For quite some time, I’ve wanted to learn to play and sing a classic blues tune Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans. While searching for YouTube videos for the song, I found a video clip of Billie Holiday singing it and another wonderful Blues tune called The Blues Are Brewin’ with Louis Armstrong and his band backing her. 
Both of these clips are from a black and white movie titled New Orleans (1947 film) which was available on Amazon Prime.  So I watch it. 

‘New Orleans’; what’s it about?

Rich music and a classic romance storyline set in the 1920s immediately captivated me.

Although this movie is mostly known for the jazz performances by Louis Armstrong and Billie Holliday, it offers some classy entertainment value as well. 

What is this movie about? Here is a good description of it from Wikipedia.

Wikipedia on New Orleans

New Orleans is a 1947 American musical romance film starring Arturo de Córdova and Dorothy Patrick, and directed by Arthur Lubin. Though it features a rather conventional plot, the film is noteworthy both for casting jazz legend Billie Holiday as a singing maid romantically involved with bandleader Louis Armstrong, and extensive playing of New Orleans-style Dixieland jazz: over twenty songs (or versions of songs) are featured in whole or part. 

Armstrong’s band contains a virtual Who’s Who of classic jazz greats. Also performing in the film is a Jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader Woody Herman.

Basic Plot

A Storyville casino owner Nick Duquesne and a high society opera singer Miralee Smith fall in love during the birth of the blues in New Orleans.

Main Cast

• Arturo de Córdova as Nick Duquesne
• Dorothy Patrick as Miralee Smith
• Marjorie Lord as Grace Voiselle
• Irene Rich as Mrs. Rutledge Smith
• Richard Hageman as Henry Ferber
• Louis Armstrong as Satchmo himself
• Billie Holiday as Endie
• Woody Herman as himself

Although none of the cast members are famous, they are quite good; Arturo De Cordova as Nick, whose deep voice lends authenticity as a King of Basin Street, Dorothy Patrick as Miracle, a classic beauty with a genuine sparkle in her eyes, veteran actress Irene Rich as Miralee’s mother, along with composer/pianist Richard Hageman who won the Academy Award in 1939 for scoring Stagecoach, as the symphony conductor. The actors all fit their roles well and compensate for the oversimplified script with their talent. 

Romancing Jazz

As the love story between two characters, Miralee Smith—a beautiful opera singer, and Nick Duquesnes—an owner of a gambling house in Storyville unfolds, New Orleans loosely traces the rise of jazz in the early 20s.

While Miralee and Nick come from different backgrounds, their love of Jazz music pulls them together initially and reunites them at the end. 

Along with Louis Armstrong in his prime, Billie Holliday, Woody Herman, Kid Orry, and many other talented musicians perform authentic Jazz numbers. 

Jazz lovers will enjoy the magic of the music throughout the film, like a scrapbook of happy memories.

Billie Holiday’s commanding performance

Even though this is her only film, 32-year-old Billie Holiday seems at ease in her role, and sings some of her best songs, including: 

• Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans (YouTube)
• The Blues Are Brewin’ (YouTube)

For me, the scenes where she sings these sultry Jazz blues tunes make this film worth watching. 

Woody Herman’s magnificent solo on The Blues Are Brewin’ is timeless and way ahead of its time.

As one reviewer commented, ‘There is no other movie like this one!’