9/10
'T ain't What You Do, it's The Way ThatYou Do It
24 April 2010
The above tune, one of Jimmie Lunceford's first, has nothing to do with BLUES IN THE NIGHT, but I think it fits perfectly the film. I am a jazz and movie buff, and maybe the first whom managed to write an essay on both, in 1957. My preference was that Michael Curtiz's YOUNG MAN WITH A HORN was the best example of how to make a film about jazz.Recently, I grasped a conversation between two French critics on TV, describing Anatole Litvak's 1941 film as the one who shows how these typical American arts may cooperate. I also discovered David Meeker's JAZZ IN THE MOVIES, listing more than 2000 titles. Then I ordered BLUES IN THE NIGHT from Amazon, and I received a real gem. The previous 19 comments were fully positive, and Jimmie Lunceford appeared almost immediately with Jack Carson blowing a trumpet with his band. Followed a very good combination of film noir and swing. T'AIN'T WHAT...etc., is EXACTLY what I feel about the job done by the Warner Brothers, Tolya Litvak, Betty Field, Lloyd Nolan and all the film celebrities who made long and fruitful careers after WWII. The only thing I wish to stress is that the Amazon DVD contains also the actual trailer of the movie and last but not least, a full rendition of the famous JAMMIN'THE BLUES, certainly the best jazz movie of all times. Now that you have read my divagations, hurry up and grab a copy of BLUES IN THE NIGHT, while they last.harry carasso, Paris
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