I received my copy of the cd a few days back and it’s a wonderful addition to the collection. I’m amazed that there are still treasures being found and distributed after all this time. Let’s hope they keep coming. I wish there were more recordings of his Woodbury Soap radio programs. There was a cd released a few years ago with a range of songs from the broadcasts which makes me wonder if the full broadcasts were recorded. Anyway always a joy to hear new material from the 30s and 40s. 

frans wrote:

Thank you very much, David. What a wonderful series! A somewhat audacious question, if I may: Are there any other Crosby projects you might be contemplating?
 

Hi Frans thanks for the kind comments. I have been wondering what else to do and have decided to continue my “Golden Years of Hollywood “ series that looks at various films from the 1930s, 40s and 50s. I’ve covered all of Bings films so I couldn’t include them but they would be classics from that era. Will take a while to get them made but hopefully by the end of the year. Not sure if there is anything else of Bings I could cover - his recording career and radio career is too extensive and I don’t have access to all the material. Also his tv career is again too extensive and I don’t have access to all the material. Cheers, Dave Duncan. 
 

Hi Ron sorry I just got your message so will send a private email. Yes David it is a pity we are all so far apart but isn’t it wonderful how technology can allow us to at least communicate compared to the 1980s when I first joined the Crosby Club. 

My wife and I saw the Book Club 2nd Chapter film a few days ago. It’s nice to see the four great gals together but it is slow going and the energy levels are low which is understandable given their ages. The Italian scenery was a big plus but not much of a plot. The only comparison with the Road films would be that Bing and Bob would have had the same amount of energy that the girls here have if they had made the final instalment of Road to the Fountain of Youth. Best they left it with Hong Kong I think. 

Hi Ron you are indeed very fortunate. Being a fellow Aussie I look forward to meeting you some day (over a beer of course) to discuss more details. Cheers, Dave Duncan. 

I guess I’d have to say Bells of St Mary’s however Going my Way is close behind. I rewatched Say One for me recently and it’s not bad. It has some nice songs and Bing works well with Debbie Reynolds and Robert Wagner. I’ve always found it curious as to why his character isn’t called Father Chuck O’Malley however Ive realised that it was probably due to copyright issues as Paramount and Leo McCarey created the character and as such would not allow 20th Century Fox to use it. 

Theses kind of listings annoy me as they defy logic and facts. To not include Bing in the top 10 or at least top 20 shows the ignorance of the people who are compiling the list. It’s the same with the Top 100 movies listings. There are so many films left off that should be included. Anyway I tend to ignore these listings as they are not really important. The only time I was really annoyed was when the Guinness Book of Records placed Elton John’s 1997 Candle in the Wind as number one best selling single. In previous listings it was estimated that Bings White Christmas had amassed sales in excess of 60 million so to suddenly be bumped off the top of the list because Elton’s recording made 33 million was just not logical. I noticed the next year they had changed the title to “biggest selling single in the UK” but I remember that the following year they put Bing back in the number one spot. It’s funny how history and facts can change depending upon the writers. 

Hi David yes I am looking at doing 2 more episodes to cover the extra years. One being “The Later Years” covering 1959-1972 and the other covering “The Early Years” covering the 1930-1931 period. Now that I’ve got into the swing of things I’ve got to keep myself busy! We are finally travelling again in January which will be nice so will get onto it once we get over the festive season in February. Christmas Cheers to all. 

Hi all. The last episode of my series on Bing’s films deals with the 1957 film Man on Fire and it’s interesting to see that at one point Bing says to his teenage son “get your little bucket but over here”. This made me think back to Gary’s book “Going my own way” where he mentions that Bing used to call him names like bucket butt. It was implied in the writing that it was said as an insult and in a cruel way but I think that Bing would have most likely said it in the same manner as he does in this film - as a light hearted jibe very similar to the “insults” that Bing and Bob Hope used to trade back and forth. It goes to show that when reading something it can be taken one way but when heard within the context of a conversation it can have a totally different interpretation. Gary may have taken it as an insult at the time but it may not have been intended that way. Of course we don’t know as we weren’t there so we can only read about Gary’s take on the situation but hearing Bing say the same phrase in this film does give us a different take on the event. 

Well with Avatar 2 about to be released and all the motion capture technology going on it would be possible to create a realistic Bing virtual reality wise but the problem I think is that Bing had an extraordinary career but an ordinary life (dramatically speaking unless you look at his relationship with Dixie and the boys). I wouldn’t like them dramatising his personal life and again dragging his name in the dirt for the sake of making money. I look forward to the 3rd volume of Gary Giddins book before I get too old to read it (and he gets too old to write it!!). 

Hi all more than happy to do a DVD copy and post it or there’s the quicker and cheaper option - I could transfer the hi def file to you via a file transfer system then you can download it to your computer or USB thumb drive. Let me know which suits. My email address is dgmprod@icloud.com
Just send me your option and address details if required. 
 

I believe Bing and Kathryn met the queen and prince Philip when they were in England in the mid 70s. Can anyone confirm?