. Maybe the biggest disappointment was the lack of spectacle and excitement in musical number after lifeless musical number, especially the last one. The choreography was almost non-existent and very understated, except for a dance by the largely wasted Eddie Foy, Jr. The script was desperately in need of a re-write - and what's with the fires? There were three separate fires in the course of "Dixie", one of which should have included Dorothy Lamour's thankless part.

I guess musicals were not Paramount's thing. Such matters were best left to Fox or MGM, or even Universal, which had a few pretty good underbudgetted musicals. Our present rating is a little rich for "Dixie" - I gave it five and upped it to six on the strength of the song "Sunday,Monday or Always", which was gorgeous.

In the movie Dixie (1943), it was apparent that at this civil war time entertainment there were different styles of dance emerging. During this time it became a popular diversion to spend evenings at a minstrel theater. Straying away from the traditional opera or ballet, minstrels offered a new sense of entertainment which promoted the class system. Fortunately our society today is accepting African Americans and prejudices are less prevalent. Subsequent to professional minstrelsy's decline in th 20th century, its appeal continued in the south. Though Minstrels proposed stereotypes, some good did result from this type of entertainment. These shows presented black performers the opportunity to build a foundation which later helped many of them to emerge as successful entertainers.

Minstrel shows exposed a wide selection of audiences to this unique type of entertainment. With its combination of eccentric dancing and diverse music, people enjoyed the allure of the entertainment. Closely similar to tap dancing, it boasted innovative and bizarre movements' pairs wit flamboyant eye-catching costumes.

This type of amusement contributed to later types of dancing and entertainment. As a big benchmark in the industry, without minstrels played a role in what dancing has evolved into presently. Without minstrels, who knows if the great such as Dizzy Gillespie, W.C Handy, and Bert Williams, would have been as successful as they were.

After viewing the 1943 classic Dixie, it was apparent that at this civil war time entertainment there were different styles of dance emerging. During this time it became a popular diversion to spend evenings at a minstrel theatre. Straying away from the traditional opera or ballet, minstrels offered a new sense of entertainment which promoted the class system. Fortunately our society today is accepting African American's and prejudices are less prevalent. Subsequent to professional minstrelsy's decline in the 20th century, its appeal continued in the south. Though minstrels proposed stereotypes, some good did result from this type of entertainment. These shows presented black performers the opportunity to build a foundation which later helped many of them to emerge as successful entertainers.

Minstrel shows exposed a wide selection of audiences to this unique type of entertainment. With its combination of eccentric dancing and diverse music, people enjoyed the allure of the entertainment. Closely similar to tap dancing, it boasted innovative and bizarre movements' pairs with flamboyant eye-catching costumes.

This type of amusement contributed to later types of dancing and entertainment. As a big benchmark in the industry, without minstrels played a role in what dancing has evolved into presently. Without minstrels, who knows if the great such as Dizzy Gillespie, W.C. Handy, and Bert Williams, would have been as successful as they were.

Dixie Historical Film Review A popular musical stage show of the early and mid 19th Century was minstrelsy. Minstrel shows a variety of comical skits in which both black as well as white people painted their faces black. The film Dixie, directed by A. Edward Sutherland was a story about the intertwining characters and their production of a Minstrel show, Though Minstrel shows content embodied racial hatred they were the first form of musical theatre that was American-born and bred. It was embraced by all colors despite its ignorant and obnoxious slander of African Americans.

Minstrelsy had an initial structure normally broken into a three act performance. A dance sequence was first on stage. Singing songs and preparing the audience for the second part which included a coordinate speech said by "Mr. Interlocutor". This pun-filled speech in Dixie was said by Mr. Cook, played by Raymond Walburn, while he was in the center of the stage. The final act in the show was a song almost like one slaves would sing while working at the plantation.

In the film the characters refer to African Americans as "darkies". To accomplish "blackface" performers would burned corks and painted their face black with the soot, and then extenuated their lips with red paint, with the objective to appear as black as possible. Minstrelsy typical distastefully portrayed African Americans as lazy and moronic people gallivanting around.

Though enjoyed by audiences of all colors minstrelsy began to lose popularity with the gain of social rights against racism. In the 1930's it was considered suitable portrayal of black America by White America, with blind bigotry. The film Dixie did not have African American's performing in the Minstrel show they were all white. But during this era that was acceptable and considered comic relief.

Despite the slander against African Americans culture and characteristics all races enjoyed the comedy of the Minstrel show. But the fact that audiences at that time did not speak up sooner concerning the physical appearance of the blackface actors and overall enacting of blacks, leaves one with a strong impression, truly displaying the horribly rude comments and acts going on in our society. However Dixie correctly followed the structure of minstrelsy and had an interesting plot, forcing the audience to quickly forget how inconsiderately racist the movie actually is. This helps us ultimately realize the awareness of whites view on black culture.

Dixie is a biopic of a showman and musician, Daniel Decatur Emmett, who got his start in vaudeville performing in blackface in the 1840s. This is a touchy subject, because since that was a large part of his life-he was the first successful blackface performer-but it's not something American audiences like to watch anymore. Should Hollywood cut that part of the plot out and ignore part of this man's life, or keep it in and risk offending people? In case you're wondering why Hollywood decided to make a biopic of this man in the first place, he contributed something else to American culture, something so famous and crucial: the anthem of the South, "Dixie".

If you look at this film as recording the life of a man in the 1840s, it's actually tastefully done. Yes, there are too many blackface scenes to count, but the film doesn't take advantage of the opportunity to be exceedingly offensive. Without the makeup, most of the jokes and routines Bing Crosby and his troupe perform are just puns and pratfalls. "How was the trip?" he asks his fellow actor after he tumbles off the stage. "I don't know, I'll tell you next fall," the man answers. These aren't racist jokes, if you close your eyes when you hear them.

It really is too bad that so much of the movie is visually jarring, because the story itself is very interesting and heartwarming. At the start of the movie, Bing is engaged to Marjorie Reynolds, but he's not allowed to marry her until he makes his fortune. He's naïve and falls into the oily embrace of card shark Billy De Wolfe, but the two quickly join forces and pursue an acting career, where they meet Dorothy Lamour. Dorothy is completely different from Marjorie, and Bing falls in love. When Bing goes home to break his engagement, he finds out Marjorie's fallen ill and has become permanently paralyzed. Stricken with guilt, Bing marries Marjorie and sends a note of apology to Dorothy, with no intention of ever seeing her again.

What's missing from that synopsis? Racism! See what I mean, Dixie has a very compelling story behind it. If you can get past the several blackface numbers and realize it was a part of this man's history, this is a good movie. The Jazz Singer is universally revered, and audiences accept that blackface was a part of Al Jolson's history.

The movie will make you wait for it, but when you're finally treated to the "Dixie" number, it's well worth the wait. Since it happens so late in the film, I don't want to tell you what happens, but it's an incredibly moving scene. Dorothy gets to show off her acting chops, and Bing rouses the film audience to their feet; it feels like you're really taken back in time a hundred years when the song turned into an anthem. There's no true Southerner who can watch that scene and not be moved to tears.