Duke Ellington in a jazz musical short with a tragic plotline.Duke Ellington in a jazz musical short with a tragic plotline.Duke Ellington in a jazz musical short with a tragic plotline.
- Awards
- 1 win
Photos
Duke Ellington Orchestra
- Cotton Club Orchestra
- (as The Cotton Club Orchestra)
Barney Bigard
- Band Member - Clarinet Player
- (uncredited)
Wellman Braud
- Band Member - Bass Player
- (uncredited)
Hall Johnson
- Choir Leader
- (uncredited)
Arthur Whetsol
- Trumpet Player
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAn advertising poster for this film is pictured on one stamp of a set of five 42¢ USA commemorative postage stamps honoring Vintage Black Cinema, issued 16 July 2008. Other films honored in this set are The Sport of the Gods (1921), Princesse Tam-Tam (1935), Caldonia (1945), and Hallelujah (1929).
- Quotes
Fredi - Duke's Girlfriend: Duke, I've got some wonderful news! I've just landed a job in a nightclub. And I'm going to dance and you're going to play. Isn't that wonderful?
- ConnectionsFeatured in Black Shadows on the Silver Screen (1975)
Featured review
Only for Diehard Ellington Fans
Practically plotless excuse to feature the music of Ellington, accompanied by Harlem dancers. Only for the most died-in-the-wool Ellington fans. Essentially a very primitive early music video of mainly historical interest. Ellington's recordings from that era abound, so that the film's main value lies in its serving as a visual document.
The sound is abysmal, the plot corny, and the dancing nothing to dance about. Many of the images are so murky and dim as to be unintelligible. The entire film consists essentially of 3 tableau set pieces, ornamented with some rough camera tricks, too arty by far. The central plot, the dancer's death, is unconvincing and shrilly melodramatic.
Of note is the derogatory racial stereotyping of the two characters who begin the film by showing up to repossess the Duke's piano. They are ridiculed for their illiteracy and for how easily they are dissuaded from their duties with a bribe of a bottle of hooch.
The sound is abysmal, the plot corny, and the dancing nothing to dance about. Many of the images are so murky and dim as to be unintelligible. The entire film consists essentially of 3 tableau set pieces, ornamented with some rough camera tricks, too arty by far. The central plot, the dancer's death, is unconvincing and shrilly melodramatic.
Of note is the derogatory racial stereotyping of the two characters who begin the film by showing up to repossess the Duke's piano. They are ridiculed for their illiteracy and for how easily they are dissuaded from their duties with a bribe of a bottle of hooch.
helpful•610
- simuland
- Jan 4, 2001
Details
- Runtime19 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.20 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content