Good concept, poorly executed.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The acting in this movie is really good.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

The song that Harold Arlen and Johnnie Mercer wrote for this movie turned out to be a gem. "From Natchez to Mobile, from Memphis to Saint Joe, Wherever the four winds blow, I've Been in some big towns, I've heard me some big talk, And there is one thing I know...." The music has real blues feeling, and the lyrics are as good as you'll ever find in a popular tune.So why is it that a movie which is named after the song and repeatedly alludes to it in its soundtrack never actually lets us hear the entire song from start to finish? The nearest thing to an extended performance is the rendition early on by the black man in jail. A good job, too, but cut short so we can return to the silly plot.There's also another good Arlen / Mercer song, totally different in spirit: "This Time the Dream's on Me." It's nicely sung by Priscilla Lane.There are interesting montages at two points in the movie, both created by Don Siegel. And the usual good performance by Lloyd Bridges.But for the most part it's a wildly arbitrary, melodramatic plot. The members of the band move about in unison, as if they were a flock of ducks. Two are named "Jigger" and "Character," a naive attempt to portray jazz musicians as colorful characters. Betty Field does a decent job with a part that makes her into a kind of female Iago. And Elia Kazan shows us why he ceased being an actor after this picture and focused on directing.

Jazz pianist Richard Whorf (as "Jigger" Pine) puts together a swinging 1940s band, with handsome young Billy Halop (as Peppi) on drums, law student Elia Kazan (as Nickie) playing clarinet, and cell-mate Peter Whitney (as Pete) handling the bass fiddle. In New Orleans, the quintet adds trumpeter Jack Carson (as Leo) and his pretty girl singer wife Priscilla Lane (as "Character"). The band is a hit, as managed by enterprising Lloyd Nolan (as Del Davis). But, trouble reigns as Mr. Nolan supplements nightclub success with a gambling racket, and involves sexy femme fatale Betty Field (as Kay Grant) with the group.This adaptation of the jazzy play "Hot Nocturne" is astonishing in a couple of ways. The film's use of music is exceptional. The original soundtrack songs, by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, are excellent. Sung beautifully in the jail scene by William Gillespie, the title song was a huge "Academy Award"-nominated hit, with Woody Herman's double-sided Decca record "Blues in the Night" (#1) b/w "This Time the Dream's on Me" (#8) outdistancing an unstoppable parade of hit versions.Dinah Shore, apparently parodied herein, had a million-seller with her "Blues in the Night". Also noteworthy is the film's marvelous use of film montage; there are several striking sequences, put together (presumably) by editor Owen Marks, photographer Ernie Haller, and director Anatole Litvak. You'll know them when you see them. However, the two future directors in the cast (Whorf and Kazan) don't always come across very well, and Mr. Litvak doesn't really get the performances possible from several in the cast. While other characterizations are curiously lacking, Nolan and Ms. Field make the most of their parts.******* Blues in the Night (11/15/41) Anatole Litvak ~ Richard Whorf, Betty Field, Priscilla Lane, Lloyd Nolan

This film took me by surprise because it is a musical black and white film with fast movement of the camera and goes from Jazz and Blues music smack into a drama and murder. The film starts out with a piano player named Jugger, (Richard Whorf) who wants to organize a band and he has as his female singer, Ginger Powell, (Priscilla Lane) and her husband, Leo Powell, (Jack Carson) his trumpet player. Kay Grant, (Betty Field) plays the role of a gal who meets men and leaves them as quick as she meets them. Del Davis, (Lloyd Nolan) is an escaped convict who runs into this jazz band in a box car and decides to hold them up for all their money. There are many old time actors in this film and it really is a gem of a 1941 Classic. You could also call this film, riding the railroad through out the United States.

Saw this movie many years ago. Enjoyed it then and would probably enjoy it now. What strikes me as strange is that this movie is a bio of the Jimmy Lunceford band, which was one of the great bands of the 30's and 40's, which was black however in the movie all band members are portrayed as white. The movie was probably made at a major studio at the time and did not want to take a chance on making an all black movie and possibly losing money. There were a number of black actors available at the time that could have made the picture. Look at Stormy Weather, Cabin in the sky etc.Anyone have any thoughts? Guess the world had a lot of prejudice at the time.