Tap! Filmography - The Short Films
from Appendix B of Tap! The greatest tap dance stars and their stories, 1900-1955 by Rusty Frank, published 1990
"From the 1920s-1950s, there were very few musical films made that did not have tap dancing in some form. This appendix concentrates on "featured" tap dancers - solo, and groups. There are some entries listed here that have not been viewed since their original release. In these cases it is assumed that the tap dancer did perlorm a tap number in the film."
+ means information I added
++ is an entry from Jazz Dance: The Story Of American Vernacular Dance by Marshall & Jean Stearns, 1994
+++ is an entry that I added
Several "Soudies" entries are missing from IMDb, too many to list here.
Companion list: Tap! Filmography - The Feature Films
"From the 1920s-1950s, there were very few musical films made that did not have tap dancing in some form. This appendix concentrates on "featured" tap dancers - solo, and groups. There are some entries listed here that have not been viewed since their original release. In these cases it is assumed that the tap dancer did perlorm a tap number in the film."
+ means information I added
++ is an entry from Jazz Dance: The Story Of American Vernacular Dance by Marshall & Jean Stearns, 1994
+++ is an entry that I added
Several "Soudies" entries are missing from IMDb, too many to list here.
Companion list: Tap! Filmography - The Feature Films
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- DirectorEdwin S. PorterBased on the novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe: Eliza, a slave who has a young child, pleads with Tom, another slave, to escape with her. Tom does not leave, but Eliza flees with her child. After getting some help to escape the slave traders who are looking for her, she then must try to cross the icy Ohio River if she wants to be free. Meanwhile, Tom is sold from one master to another, and his fortunes vary widely.Early examples of Time Step, Breaks, the Strut and Cakewalk
- DirectorS. Jay KaufmanStarsJames BartonElaine ArdenMattie PurnellParamount/ James Barton (performing in blackface)
- StarsRuby KeelerMovietone/ Tap dance, two minutes
- DirectorDudley MurphyStarsDuke EllingtonDuke Ellington OrchestraFredi WashingtonDuke Ellington in a jazz musical short with a tragic plotline.RKO/ Five Hot Shots
- DirectorPaul PowellStarsFord Washington LeeJohn W. BubblesBeulah Hall JonesPathe/ Buck and Bubbles
- DirectorCarl HarbaughStarsFord Washington LeeJohn W. BubblesSpencer WilliamsIn this two-reel short, adapted and adjusted from Hugh Wiley's "Wildcat", the comedy team of Buck (Ford Washington Lee) and Bubbles (John W. Bubbles), simple in their methods and refreshing in their style, sing, dance and laugh their way to the end.Pathe/ Buck and Bubbles
- DirectorRay NazarroStarsFord Washington LeeJohn W. BubblesPathe/ Buck and Bubbles
- DirectorJack FoleyStarsPat RooneyPatricia RooneyPat Rooney Jr.Universal/ Rooney Family with Pat Rooney, Sr
- DirectorDudley MurphyStarsBessie SmithJimmy MordecaiIsabel WashingtonIn her only known film appearance, legendary blues singer Bessie Smith witnesses her lover's betrayal, then sings a powerful rendition of the title song.Radio Pictures/ Jimmy Mordecai
- DirectorRoy MackStarsJohnnie Pirrone Jr.Peggy RyanJudy GarlandWarner/ Johnny Perrone, Peggy Ryan
- DirectorWilliam FosterRay NazarroStarsFord Washington LeeJohn W. BubblesPathe/ Buck and Bubbles
- DirectorLarry CeballosStarsAnn PenningtonNorman SelbyJames ClemensA revue built around dancer Ann Pennington), hindered only slightly by a slight plot line. It contains four songs, including the title song, and several dance numbers and lots of chorus girls, shot in early-day Technicolor.Vitaphone/ Ann Pennington
- DirectorPaul PowellStarsFord Washington LeeJohn W. BubblesBubbles comes back to get his job back and finds that the new servant has taken not only his job, but his girl.Pathe/ Buck and Bubbles
- DirectorWilliam FosterPaul PowellStarsFord Washington LeeJohn W. BubblesA mysterious black bag, buried in a haystack by a couple of crooks, is found by Wildcat (Buck) and his pal Denny (Bubbles). It is full of money and when the guys try to return it, funny things happen.Pathe/ Buck and Bubbles
- StarsBetty ComptonJack WhiteJohn HundleyWarner/ Betty Compton
- DirectorMonty BanksStarsLeonard HenryEthel BairdBarrie OliverA beauty salon owner puts on a cabaret.Twickenham Studios/ Sammy Lewis
- DirectorMurray RothStarsJames BartonVitaphone/ James Barton
- DirectorBurt GillettStarsWalt DisneyMarcellite GarnerMickey plays a bluesy tune on a piano on a stage. Minnie sings. Then an unseen band plays while both sing and dance. Mickey then leads the 9-piece band in an uptempo number, with Pluto on trombone, Horace on percussion, and Clarabelle on bass, among others. Mickey steps out for a clarinet solo.Disney/ Mickey and Minnie Mouse
- DirectorRoy MackStarsEubie BlakeNina Mae McKinneyThe Nicholas BrothersTwo boys eat a blackberry pie, then they and their mother are transported to a musical set where Eubie Blake and his band are playing some great jazz.Warner/ Nicholas Brothers
- DirectorJoseph HenaberyStarsClaude HopkinsClaude Hopkins & OrchestraOrlando RobersonAn elderly barber shop owner wins a sweepstake and uses the winnings to elaborately remodel his run-down shop. For in-house entertainment he hires his musician friends as the jazz orchestra and the four shoeshiners are skilled tap dancers.Vitaphone/ Four Step Brothers, +(Nicholas Brothers appear in credits but not in the short; watched online)
- DirectorFred WallerStarsDuke EllingtonIvie AndersonFlorence HillDuke Ellington and his orchestra play two jazz compositions plus 'Stormy Weather' (sung by Ivy Anderson).Paramount/ Florence Hill and Bessie Dudley
- DirectorRoy MackStarsMills Blue Rhythm BandSally GoodingFredi WashingtonMusical and dance acts perform, first at a night club, then at a "rent party."Warner/ Possibly Blues McAllister, Jump-rope dance, Three Dukes
- DirectorRoy MackStarsEthel WatersSammy Davis Jr.Hamtree HarringtonRufus Jones, a black child, is elected President of the United States in this short musical comedy. The film features song and dance numbers by a seven year old Sammy Davis Jr..Warner/ Sammy Davis, Jr., Will Vodery Girls chorus line tap
- DirectorJack GoldbergStarsLucky MillinderPutney DandridgeJoe ByrdA musical comedy telling a simple story of backstage life and romance.Unidentified production company connected to Jack Goldberg)/ Uncredited solo tap dancer, chorus tap
- DirectorSig HerzigStarsStepin FetchitLethia HillUna La BekWhen is wife makes her radio singing debut, her lazy-bones husband is too lazy to lift a finger. Includes the classic song "Lazy Bones."Skibo Prod. for Educ. Film through Fox/ Bunny Briggs, Cotton Club Girls