Dixie (1943) User Reviews (15)

The Song of the South

[lugonian · 7/10 · 20 February 2006]

DIXIE (Paramount, 1943), directed by A. Edward Sutherland, capitalizes on the then current trend of musical biographies of popular songwriters of the twentieth century, a cycle that appeared to have begun with the life of George M. Cohan in YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (WB, 1942). Unlike this and others made during this period, DIXIE goes back a century, prior to the Civil War in fact, depicting the life of a composer named Daniel Decatur Emmett. His life-story is as unknown as his name itself. The fictional screenplay does toy with the facts before leading to the purpose of its film title, the composition that's to become Emmett's most recognizable American song of all, "Dixie." Bing Crosby, one of Hollywood's top box office attractions, is properly cast as Dan Emmett. It reunites him with HOLIDAY INN (1942) co-star, Marjorie Reynolds, and re-teams him opposite Dorothy Lamour, in her only film opposite Crosby outside from the seven "Road to" comedies all featuring Bob Hope as part of the funny trio.

Dan Emmett's life is portrayed more to the personification of Çrosby himself, that of a good-natured singer/composer whose only weakness is his forgetfulness, especially when it comes to leaving his lit up smoking pipe around that causes a fire. He is engaged to Jean Mason (Marjorie Reynolds), a beautiful blonde Southern belle whose father (Grant Mitchell) disapproves of their courtship because he feels Dan to be irresponsible and won't amount to anything. Mason's more convinced now after Dan's lit-up pipe has caused the burning and destruction of Mason's old Kentucky home. However, Mason consents to Jean's marriage only if Dan can prove himself capable by doubling his $500 life savings to $1,000 within six months. (A similar opening lifted from the more familiar Fred Astaire musical, SWING TIME, in 1936). Leaving his clerical job, Dan seeks his fortune in New Orleans. While riverboat bound, he loses all of his $500 to Mr. Bones (Billy De Wolfe), a suave actor and cardsharp. After discovering that he had been cheated, he sets out to find Mr. Bones. Instead of beating him for the return of his money, composer and actor form a partnership leading to the origins of what was to be known as a Minstrel Show. Dan, who has already encountered Millie Cook (Dorothy Lamour) at the boarding house to whom Bones and other out-of work actors (Lynne Overman and Eddie Foy Jr.) owe back rent for their lodgings to her trusting father (Raymond Walburn), finds himself in love with her, in spite that she's the aggressor who made the first move. Dan decides to return to Kentucky and break his engagement to Jean. Upon his return, Dan finds the girl he once loved to be a victim of a crippling disease, polio, that puts him in a difficult situation as to which girl he should marry, and which should get his swan song.

Oddly enough for a life-story about a composer, one would expect a handful of selections by Emmett himself, however, with the exception of "Old Dan Tucker," and "Dixie," many were by others, new ones by James Van Heusen and Johnny Burke. The motion picture soundtrack includes "Sunday, Monday or Always," "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," (both sing by Bing Crosby); "Kinda Peculiar Brown" (sung/performed by Eddie Foy Jr. and Lynne Overman); "Old Dan Tucker," "The Last Rose of Summer," "She's From Missouri," "Let the Minstrel Show You How," "Kinda Peculiar Brown" (dance number); "The Horse That Knew the Way Back Home," "If You Please," "Sunday, Monday or Always," and "Dixie." While "Dixie" is the song in question, "Sunday, Monday or Always" is the film's most romantic ballad, and one of many most associated with Crosby. The Lynne Overman and Eddie Foy Jr. number early in the story is another highlight.

So is it true, as depicted on screen, that the birth of the minstrel show was due to white actors acquiring black eyes in a fight to cover up their bruises by darkening themselves up with cork? Hard to tell since minstrel shows have become part of American culture that remains to be a controversial issue. How much is true about the Mr. Bones character as portrayed by Billy DeWolfe (in his screen debut) is another issue. His amusing scenes, however, come off quite well, at best when cheating at cards, and, in a sense, tasteless, when obtaining a free meal in a restaurant by placing a cockroach in his food before being nearly finished, then complaining the "incident" to a waiter. The result to this colorful production finds Crosby satisfying, as always; Reynolds quite sympathetic; DeWolfe, Overman and Foy comical delights; with Lamour leaving a lasting impression long after the finish of the film as she joins in with other proud southerners singing to Emmett's immortal song of the south, "I wish I was in Dixie, hooray, hooray!!!" in full camera closeup.

Less dramatic than composer Stephen Foster's interpretation in SWANEE RIVER (1939), each film has benefited from its lavish Technicolor. During the sequence depicting Emmett's Virginia Minstrels as the troupe performs in an opera house to a sophisticated audience, where the song, "Dixie," is to be introduced, a patron (Norma Varden) observing the show quips about the show to be of "such poor taste." Due to extensive use of minstrel show numbers recapturing that bygone era from which this film is based, is the sole reason why DIXIE hasn't aired on television since the 1980s. A video copy, however, was obtained by a private collector from which this review is based. How DIXIE succeeds or fails if seen today depends on the individual viewer. (***)

"I'm Dreaming of a Black Christmas" - Highly fictionalized take on Dan Emmett, who composed "Dixie" and invented blackface minstrel shows.

[weezeralfalfa · 7/10 · 1 March 2013]

My title is partially derived from one of the TV episodes of "Julia": a parody of Bing Crosby's hit song from "Holiday Inn", released the year before this film.....It is indeed ironic that "Dixie", as well as most of the other songs that have come to be associated with the antebellum South, were composed by two staunch Yankees: Dan Emmett and Stephan Foster, and mostly for Yankee minstrel shows. Unlike the story in this film, I could find no info that Emmett ever traveled into the South, and Foster made only one trip into the South, by steamboat to New Orleans, rather reminiscent of the scene early in this film when Crosby and a chorus of African Americans sing "Swing Low Sweet Chariot". This scene also reminds us of some of the scenes in Jerome Kerns' "Showboat". Emmett is also credited with being the inspiration behind the first full-fledged blackface minstrel show, in 1843. As in this film, this consisted of 4 men. However, in the film , the silly excuse for using blackface is to cover up their blackeyes from a brawl. Blackface routines had been around in the US since early colonial days, and in medieval Europe. Emmett was primarily a singer and instrument player, and had used blackface in his routines in circuses before this time. In the long interval between '43 and '58, he did not perform in minstrel shows, serving as a musician in various other capacities. Emmett composed "Dixie" in 1859, while a member of a NYC minstrel group. Initially a hit in the North, it was modified into a band piece and war song for the South, with many different lyrics. As in the finale, a performance in New Olreans did spark its popularity in the South. Unlike in the film, where he refuses to sell the copyright for $1., he sold it for $500. to a NYC firm. The fictitious bit in the film where Emmett is given $500.by his prospective father-in-law is perhaps derived from this bit of history.

Although this is supposed to be a biographical treatment of Emmett, nearly all the details are totally fictitious, and nearly all the other songs were either new creations for this film, or 19th century songs composed by others! He had two wives, but they certainly weren't southern belles, as portrayed, one being from NYC and the other from Chicago, and they weren't competitors. The plot construction is a switcheroo romantic quadrangle: a very common plot formula in musicals of this era. If we substitute Fred Astaire for Billy De Wolfe and Vrginia Dale for Dorothy Lamour, we have essentially the same romantic melodrama as in "Holiday Inn" of the previous year. In both films, Crosby and Marjorie Reynolds end up a romantic couple in the finale. Dorothy is portrayed as a shameless hussy of a southern belle, whereas Marjorie is portrayed as true to Emmett, but offering to step aside for Dorothy when she discovers that Emmett planned to ditch her for Dorothy until he discovered that she had become partially paralyzed from polio, She surmised that he married her only out of pity. Incidentally,paralytic polio was a rather common and much feared disease when this film was made, exemplified by President Roosevelt. But, back in mid-19th century, it was a minor disease, and mostly of infants and young children, very rarely adults.

This was the film debut for comedic character actor Billy De Wolfe, and he almost steals the show in the middle half, before mostly disappearing in the last portion.He essentially takes the place of Bob Hope, Fred Astaire, Martha Raye or Betty Hutton in Crosby's films of this era. He would help to enliven "Blue Skies": the second and less entertaining pairing of Crosby and Astaire.The film fails to convey the fact that his character's name: Mr. Bones, was a stock character in minstrels, originating from the use of 2 bones as a crude castanet. Mr. Bones was also one of the main characters in the extensive minstrel show in "Babes on Broadway".

The 3 building fires served as a running gag, each supposedly started by Bing forgetting his lit pipe. Must have had some gasoline-soaked tobacco in that pipe! The first 2 fires served to end one phase of the film, while the last serves as an excuse to speed the tempo of "Dixie", and to destroy Marjorie's now unwanted letter of proposed divorce.

This film is notable for the large amount of blackface entertainment. I have no problem with that. To me, it's no different from other forms of stage, film and circus clowning around, including all those 'white face' circus clowns. Historically, AAs often participated in such minstrel shows post Civil War. The NAACP is far too uptight about any public entertainment that portrays AAs in the stock negative characterizations of minstrel shows, early films, and the 'Amos and Andy' TV show, which was one of my favorite shows as a kid. Unfortunately, TV executives overreacted to criticism of the characterizations in this show and cancelled all shows dominated by AAs, including Nat Cole's show.Finally, in the late '60s, "Julia" was tried. It was the first sitcom to present AAs as legitimate middle class Americans, but was criticized for presenting an atypical AA characterization. The characters were said to be essentially 'whites with black faces' and Ms. Carroll was a light-skinned AA, thus a compromise AA.

See this film on You Tube, in 9 segments. Rating: 2 for historical accuracy, 7 for entertainment value.

This is actually interesting and moving

[HotToastyRag · 7/10 · 9 December 2018]

Dixie is a biopic of a showman and musician, Daniel Decatur Emmett, who got his start in vaudeville performing in blackface in the 1840s. This is a touchy subject, because since that was a large part of his life-he was the first successful blackface performer-but it's not something American audiences like to watch anymore. Should Hollywood cut that part of the plot out and ignore part of this man's life, or keep it in and risk offending people? In case you're wondering why Hollywood decided to make a biopic of this man in the first place, he contributed something else to American culture, something so famous and crucial: the anthem of the South, "Dixie".

If you look at this film as recording the life of a man in the 1840s, it's actually tastefully done. Yes, there are too many blackface scenes to count, but the film doesn't take advantage of the opportunity to be exceedingly offensive. Without the makeup, most of the jokes and routines Bing Crosby and his troupe perform are just puns and pratfalls. "How was the trip?" he asks his fellow actor after he tumbles off the stage. "I don't know, I'll tell you next fall," the man answers. These aren't racist jokes, if you close your eyes when you hear them.

It really is too bad that so much of the movie is visually jarring, because the story itself is very interesting and heartwarming. At the start of the movie, Bing is engaged to Marjorie Reynolds, but he's not allowed to marry her until he makes his fortune. He's naïve and falls into the oily embrace of card shark Billy De Wolfe, but the two quickly join forces and pursue an acting career, where they meet Dorothy Lamour. Dorothy is completely different from Marjorie, and Bing falls in love. When Bing goes home to break his engagement, he finds out Marjorie's fallen ill and has become permanently paralyzed. Stricken with guilt, Bing marries Marjorie and sends a note of apology to Dorothy, with no intention of ever seeing her again.

What's missing from that synopsis? Racism! See what I mean, Dixie has a very compelling story behind it. If you can get past the several blackface numbers and realize it was a part of this man's history, this is a good movie. The Jazz Singer is universally revered, and audiences accept that blackface was a part of Al Jolson's history.

The movie will make you wait for it, but when you're finally treated to the "Dixie" number, it's well worth the wait. Since it happens so late in the film, I don't want to tell you what happens, but it's an incredibly moving scene. Dorothy gets to show off her acting chops, and Bing rouses the film audience to their feet; it feels like you're really taken back in time a hundred years when the song turned into an anthem. There's no true Southerner who can watch that scene and not be moved to tears.

A historical curiosity

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 5 April 2004]

Paramount finally gave Bing Crosby technicolor in this 1943 film, presumably based on the life of Daniel Decatur Emmett, minstrel man and composer of many 19th century songs like Turkey in the Straw, Old Dan Tucker, and of course, Dixie.

Seeing this film today and realizing that the song Dixie is a bad reminder of slavery for Afro-Americans and that minstrel shows in and of themselves are not so subtle examples of racism the film ain't recommended by this writer. It's a pity because technically the film is flawless, good writing, directing and acting.

Crosby also sings one of his most famous movie songs, Sunday, Monday, or Always in this and the recording by Decca is an interesting story. For most of 1943 into 1944 the musicians union went on strike against the record companies. This played hell on Frank Sinatra who had just signed a contract with Columbia Records after leaving Tommy Dorsey. Bing was already established and Decca re-issued his old platters up to a point. Sunday, Monday or Always was such a mega-hit from the film that Decca got Crosby to record it with the Ken Darby Singers doing an a capella background. The flipside was If You Please also from this film. Columbia did the same thing with Sinatra for the songs from Higher and Higher. Both Crosby and Sinatra were accused of not honoring the musician's picket line and the practice was discontinued. But Sunday, Monday or Always became one of Bing's million sellers.

One incident from the film is true. The song Dixie was originally written as a slow moving ballad. But a theater orchestra had to speed up the tempo to what we know today because of a threatening theater fire. That tempo change made it a hit and the rest as they say is history.

Dixie doesn't mean to be offensive, the film was made in a different time. But offensive it is.

I would only see it if you are Crosby fan or as a historical curiosity.

Emmett who?

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 28 May 2020]

OK, so maybe you know the songs, but do you know the name? Don Emmett, one of the premiere minstrel composers of the mid nineteenth century. Perhaps the influence of the minstrel show has been forgotten 170 years later, and maybe with good reason. But this is a colorful trip down memory lane which gives Bing Crosby (once you get past the fact that he seems far too 40's in style to be 50's, 1850's that is....) a chance to sing some American standards and play a fictionalized version of an American legend.

This film starts off on an awkward note with Crosby accidentally responsible for burning down the house of fiancee Marjorie Reynolds, barely getting a slap on the wrist of her hard nosed father (Grant Mitchell) who bets that Crosby can't make it in the world of entertainment and come up with the several thousand dollars he has assured Mitchell that he will have before he greets Reynolds after she walks down the aisle. "The Wizard of Oz's" Clara Blandick is Reynolds' mother, obviously kept under control as evidenced by her brief weepy appearance. On a paddleboat, Crosby loses everything from his estate to card shark Billy DeWolfe whom he follows to New Orleans, later encountering DeWolfe's pretty landlady, Dorothy Lamour, who runs a boarding house ironically for actors.

Lamour is given a goofy accent that is certainly far from Southern. At times, she sounds like she's more from the Bronx than Dixie. Perhaps for that reason, she is not given a song. It is obvious that in spite their initial tension that a romance will grow between Crosby and Lamour. But when he goes back home for a visit and learns that Reynolds is paralyzed, he marries her out of pity and they move to New York where he manages to sell his songs. It will only be a matter of time before he is reunited with the fiery Lamour who for some reason began to become involved with DeWolfe.

In one of the minstrel numbers, DeWolfe is in drag, and with his orange wig, face and dark make-up looks like a combination of the cowardly lion and Miss Piggy. The fire caused by Crosby's pipe is repeated again so when the opera house in the conclusion catches on fire, everyone assumes that Crosby once again accidentally started it. But this makes Crosby speed up the singing of his most popular song, "Dixie", which Reynolds had suggested to him already, and that brings the squares who claim to like only opera and ballet to their feet. Among the audience in this sequence is character actress Norma Varden who goes from snooty to sassy as a result of the raucous southern anthem.

There's a gag here involving a cockroach later utilized famously in "Victor/Victoria", here utilized by DeWolfe who has an appetite bigger than the enormous man in "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life". The comedy is goofy, but the musical numbers, colorful but tacky, are certainly eye-raisers. The idea of blackface in black and white is bad enough, but add color (pardon the pun), and it looks even more absurd. Paramount used this in many of their old musicals up as far as "Somebody Loves Me", but fortunately cut it out with the minstrel show in "White Christmas".

Familiar comic character actors like Eddie Foy Jr., Lynne Overman, Irving Bacon and Raymond Walburn (as Lamour's father) add some chuckles, but a good percentage of the comic moments bring eye rolls, not laughs. Still, the glorious color makes this a treat for the eye (there were very few color films, let alone musicals, made in 1943), and the singing and dancing is top notch. If you get past the dated concept of minstrel shows as classic American entertainment, you might find something to enjoy.

Dixie Review

[torigemi3 · 6 May 2007]

Dixie Historical Film Review A popular musical stage show of the early and mid 19th Century was minstrelsy. Minstrel shows a variety of comical skits in which both black as well as white people painted their faces black. The film Dixie, directed by A. Edward Sutherland was a story about the intertwining characters and their production of a Minstrel show, Though Minstrel shows content embodied racial hatred they were the first form of musical theatre that was American-born and bred. It was embraced by all colors despite its ignorant and obnoxious slander of African Americans.

Minstrelsy had an initial structure normally broken into a three act performance. A dance sequence was first on stage. Singing songs and preparing the audience for the second part which included a coordinate speech said by "Mr. Interlocutor". This pun-filled speech in Dixie was said by Mr. Cook, played by Raymond Walburn, while he was in the center of the stage. The final act in the show was a song almost like one slaves would sing while working at the plantation.

In the film the characters refer to African Americans as "darkies". To accomplish "blackface" performers would burned corks and painted their face black with the soot, and then extenuated their lips with red paint, with the objective to appear as black as possible. Minstrelsy typical distastefully portrayed African Americans as lazy and moronic people gallivanting around.

Though enjoyed by audiences of all colors minstrelsy began to lose popularity with the gain of social rights against racism. In the 1930's it was considered suitable portrayal of black America by White America, with blind bigotry. The film Dixie did not have African American's performing in the Minstrel show they were all white. But during this era that was acceptable and considered comic relief.

Despite the slander against African Americans culture and characteristics all races enjoyed the comedy of the Minstrel show. But the fact that audiences at that time did not speak up sooner concerning the physical appearance of the blackface actors and overall enacting of blacks, leaves one with a strong impression, truly displaying the horribly rude comments and acts going on in our society. However Dixie correctly followed the structure of minstrelsy and had an interesting plot, forcing the audience to quickly forget how inconsiderately racist the movie actually is. This helps us ultimately realize the awareness of whites view on black culture.

Anachronistic

[WylieJJordan · 5/10 · 7 February 2008]

Dixie is a highly fictionalized biography of Daniel Decatur Emmett who was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio and was twice married: to Catherine Rives, who died in 1875 and then to Mary Louise Bird, a widow with two daughters.

Emmett performed his first song Old Dan Tucker at the age of fifteen. He was one of four men in the "Original Virginia Minstrels," with Frank Brower. Billy Whitlock, and Dick Pelham. Emmett later performed with Bryant's Minstrels in New York and then with Leavitt's Gigantean Minstrels. Emmett wrote the song Dixie in the spring of 1859, while with Bryant's Minstrels in New York. At the beginning of the Civil War both armies marched to the tune of Dixie but by 1861 Dixie had become a Southern tune.

The movie is essentially a series of songs and 'black-face' acts. The latter, although generally considered humorous in 1943, will probably offend many viewers today.

... But How Did You Like The Movie ?

[GManfred · 5 January 2012]

Boy, that was a tough slog getting through all the history lessons and moral instruction regarding slavery. Yes, yes, it was a shameful period in America and minstrel shows were degrading, but most contributors forgot to evaluate "Dixie" - the movie, that is.

Well, let me have a bash at it. When I think back on "Dixie", the first thing I think of is the ballad, "Sunday, Monday or Always", done to perfection by Bing at the beginning and at the end. Much of the rest of the movie is forgettable and uninspired. Paramount had assembled an excellent cast which is largely wasted in this fictitious biography of a forgotten songwriter. Maybe the biggest disappointment was the lack of spectacle and excitement in musical number after lifeless musical number, especially the last one. The choreography was almost non-existent and very understated, except for a dance by the largely wasted Eddie Foy, Jr. The script was desperately in need of a re-write - and what's with the fires? There were three separate fires in the course of "Dixie", one of which should have included Dorothy Lamour's thankless part.

I guess musicals were not Paramount's thing. Such matters were best left to Fox or MGM, or even Universal, which had a few pretty good underbudgetted musicals. Our present rating is a little rich for "Dixie" - I gave it five and upped it to six on the strength of the song "Sunday,Monday or Always", which was gorgeous.

Dixie

[xxitalianxx · 9 May 2006]

After viewing the 1943 classic Dixie, it was apparent that at this civil war time entertainment there were different styles of dance emerging. During this time it became a popular diversion to spend evenings at a minstrel theatre. Straying away from the traditional opera or ballet, minstrels offered a new sense of entertainment which promoted the class system. Fortunately our society today is accepting African American's and prejudices are less prevalent. Subsequent to professional minstrelsy's decline in the 20th century, its appeal continued in the south. Though minstrels proposed stereotypes, some good did result from this type of entertainment. These shows presented black performers the opportunity to build a foundation which later helped many of them to emerge as successful entertainers.

Minstrel shows exposed a wide selection of audiences to this unique type of entertainment. With its combination of eccentric dancing and diverse music, people enjoyed the allure of the entertainment. Closely similar to tap dancing, it boasted innovative and bizarre movements' pairs with flamboyant eye-catching costumes.

This type of amusement contributed to later types of dancing and entertainment. As a big benchmark in the industry, without minstrels played a role in what dancing has evolved into presently. Without minstrels, who knows if the great such as Dizzy Gillespie, W.C. Handy, and Bert Williams, would have been as successful as they were.

read my comment for my summary on this movie

[themush01 · 10 May 2006]

Dixie

Throughout history there has been hardships for African Americans. Slavery, obtaining human rights, and discrimination are examples of the hard times that African Americans have gone through. Many movies that were made around the 1940's can be offensive to many African Americans because these hardships such as slavery and discrimination are portrayed within them. Within the comical musical Dixie directed by A Edward Sutherland, 1943, it lets its viewers see and recognize what the time period was really like.

Although the movie was well directed, written and acted out, the truth of the time period shines through. Although this film was not made to be offensive, it is. Slavery and discrimination are shown through the song "Dixie," and by characters within the movie. When Daniel Emmett went and performed with his, at first three partners, they used makeup to paint their faces black and over exaggerate the size of their lips. They talked as if they were uneducated and didn't understand things. Also characters from the audience at first were insulted and appalled that "darkies" were performing on stage. This attitude is not make- believe. This was the reaction of people during this time period to African Americans.

During this time period Minstrel entertainment was popular during the 19th century. White performers would mimic African Americans as a main attraction by coloring their faces and using makeup to make it look like they have big lips and eyes. Later African Americans did participate in there own form of festivities called the Pinkster celebrations in which black and white performers would gather and celebrate the change of the season. This would ultimately change into a primarily African American holiday that slaves and free blacks would catch up with family and friends. This gave them a chance to express and pass on their traditions and cultures.

Dixie portrays the discrimination and slavery that was still going on during this time period. The racism of the audience and reference to slavery within the song "Dixie" all show how this can be offensive to a wide majority of viewers. Although these are within the film, overall the film does a good job at showing what the time period was like and had a good story.

Top cast in this early 1940s musical biography and light comedy

[SimonJack · 7/10 · 7 April 2020]

"Dixie" is an early Paramount color musical biography and light comedy that stars Bing Crosby with a fine supporting cast. Crosby plays Daniel Decatur Emmett, an American composer, song-writer and musician of the 19th century. Emmett is most known for and credited with writing the song, "Dixie." He first sang it as a member of Bryant's Minstrels on April 4, 1859, in New York City.

Emmett was born in Ohio and taught himself to play fiddle. He joined the Army and became an expert fifer and drummer. With his natural talents he followed various jobs working as a singer and player. He traveled with a circus playing the banjo and singing in blackface. Along with a handful of other performers, he formed the Virginia Minstrels which became one of the first and the most prominent of the minstrel shows.

Emmett was reportedly upset that "Dixie" had become a rallying song for the South's secession from the Union. He then wrote the fife and drum manual for the Union Army in 1862. Emmett wrote more than 50 songs in his career. Among other popular tunes credited to him are "The Boatman's Dance, " and "Polly Wolly Doodle."

There's no known biography of Emmett, so the account of his life in "Dixie" is mostly fictional. The film is a rousing type of musical play. While musicals were still very popular at the time, it had only modest reception with the public. No doubt, the U.S. and world being smack dab in the middle of World War II had something to do with that.

Crosby sings half a dozen songs in the film. It has some historical value also for its staged presentations with blackface. Among the best of the rest of the cast are Dorothy Lamour as Millie Cook, Marjorie Reynolds as Jean Mason, Billy De Wolfe as Mr. Bones and several other prominent supporting actors of the day. They include long-time vaudevillian Eddie Foy Jr. as Mr. Felham, Lynne Overman as Mr. Whitlock, Raymond Walburn as Mr. Cook, and Grant Mitchell as Mr. Mason.

Anyone who likes musicals should enjoy this film. The costumes and sets are very well done and also interesting for the period of the story.

Here are some favorite lines form the film.

Daniel, "How do you know I'm a deadbeat. I haven't been here long enough."

Millie, "I just couldn't cope with Mr. Bones tonight. He has the instincts of a boa constrictor." Daniel, "I knew he was a snake, but I didn't know what kind."

Mr. Bones, "Why do you let a stranger take your daughter home?" Mr. Cook, "Oh, I think he'll be safe. Come on, let's get that drink."

Mr. Bones, "While you've dilly-dallied with this boarding house Cleopatra, I've been out selling the manager of the Maxwell a new act."

Daniel, "He's quite a cuss all right. He's a fake, he's got no morals, no integrity, no loyalty, but he's very colorful." Millie, "I once heard a doctor say the same thing about scarlet fever."

Mr. Bones, "Get your elbow out of my stomach and quit proposing to my fiancé."

Millie, "What an eventful evening. The show was a triumph, I've been engaged to two men, and the theater burns down. I wonder what'll happen next."

Daniel, "You're the bravest little wife a fellow ever starved with."

Mr. Cook, "Death is infinitely preferable to bunions."

Mr. Cook, "But I've always felt you had character. And I'd hate to find out that you didn't have." Millie, "Why?" Mr. Cook, " Oh, I don't know. Character's supposed to be a good thing."

Dixie

[RosaCenturion · 10 May 2006]

In the movie Dixie (1943), it was apparent that at this civil war time entertainment there were different styles of dance emerging. During this time it became a popular diversion to spend evenings at a minstrel theater. Straying away from the traditional opera or ballet, minstrels offered a new sense of entertainment which promoted the class system. Fortunately our society today is accepting African Americans and prejudices are less prevalent. Subsequent to professional minstrelsy's decline in th 20th century, its appeal continued in the south. Though Minstrels proposed stereotypes, some good did result from this type of entertainment. These shows presented black performers the opportunity to build a foundation which later helped many of them to emerge as successful entertainers.

Minstrel shows exposed a wide selection of audiences to this unique type of entertainment. With its combination of eccentric dancing and diverse music, people enjoyed the allure of the entertainment. Closely similar to tap dancing, it boasted innovative and bizarre movements' pairs wit flamboyant eye-catching costumes.

This type of amusement contributed to later types of dancing and entertainment. As a big benchmark in the industry, without minstrels played a role in what dancing has evolved into presently. Without minstrels, who knows if the great such as Dizzy Gillespie, W.C Handy, and Bert Williams, would have been as successful as they were.

Another perspective on minstrelsy

[mattlove · 4 December 2010]

All of these reviews read like essays by high school kids competing with each other to gain the favor of their teacher who made them watch this movie, and then write an essay about how evil minstrelsy was. Extra credit for the most anti-minstrelsy.

From the synopsis I read of this movie (I haven't seen it, but I'd like to) it would appear it has almost nothing to do with the real Dan Emmett, or the real cultural environment of the country during the time period covered, so there's no point in looking to the movie for insight into minstrelsy. Instead, it appears the reviewers looked elsewhere on the web, and found the most biased, least informative stuff they could find on minstrelsy, and cut and pasted it into the reviews.

Folks, Minstrelsy was by far the most popular form of entertainment for a CENTURY in the US. Only the circus came close. Do you really think that minstrelsy was all about one thing, and it was always the same thing to the majority of the population for over a century? It is a shame that discussion of minstrelsy has been so suppressed that it has allowed these attitudes to grow up around it. Now there is a great deal of scholarly discussion, and the researchers have a sophisticated grasp of what was really going on. Most of this information hasn't trickled down to us yet.

Imagine if somebody said that all of rock music is about one thing - stealing from and making fun of blacks. Mick Jagger was aping black people to make fun of them. Some people might agree with that, but they would be wrong. Or if they said rap music is about one thing - hating whitey.

As wrong-headed as those assessments would be, it's 10 times worse about minstrelsy, which was a much bigger phenomena than rock and rap put together. Minstrelsy was about mockery, and mimicry. About admiration, and hate. it was whites pretending to be black, blacks pretending to be Chinese... there were many stock characters in minstrelsy, and everybody played everybody. Some of it was about hate and distrust, some of it was about finding a way to get along.

In 1943, they were already looking at this stuff through filters, though if Al Jolson was out of blackface by then, it was only be a little bit. Now we have different filters.

Don't take other people's word (including mine), look at it for yourself. But spend some time with it. Sure, the first thing you will see is the caricature, and it will appear it was all about degrading at hate. But the more you look, the more you will learn.

Dixie

[kittkat822 · 6/10 · 11 February 2005]

Dixie is about a man, Dan Emmett, who goes to New Orleans, Louisiana to try and make it big. He goes to New York to try and sell his songs, but refuses to sell one very important one, "Dixie." The movie stars Bing Crosby as Dan Emmett, Dorothy Lamour as Millie Cook, Billy De Wolfe as Mr. Bones, and Marjorie Reynolds, as Jean Manson. There are many other characters in the movie, but these were the key ones. Dixie was directed by A. Edward Sutherland. The movie was released in 1943, by Paramount Pictures.

Dixie has many settings. The movie starts off in Kentucky, where Dan Emmett is telling the love of his life that he is going off to New Orleans to try and become famous so that him and her can finally get married and have a life of their own. On his way to New Orleans, Dan meets a man named Mr. Bones. Mr. Bones is a con man. He conned Dan out of $500. They become partners and come up with an idea of a show. The type of show that they created was called a Minstrel Show. Minstrel Shows were when white men performed in "blackface." Minstrel shows were made to be funny. The men would completely paint their faces except around their eyes and mouth to make them look like clowns. In this time black men were not allowed to perform on stage, especially with white men. Dan meets Millie Cook and falls in love with her, and promises to marry her. He then realizes that he must go back home to Kentucky and tell Jean his already fiancée that they weren't going to get married. When he arrives there he sees that Jean is in a wheelchair and is not able to walk by the paralyzing sickness. He then promises Jean that no matter what they would get married. He writes to Millie telling her this. Jean and Dan go to New York where they try and make a life together. Dan tries and sells his songs, but has a hard time. He ends up selling 10 of his songs for $100. The only one he didn't want to give up was the song that he wrote "Dixie." Mr. Cook, Millie's father, comes to New York and asks Dan to come back to New Orleans with his new bride. This is when Jean finds out that Dan and Millie were engaged. They go back to New Orleans where they start another show of the same genre, minstrelsy. This is when Dan is finally able to use the song that he had been trying to put to the show the whole time, but it just didn't sound right. The movie ends with the audience singing along with the cast and the show was a hit.

Between the years 1840 – 1920, Minstrel shows were put on all over the United States, but mostly in the South. "The American musical has one shameful chapter in its history – minstrel shows. The most popular musical stage shows of the early and mid 19th Century, minstrelsy embodied racial hatred. Both white and black performers donned blackface, and audiences of all colors loved it. Minstrel shows developed in the 1840's, peaked after the Civil War and remained popular into the early 1900s. Minstrelsy was a product of its time, the only entertainment form born out of blind bigotry. In these shows, white men blackened their faces with burnt cork to lampoon Negroes, performing songs and skits that sentimentalized the nightmare of slave life on Southern plantations. Blacks were shown as naive buffoons who sang and danced the days away, gobbling "chitlins," stealing the occasional watermelon, and expressing their inexplicable love for "ol' massuh." In the early 1840s, a group called the Tyrolese Minstrel Family toured the United States with a program of traditional mittel-European folk songs. Four unemployed white actors decided to stage an African-American style spoof of this group's concerts. Calling themselves Dan Emmett's Virginia Minstrels, their blackface revue premiered at New York's Bowery Amphitheatre in February 1843. Emmett, Frank Bower, Frank Pelham and Billy Whitlock became the first troupe to offer a full evening of blackface variety entertainment. With their chairs in a simple semi-circle, the quartet offered a fresh combination of songs, dances and comic banter, creating cartoonish Negro caricatures. Most historians mark this production as the beginning of minstrelsy. Companies continued to perform in both North and South throughout the Civil War, with the minstrel tune "Dixie" becoming an unofficial anthem for the Confederacy. After the war, minstrelsy remained popular, and many skits took a sentimental view of the lost world of plantation slavery. Although African Americans were forbidden by law to perform on stage with whites in many states, some companies secretly included blacks. As laws changed, several all-black minstrel companies toured America and Great Britain. Black performers still had to wear blackface makeup in order to look "dark enough," performing material that demeaned their own race. Despite such drawbacks, minstrelsy provided African American performers with their first professional stage outlet" (Kenrick).

The movie started out a little slow, but as the movie went on I got more and more interested in the story line and the plot. It was interesting to learn about the Minstrel shows and how they were performed, and why they were performed. I think that the movie was a little controversial, because of the fact that it poked fun and put down blacks. I honestly don't understand how people could have hated a group of people. It was degrading to blacks.

10/10

[debutoftheseason · 10/10 · 13 November 2021]

A young songwriter leaves his Kentucky home to try in New Orleans. He ends up in New York, where he sells his songs to a music label, but refuses to sell his most precious composition, "Dixie." The film is based on the life of Daniel Decatur Emmett, who wrote the classic song Dixie.