New Orleans (1947)

Truly Dreadful Film

To me, this movie is perfection.

Redundant and unnecessary.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Wonderful entertainment. If you love Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday you will enjoy this film. Satchmo on the horn with Billie Holiday singing with it. Two greats that we will never see again. This movie may be a bit outdated but that is part of it's charm. I just love even hearing Sathmo's voice when he is just talking let alone his magic horn. I recommend this movie for all old time jazz fans who want to see some of the greats on film even if they appear for only for a few minutes. Movies like this really make me think of our mortality. Everyone is gone but their spirit still lives on. That is my own personal feeling. After watching this movie I just want to listen to all the old jazz tunes played by the old timers. I would really not call this a great movie. It's just lots of fun.

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).

In most ways this 1947 movie, "New Orleans", is a tribute to old New Orleans and Louis Armstrong for popularizing Dixieland Jazz. However, Nick Larocca and "The original Dixieland Jazz Band" actually preceded Armstrong's band, but the great popularity of Dixieland music can arguably be credited to Armstrong and the musicians around him. Armstrong (46) is featured prominently here, as both an actor and as a musician. The musical part of the story highlights the conflict between the old music and this new form, Jazz, that some many felt threatened by.The movie is set in 1917, right about the time that the 20-year experiment of Storyville, with its casinos and houses of prostitution, came to an end as directed by the government. In this movie they even have a funeral-type Jazz parade as the Storyville residents move out. Just after that, 1919 through 1922, is when the young Louis Armstrong began making his own mark in New Orleans and later in Chicago.All this history is the setting for a love story. Dorothy Patrick (25) plays Miralee Smith, a soprano who moves with her mother to New Orleans from Maryland. She meets and falls for Nick Duquesne (Arturo de Córdova, 38) who was known as the "King of Basin Street." Mother does not approve, has "other plans" for her daughter. Nick leaves New Orleans, goes to Chicago, and eventually makes a name for himself running a coast to coast entertainment enterprise. Meanwhile Miralee is successfully touring the USA and Europe as a singer. And the Armstrong band is touring all over the world also.The movie has a happy ending, as Miralee and Nick find each other again, and musicians like Louis Armstrong and Woody Herman are winning over the crowds with this music.

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.