The Magic of Bing Crosby Part One

At the time of his death in 1977, the legendary crooner Bing Crosby had been a touchstone in American popular culture for so long that many people considered him passé, if not obsolete. Now there are signs of a Crosby revival — a glut of record reissues and video releases of his movies — and Crosby’s gorgeous baritone and incomparable laid-back phrasing are attracting a whole new audience. This hour-long video compilation of 20 rare clips is a fine introduction, drawing on film shorts he made in the early ’30s, before achieving Hollywood stardom, and TV shows he made in the ’50s and ’60s, when his fame had achieved nearly mythic proportions. Many classics are included on The Magic of Bing Crosby Part One, notably two collaborations with Louis Armstrong (what a delightful blending of timbres they produce on ”Basin Street Blues”). The credit roll fails to identify the clips, which considering their rarity is a particular annoyance, but the chance to see them again is a tonic. A