Blue Skies

Director: Stuart Heisler Stuart Heisler

Overview

This Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire musical is packed with Irving Berlin songs; it also features a plot that centers on a radio star who was formerly a famous music hall dancer. Much of the tale is told in flashback and follows the rivalry between him and his former partner as they vie for the love the same woman. His partner won out and married the girl but couldn't succeed and they were unhappy. Soon after their daughter is born, the two break up and the divorced wife heads back for the radio star until her ex-husband intervenes and she returns to him, causing the star to begin drinking.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/01/2019
UPC:	0191329030448
Original Release:	1946
Rating:	NR
Source:	Universal
Language:	English
Time:	1:44:00
Sales rank:	18,857

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Bing Crosby	Johnny Adams
Fred Astaire	Jed Potter
Joan Caulfield	Mary O'Hara
Billy De Wolfe	Tony
Olga San Juan	Nita Nova
Mikhail Rasumny	Francois
Frank Faylen	Mack
Victoria Horne	Martha Nurse
Karolyn Grimes	Mary Elizabeth
Carol Andrews	Dolly
Robert Benchley	Businessman
Jimmy Conlin	Jeffrey
Harry Davenport	Actor
Neal Dodd	Minister
Joel Friend	Specialty dancer
John Gallaudet	Stage manager
Roy Gordon	Charles Dillingham
Major Harris	Guest
Len Hendry	Electrician
Roberta Jonay	Hat check girl
John Kelly	Tough Guy
Charles La Torre	Mr. Rakopolis
Peggy McIntyre	Mary Elizabeth
John Miller	Ed
Frances Morris	Nurse
Cliff Nazarro	Cliff
Jack Norton	Drunk
Paula Ray	Guest
Albert Ruiz	Specialty dancer
Barbara Slater	Myrtle
Larry Steers	Guest
Joan Woodbury	Flo
Will Wright	Dan
John Sullivan	Junior
Irving Berlin	Composer
Robert Dolan	Composer

Technical Credits

Irving Berlin

Allan Scott

Arthur Sheekman

Stuart Heisler	Director
Irving Berlin	Screenwriter
Allan Scott	Screenwriter
Arthur Sheekman	Screenwriter
Sol C. Siegel	Producer
Farciot Edouart	Special Effects
Paul K. Lerpae	Special Effects
Gordon Jennings	Special Effects

Editorial Reviews

A screenplay was written and shot for Blue Skies, but they really needn't have bothered; this is a film that can only be enjoyed in spite of its script, a situation that is unfortunately true of many other musicals. However, unlike many other musicals, Blue Skies has a score of Irving Berlin oldies (and one or two originals) and the likes of Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire to deliver them. If you can forget (or just skip over entirely) the dialogue, you're apt to be mighty entertained, for both men are in fine musical form. Crosby delivers a persuasive "You Keep Coming Back Like a Song," a melancholy "All by Myself," and, with a peppery Olga San Juan, a lively "I'll See You in C-U-B-A." Astaire, whose swan song this was supposed to be, joins San Juan for a torrid "Heat Wave" and escorts a number of beauties in a lavish "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody." But it's Astaire alone -- except for ten miniature copies of himself -- who provides the film's highlight with a dynamite "Puttin' on the Ritz" that is deservedly acknowledged as one of the classic musical film moments. (Astaire and Crosby also team up for "A Couple of Song-and-Dance Men," a number that is quite good without quite being exceptional.) As indicated, in between numbers, Blue Skies becomes a bit of a bore -- especially when Joan Caulfield is onscreen or when Billy De Wolfe is encouraged to hang around for more than a minute or two. Still, it's worth catching for the two stars and the songs.