Why so much hype?

Memorable, crazy movie

Fantastic!

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Louis Armstrong and his band (African American), along with Billie Holiday (African American and she plays a maid who just happens to also be a singer!) originate "jass" (later in the plot renamed jazz) in this film. The (white) club owner sponsors them--until he becomes a music manager and lo and behold--his big jazz act becomes Woody Herman and his band (all white). By the end, Billie Holiday, Satchmo, and the rest are replaced as crusaders for this new music by the blonde heroine of the movie (white), a full symphony orchestra (all white), and the Woody Herman band as symbols of the acceptance of jazz into proper American music circles. The movie ends with the latter crew triumphantly and oh-so-blandly performing a song they learned from Satch and the gang, although we never do find out what happened to them! That said, the movie is an important jazz history artifact--Satchmo and Lady Day and their fellow musicians are incredible.

Do not watch this movie in real time. Rather, tape it or get the DVD so you can fast forward through every scene with just white people in it. That will leave you with about 15 minutes or so of performances by Louis Armstrong and his combo and Billie Holiday. Although heavily lip-synched, they are still worth watching at least for historical interest, especially the scenes with Billie and Louie performing together. Also, Louie's personality and joy of performance still shine through and are genuine pleasures. The only other point of interest is Billie Holiday's 'performance' (to be generous) as an obsequious maid! It is the saddest spectacle ever offered up by American popular culture!!! True, many great black performers had to humble themselves to get into the movies but Billie didn't need the movies and she was otherwise quite vocal about being nobody's fool (except, tragically, her own). Watching her in these scenes, I couldn't help but think about her criticism of Louie Armstrong ("Louie 'Tom's from the heart"). Sad, sad, sad. I watched it as if it were a road-side accident...I felt guilty for gawking but I couldn't look away, either. Everything else is just filler (much like 'Cuban Pete', a turgid little romantic comedy whose only excuse for existence is to showcase the hot, new (1946) Cuban sensation, Desi Arnaz and his Orchestra. For that reason, I recommend it highly with the same caveat...skip everything that isn't music).

I just saw this in January, 2005 so this is a different view. It's difficult to know how professional movie people wouldn't know this is a terribly acted movie. DeCordova reprises his previously cardboard acting although he has something, but it doesn't come out. But the music of Armstrong, Holliday, and Herman etc. is magnificent. It surely is worth the time just to revel in the 1947 jazz. Bad acting doesn't destroy the movie. Wonder what happened to all those actors. It must have been the directing for all to be so bland. I think the attempt is to make this an epic picture showing the intrusion of jazz into classical music. The voice sync with the singer is also poor enough to be disturbing to the viewer. Dorothy Patrick is lovely but apparently not a singer. It's fun to see many old character actors that I knew by looks but couldn't remember their names. I'm sorry DeCordova didn't work out because I liked him in "Frenchman's Creek."

Anyone who loves blues and Dixieland would want to check out this film for the music alone. Seeing Billie Holliday and Louis Armstrong on the screen together must have made it worth the price of admission for audiences at the time. Reviewers are right that most of the acting is on the bland side, and there's a weird time warp with musicians playing their 30-years-younger selves. (It's like Paul McCartney in 1998 playing himself during his Beatles days.) But the film has a surprising amount of atmosphere, and some enjoyable surprises: There are no villains, for one thing-- All of the characters are surprisingly likable. For another, all of the women are strong-willed decisive characters who know what they want--even the cuddly blonde who plays the female lead. Considering the era, when Rosie the Riveter was relentlessly being herded back to hearth and home and told to be a good little housewife, and when almost the only strong female characters in American films were the evil seductresses of film noir, it's nice to see a nice girl who has a career, makes her own choices, and makes the first move when she's interested in a man. Also, while it may be sad to see Billie Holliday in a maid's uniform, it's good to be able to see her at all, and it's very good that those white characters attracted to Dixieland treat the black characters with respect. I also liked the scene where the heroine sang a Dixieland encore at a classical concert. Some of the audience walked out, and some stayed to enjoy and applaud--a realistic and unshowy way to stage the scene.But it's the music, of course, that you'll remember from this film. There are some great numbers, and they are given their full (deserved( attention, without silly distractions.