Review of Blue Skies (1946)

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Blue Skies is a fantastic cavalcade of song and dance numbers--even if it is held together by the thinnest plot I've ever seen in any movie! The convincing acting held my attention all the way; and the musical numbers are sublime! We get Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire singing and dancing up a storm. The plot (or action, since the plot is so thin) moves along at a good pace, too.

The action begins back in the 1920s when Jed Potter (Fred Astaire) has his eyes on a beautiful chorus girl named Mary O'Hara (Joan Caulfield). However, Joan isn't truly all that interested in Jed--she much prefers the company the Jed's buddy Johnny Adams (Bing Crosby). The two men vie for Joan's attention and her hand in marriage; and along the way we are treated to upwards of two dozen magnificent musical numbers.

Over time, Mary and Johnny do finally wed--much to the chagrin of Jed Potter. Nevertheless, there's still one major fly in the ointment for Johnny and Mary: Johnny isn't very "stabile;" he likes to bet on the horses and he always winds up having to sell his nightclub business to pay debts and then he starts over in a new city--dragging Mary along with him. Mary tolerates this until a child is born; at this point when she insists that Johnny stay put and not leave for another city their marriage does get have considerable trouble.

Meanwhile, look for a subplot between Johnny's right hand man Tony (Billy De Wolfe) and his girlfriend Nita Nova (Olga San Juan). Tony also does a number of his own that, while not the best in the movie, does reflect his fine talents as an actor.

Of course, from here the story line could still go anywhere. What happens between Mary and Johnny--will they be able to stay together or will they divorce? Even if they split up, will it be forever--or will Mary finally break down and marry Jed who still loves her after all? No plot spoilers here, folks--you'll just have to watch the movie to find out!

I said the plot was razor thin--and believe it or not I've told you most of it except for a spoiler or two. This is one movie you watch for the musical numbers. It's fantastic to see Fred Astaire dance--especially in the scene that has miniature Fred Astaires on the screen dancing behind him! Bing sings beautiful number after number; and I loved every minute of it.

Blue Skies is best viewed as a musical with just enough of a plot to get the musical numbers on the screen. I highly recommend this classic movie musical for fans of this genre; and people who like Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire will never be disappointed.

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Okay, so we all know 'Blue Skies' had a simple, thin plot designed around a bunch of Irving Berlin songs instead of vice versa, but it really works and it's a good movie.

Fun, memorable songs are all over the place. Bing's simple reading of the title song is beautiful. His Oscar-winning "You Keep Coming Back Like a Song" is a treat, and "I've Got My Captain Working for Me Now" is a hoot. Bing and Fred team up for "A Couple of Song and Dance Men" in a particularly fun number.

But, Astaire's dancing steals the show, with big sequences like "Heat Wave" and what is certainly one of his greatest moments, the mind-blowing "Puttin' on the Ritz." It was originally designed as his final screen dance (he had said he was quitting the business) and just the type of flashy number that Astaire didn't like to do, but ya gotta admit, it's amazing. The high-voltage big band arrangement crackles, and Astaire's moves are flawless--you can really see that he gives this piece his all.

Classic tunes, great leads, and beautiful production conquer a weak story to make a nonetheless wonderful movie worth three stars. The fourth is for Astaire's phenomenal would-be swan song. All in all, a light, fun way to pass an lazy afternoon at home.

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Bing sings and Fred treads in this sketchily-plotted musical, which pits Astaire and Crosby against one another, rivals for the hand of the blonde, domestically-minded Joan Caulfield. This frothy postwar frolic has a wild Techncolor exuberance, with crazy explosions all over the pastel-lined spectrum (and an odd tilt towards purple). The sad thing, though, is that this isn't a very good movie -the plot is razor thin, barely a hint of an excuse to stage a bunch of great (and lesser) Irving Berlin tunes. Some numbers fall flat (and Billy DeWolfe's interminable, painfully unfunny drag routine brings the movie to a screeching halt)... Still, Astaire's killer performance on "Puttin' On The Ritz" is the stuff that legends are made of: as he's angelically hoofing his heart out, a curtain parts behind him, revealing a phalanx of distant, miniature Astaires, keeping time with the big guy. A technical and aesthetic triumph! This flick might be worth it for that routine alone, although Bing gets in some choice vocal performances as well. A dud scriptwise, but it still has two of the greatest performers of the 20th Century, both still at their peak.

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Blue Skies is the second and final film collaboration between Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby. What else can we expect from these two top-notch entertainers but a top-notch musical? These two didn't drop the ball with the classic Holiday Inn and they sure didn't with Blue Skies. With such great songs from the late Irving Berlin, what could have gone wrong? Nothing at all! This is a delightful musical which is, I think, a little darker than Holiday Inn, but still a classic in its own right. The only reason I gave it four out of five stars is that Fred should have gotten the girl! Why does Bing always get the girl? Why, why, why?

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"Blue Skies" was the second, and final, film pairing of Bing Crobsy and Fred Astaire, and was a box-office hit in 1946-47 when it was released by Paramount Pictures. Set in the 1920's, two men romance the same picturesque blonde showgirl (the stunningly, beautiful Joan Caulfield) over a period of years. She marries the Crosby character, divorces, and falls for Astaire's character. But the music of Irving Berlin, along with Bing's Oscar-winning rendition of "You Keep Coming Back Like a Song," and Astaire's multi-dimensional dance to "Puttin' on the Ritz" were among the highlights of the film. Billy De Wolfe, long-forgotten comedic actor, turned in an interesting performance as Crobsy's assistant, including a drag routine that, although a little dated, gave you an example of his repertoire. Olga San Juan, who passed in 2009, did a nice performance in one of Astaire's dance numbers ("Heat Wave"). Caulfield's beautiful innocence captured my imagination (she was only 24 when the film was released). While her acting wasn't very solid, her looks lingered on like a melody...lovely to look at. Even Bing couldn't get his eyes off her, hence their romance during filming of the movie. A must-see for classic film fans everywhere.