Auf Wiedersehen, My Dear by Bing Crosby

Copyright Disclaimer under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
The intent of this video is for non profit Historic Preservation, Education and social comment.

"Auf Wiedersehen, My Dear"
by Al Hoffman, Ed Nelson, Milton Ager, Al Goodhart

from the short
"Blue of the Night"
Directed by
Leslie Pearce

Produced by
Mack Sennett

Cinematography by
John W. Boyle
George Unholz
Stars: Bing Crosby, Marjorie Kane and Franklin Pangborn
Release Date: 6 January 1933 (USA)
Filming Locations: Union Station - 800 N. Alameda Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Bing Crosby as himself in a comedy of romance and mistaken identity.
Good points about this is that it spotlights the young Crosby, the popular radio and record crooner, singing WHEN THE BLUE OF THE NIGHT and AUF WIEDERSEHEN, MY DEAR among other tunes. That is all to the good. But it is typical of the work of Mack Sennett...and that's to the bad.

Mack Sennett really played an important role in the early days of Hollywood and of silent comedy. Anyone responsible for just the Keystone Cops would have gotten to that position. But Sennett also brought Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Gloria Swanson, Fatty Arbuckle, Mack Swain and Ben Turpin to the screen. This is all to the good. But he never continued to grow as a creative comic director. His comedy is real knockabout, but most of the better comics (like Chaplin and Arbuckle) turned more subtle in their later years. That is why they continued growing (of course, in Arbuckle's case, his personal tragedy interfered - but he probably would have remained Chaplin and Keaton and Lloyd's equal). But Sennett never could do that. When he did his work with Crosby and (contemporary to that) with W.C.Fields it was at the tale end of his career. Fields had much to do with the humor of the six shorts they made together. Crosby just had to be agreeable and sing well. He could do that.

So the humor of this short is strained. Bing boards a train with Babe Kane and they find themselves sitting together. Everyone on the train is a honeymoon couple, and everyone suspects they are too. Ms Kane says she is not a honeymooner, but is engaged to the well known radio crooner Bing Crosby. Crosby never mentions his real identity. Later on an article appears in the newspaper regarding Kane's engagement to Crosby. This amuses her friends, mostly because it annoys Franklin Pangborn, who had said he was her fiancé (Kane tells him she never agreed to marry him).

Crosby reappears, and pretends for a moment to be a news reporter - then he reveals his real identity to Kane. But Pangborn thinks he is a phony. This leads to the idiotic final bet about the roadster against the five dollar bill from Crosby. Crosby's singing proves who he is.

Pangborn does several pratfalls into a swimming pool while in his fancy duds - a typical Sennett joke. Bud Jamison (who did better work with the Three Stooges) is a suspicious cop. The humor, for 1933, is infantile. But the singing and a look at a very young Crosby are worth seeing.

Cast (in credits order)

Bing Crosby.....Bing Crosby aka Jack Smith
Marjorie Kane.....Marian Bradley (as 'Babe' Kane)
Franklin Pangborn.....Gilbert Sinclair
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ernie Alexander.....Dancing Nightclub Patron
Alice Belcher.....Gamma Gamma Gamma Woman in Nightclub Who Swoons (uncredited)
Spencer Bell.....Porter (uncredited)
Harry Bowen.....Train Passenger (uncredited)
Barney Hellum.....Drunk Pullman Passenger (uncredited)
Fay Holderness.....Train Passenger (uncredited)
Bud Jamison.....Cop (uncredited)
William McCall.....Conductor (uncredited)
Mary Treen.....Gamma Gamma Gamma Girl in Nightclub with Glasses (uncredited)
Toby Wing.....Blonde in Bathing Suit (uncredited)
Joy Winthrop.....Fainting Woman's Friend (uncredited)

Song

Auf Wiedersehen, My Dear

Performed by

Bing Crosby

Originally by

Jack Denny and His Orchestra

Video title

AUF WIEDERSEHEN, MY DEAR - feat. Bing Crosby and Eddie Lang

Views

28985

Likes

245