Bye Bye Blues (1989) User Reviews

A delightful Forties Movie Full of Music

[JFlynt9481 · 8/10 · 27 January 2006]

This is a thoroughly enjoyable drama chock full of great music and poignant characters and scenes. I only wish I could find it on DVD!

My elderly mother really loved the music from the forties' era. Lots of recognizable character actors and beautiful scenery of Canada and India.

Written during a difficult and trying financial and political time, Bye Bye Blues seems to make the very best of a hard situation with hope and diligence.

It was wonderful to see the progress of the musical talents of Daisy as her abilities improved with practice. Lots of original music to enjoy.

interesting music performed on-screen as side plot

[rider-clist · 7/10 · 8 December 2013]

haven't seen this for 20 years and couldn't remember the title, but finally found it using the IMDb search gadget. As a side plot or lead-in to the main drama line, the development of the main character as a singer was musically interesting. She starts out sounding amateurish, and there is some detail about the vocal coaching process, which seemed realistic. The look and feel of the settings and characters was very engaging and sort of soothing. Really drew you in. I recall a gradual improvement in vocals until a culmination with the band that was quite good in a big-band era kind of way, although too brief. I believe the song was "Am I Blue" and probably somewhat the origin of the movie title. I hope to be able to view it again if possible.

Spread the word

[jaykay-10 · 2 August 2001]

A touching and absorbing story about coming to grips with reality: sometimes people get to live the way they want; more often they find themselves living the way they must, because their economic and emotional survival depends upon their being able to do so. When priorities change suddenly, radically, and against one's will, the situation becomes especially stressful. There are those who learn to cope, and those who fall by the wayside; either of the foregoing includes every one of us.

You will be deeply involved in this woman's conflicts. You will admire her, and care very much about what happens to her. It's a shame that this beautiful picture is obscure. Everything about it works.

Great Movie - Bye Bye Blues

[jaster-7 · 10/10 · 31 March 2008]

I love this movie - I saw this years ago when it was first out and it never left me. I now own it on VHS and I couldn't be happier to see it again - it was everything that I remembered it was. For those of you looking for a copy - I found mine through a private seller through Amazon. It was wonderful to see this movie again. I love Rebecca Jenkins, her voice is thrilling. I love the music. I love the dramatic period and world events that are affecting these people living in the Canadian Praries. I love the strength and colour of the characters. I love Rebecca's relationship with her sister, her husband, her band mates, her mother and father, her children - everything about this movie feels real and it flows beautifully. There is so much that happens in her life, and so many changes in her relationships with everyone in her life - from asserting herself and what she wants to do, despite to her family's consternation, something that she knows she needs to do - but through all the upheavals, downturns, and excitement she never loses her connection with her life before the war, her love and devotion to her husband. It is so real, and so tender, and so heartbreakingly involving to watch her internal struggles as she faces the restrictions of the time. Bittersweet.

Brilliant & outstanding

[troza · 10/10 · 30 December 2001]

This heart-warming & poignant story is beautifully filmed & well directed. Excellent acting and well written screenplay. This low-budget creative endeavor deserved much more press & critical acclaim. I hope it gets a re-release as previous comment suggested is made available on a DVD.

A must-see for people who appreciate good films. Also, wonderful music. A gem!

Brilliant & outstanding!

[troza · 10/10 · 30 December 2001]

This heart-warming & poignant story is beautifully filmed. Outstanding direction & excellent acting. A low-budget, creative endeavor deserves to have had more press as well as critical acclaim. I hope it is shown more frequently or re-relealsed and as previous comment indicated available on DVD.

Excellent music too. A must-see for people who appreciate good films.

Bye Bye Blues

[barr-17 · 9/10 · 27 April 2007]

This was a very engaging flick ... and told a story about people I knew. As a matter of fact, the hero of the piece was my family Doctor when I was a child ... and he was the film-makers' Father. Anne Wheeler was born after he had been returned to Canada, after being imprisoned in a prison camp in Hong Kong. As the Physician in the camp, he kept a great many men alive by forcing them to eat grubs, to enable them to consume even a tiny bit of protein, which was totally absent in their diets

This family, and the elder boys who were born before the war, were very well-known in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

I would love to get a copy of this great flick ... either DVD or VHS ..

can anyone help me to find one? Thanks !!!

see it!...if you can

[vwoolffan · 29 October 2003]

I saw this movie in a film class when it was first released with the caveat that it probably wouldn't do as well as it should b/c it was a) a "nice" movie b) Canadian - i.e., not a Hollywood blockbuster. Sadly, this prophecy came true. I'd love to see it again and would recommend it to others but what I need to know is, is it available to rent? or even for purchase. Anyone out there know?

Music to Bye Bye Blues

[Canuckaway · 9/10 · 28 April 2009]

I, too, would love to see this movie on DVD.

I watched it on CBC more than 10 years ago and had the privilege of seeing George Blondheim & Co. perform the soundtrack to the movie LIVE at Jack Singer concert hall in Calgary. They explained the pieces and how they composed them. Awesome! If only I could get the soundtrack on I-tunes...

My children are studying Jazz and the Blues, I think this soundtrack is a great example of the music from the 40s.

I am not sure who the distributor of the film is, but contacting them would be one way to encourage a re-release on DVD. Perhaps the CBC may be motivated to add it to their DVD library!

Great music, great prairie period piece, great Rebecca Jenkins

[jeabraham · 10/10 · 29 November 2004]

I loved this movie when I first saw it, and I love it still.

Rebecca Jenkins is simply phenomenal as a real-life singer in this movie, and as an actor too. You watch her move from a war-widow to a touring jazz star, slowly and reluctantly abandoning her old life. It's moving and it's hard to stop watching.

The music is simply fabulous. George Blondheim put together a classic 40's dance band sound that I just love. The soundtrack CD is still a favourite 15 years later.

And the scenery-- well, it's outstanding.

I wish they'd release this one on DVD so I can see it in all it's glory.

Superbly poignant, heartwrenching!

[spinaker · 10/10 · 27 November 1998]

Possibly the best Canadian film ever shot! This warm, real look at WW2 life abroad and on the home front is a visual and an emotional tour de force.

The tensions on the home front (husband missing in action; wife living with in-laws) and the inner conflicts gripping a woman determined to be loyal yet needing an identity of her own have rarely been more skilfully portrayed.

A must for collectors -- if it could only be made available as DVD or Laserdisk!!!

life on the prairies during WWII

[cestlamemechose · 10/10 · 26 September 2006]

Beautiful views of the rolling prairie, and good insight into the profound hardships people lived with during this era. We forget that Canada joined the ranks of the developed nations only after WWII, and that the Depression hit Canada harder than any other country in the world. It's easy to make a movie about the horrors of war but the secondary effects on the home front are harder to document.

Filmed partially in Edmonton's historic Strathcona district, many of the sites in the movie can still be seen today. Of course, there is a beautiful love story, and some great song'n'dance tunes to enjoy as well. Better than "Chautauqua girl"