Product: Birth Of The Blues/Blue Skies - Double Feature (1941)
Rating: 4.0
Really blue "Blue Skies"
I, too, was hesitant to purchase this DVD (or any in the Universal series), both due to the low price and that it's a double feature. However, the quality of both the picture and sound is superb."Blue Skies" is a wonderful movie musical. While the plot may not glue you to the screen, it's not a bad story of boy meets girl, boy wins girl, boy loses girl, and boy wins girl back again. The Irving Berlin tunes selected are top notch, and actually enhanced my appreciation of a few of the songs. "A Couple Of Song & Dance Men" is great fun with Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby, and once again demonstrates that Crosby could succeed in dance numbers, as long as you aren't expecting perfection. "Puttin' On The Ritz" really led me to respecting Astaire's dancing far more than I did when I was young. He really could out-dance Gene Kelly! Billy DeWolfe really isn't so bad, in fact he has his moments as a second banana. If you like musicals and the technicolor look, it will be difficult for you not to enjoy this film!"Birth of The Blues"...well, I'm glad it was part of a double bill and not the sole reason for the DVD. There are some mildly entertaining musical numbers and a few laughs.