Nonureva Really Surprised!

Connianatu How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

Twilightfa Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

Ogosmith 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.

bkoganbing Although Nat King Cole made many guest appearances in various films the only leading role he ever took on was that of W.C. Handy the composer and father of the Blues as he's generally accorded that title. In terms of facts this film is just like Night And Day, Deep In My Heart, and Till The Clouds Roll By just as much factual truth about Cole Porter, Sigmund Romberg, and Jerome Kern as their biographical films have. We don't expect much in the way of truth.For instance Handy did go blind, but that was not until 1943 after a fall off a New York City subway platform, not as is shown here. There was also no cure for it either as Handy spent his last years in the dark.He was in fact the son of a preacher who did not hold with the kind of music is son wanted to make. Juano Hernandez plays Handy's stern father and the motherless child played William Preston has Pearl Bailey as the aunt and maternal influence in his life. The conflict between father and son drives the film as Handy just cannot get his father to accept the Blues as art form.There are two women in Handy's life, his churchgoing sweetheart played by Ruby Dee and the nightclub performer Eartha Kitt who I believe is playing a character based on Bessie Smith. Such other performers as Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, and Mahalia Jackson have parts in the film that suit their talents.But it's the music performed for which we watch these films and Cole and the cast perform it well. With the names I've mentioned you would expect nothing else. As for Cole in his one and only time as a lead he did a superb job as the talented and troubled W.C. Handy.A really fine film that has not been available on DVD, VHS, whatever. We should remedy that.

tavm After several years of only seeing the last hour of this movie, I finally watched the whole thing on Netflix Streaming. Nat King Cole plays the famous composer W.C. Handy and he's not bad. I especially was touched when his character's blindness caused him to bump into things. And non-musicians Juano Hernandez as his father Reverend Charles Handy and Ruby Dee as girlfriend Elizabeth, respectively, certainly hold their own when sharing scenes with singers Pearl Bailey and Eartha Kitt. Cab Calloway also effectively conveys his role as a hustling businessman though unlike the others, he doesn't do any singing which is too bad. The actual story is probably more colorful than what was presented here but it wasn't bad for what it was. And how enjoyable to see not only Ms. Bailey and Kitt do their thing but also Ella Fitzgerald and Mahalia Jackson, too! And of course, Nat King Cole looks cool every time he's at the piano warbling Handy's tunes. It was also interesting to see Billy Preston as a young boy at the beginning as the child Handy and such musicians like Barney Bigard, Teddy Buckner, George "Red" Callender, Lee Young, and George Washington sitting in the band. Really, all I'll say now is St. Louis Blues is worth seeing for the number of musical icons in one film that are presented here.

retailmail-1 Central to the story is the antagonism between W.C Handy and his disapproving father, Reverend Charles Handy. The usual plot turns ensue while W.C. wrestles with his conscience, on the one hand as an obedient and under-empowered son, and on the other as a first-class and inspired musician. The story's a bit of a clunker, and some of the acting a bit two-dimensional. The good Reverend hams it up for us, looking much younger than his apparent signs of extreme age - the limp and gray hair more theatrical than filmic - while Nat King Cole's W.C. Handy suffers from soap opera indigestion. However, Eartha Kitt delivers the films best lines (and attitude) in a beautifully understated performance. It doesn't hurt, either, that she looks like a million dollars while doing it. The movie has the look and feel of having had a decent budget, and the sound in the television screening I saw was flawless, which made the real point of the movie outstanding: the music. To see so much of black America's musical talent of the time, performing in a medium atypical for them, is pure joy. The arrangements and delivery are breathtaking, especially for Eartha Kitt and Nat King Cole, while other numbers from the cast of luminaries are shining examples of their work. It's extraordinary that there is, to date, no DVD available for this film and a shame that more people will not get a chance to see - and hear - this historic gem.

muskrat-4 The film's story line has little in common with Handy's actual life, and some Hollywood writers were brought in to "improve" a few of Handy's lyrics. In other words: don't base your term paper on this picture, unless you're demonstrating how Hollywood can't leave history well enough alone. (Would you be surprised to learn that Handy's real story is more colorful than this -- literally -- black and white movie? Didn't think so).On the other hand, the cast is sensational -- Kitt and Bailey, particularly, with a nice early sequence featuring Billy Preston as young Bill -- and the music is well played and sung. Ella Fitzgerald and gospel great Mahalia Jackson are featured briefly, which is another plus.If you ignore the weaknesses in the (at best) hackneyed script and try not to wince at the stereotyped characters, the film is nicely directed.I enjoyed it a lot, almost in spite of itself.