Blue Skies (1946)

Jed Potter looks back on a love triangle conducted over the course of years and between musical numbers. Dancer Jed loves showgirl Mary, who loves compulsive nightclub-opener Johnny, who ... See full summary »

Director:

Stuart Heisler

Writers:

Irving Berlin (story), Allan Scott (adaptation),

Stars:

Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Joan Caulfield

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bing Crosby	...	Johnny Adams
Fred Astaire	...	Jed Potter
Joan Caulfield	...	Mary O'Hara
Billy De Wolfe	...	Tony
Olga San Juan	...	Nita Nova
Mikhail Rasumny	...	François
Frank Faylen	...	Mack
Victoria Horne	...	Martha (nurse)
Karolyn Grimes	...	Mary Elizabeth Adams

Storyline

Jed Potter looks back on a love triangle conducted over the course of years and between musical numbers. Dancer Jed loves showgirl Mary, who loves compulsive nightclub-opener Johnny, who can't stay committed to anything in life for very long.

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Plot Keywords:

love triangle | dancer | song and dance | milking a cow | marriage engagement | 

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Taglines:

32 BERLIN HITS Old and New

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Spanish

Release Date:

16 October 1946 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blau ist der Himmel

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Fred Astaire, then 47 years old, planned to retire as a leading man with this film. He was planning to only work with his dance studios and breed racehorses. Easter Parade, having recently lost Gene Kelly to a broken ankle, brought Astaire out of retirement. He danced on film and on television until he was nearly 70.

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Goofs

In the opening tilt pan shot of Rockefeller Center, the waterfalls are clearly in reverse.

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Connections

Referenced in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Wedding Week 2 (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Serenade for an Old-Fashioned Girl"
Words and Music by Irving Berlin
Performed by Joan Caulfield (dubbed by Betty Russell)

User Reviews

Not great, but Astaire is wonderful

Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby, and Joan Caulfield star in "Blue Skies," a 1946 musical film also starring Billy de Wolfe and Olga San Juan. The film starts with Jed (Astaire) on the radio telling the story of his buddy Johnny's (Crosby) relationship with Mary (Caulfield), and saying that he hoped Mary, wherever she was, would hear him. Both Jed and Johnny had been in love with her, but she had chosen Johnny.

The story of this love triangle is backed up by one Irving Berlin song after another - there is a lot of music, some fine singing by Crosby and tremendous dancing by Astaire. This was to be his last film but his retirement only lasted a couple of years. He worked in film until 1977 and continued working in television and doing voiceovers until 1981; he died in 1987. In the late '50s, he did two dance specials on television, and he did one in 1968. Was he dancing at the age of 69? Probably.

The movie doesn't really hang together. The production values are great, but the story is trite, and there aren't enough fabulous numbers. Astaire does "Puttin' on the Ritz," which is the height of the film, also "Heat Wave," and with Crosby, "A Couple of Song and Dance Men." There is a section during World War II where Crosby sings some of his Berlin standards, "This is the Army, Mr. Jones," "White Christmas," and "Any Bonds Today?" The beautiful "Always" is done as a chorus number, as is "How Deep is the Ocean," with Crosby sometimes singing along.

Having heard Crosby when he had something to prove back in the early '30s, I can never be content with his crooning, except perhaps in some parts of "Holiday Inn." Astaire is the one who makes this film worthwhile at all. See it for him and for some of the music and musical numbers. Ignore the story.