St. Louis Blues (1939)

This was one of only two movies that showcased African-American singer Maxine Sullivan. The other was Going Places which I reviewed a few days ago. She has more songs to sing here like this movie's title song but it puts her in the kind of costumes her race was confined to during this period of stereotyping. At least one of those songs she warbled was a Scottish tune! The actual star is Dorothy Lamour in which her character says she's tired of all those sarong roles which was what she was known for during this period. So here, she's trying to run from Broadway and goes on a showboat known for putting on shows all over the country like in Baton Rouge (the movie doesn't actually show the city, only words printed on screen showing which ones the boat enters). By the way, Ms. Lamour was a native of New Orleans which is only a couple of hours from BR, a city I currently live in. Don't really feel like recounting the whole plot, only that I really liked St. Louis Blues especially Ms. Lamour and Ms. Sullivan's warbling.