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
Mmm... right.
Well, although I agree that this movie short is stereotyped and the sound is not very good(1929!), I don't agree with the low rating. To see Duke and his college friend Arthur Whetsol play Black and tan fantasy is delightful. Yes, the original with Bubber Miley on trumpet is better, but it's not on film. This short gives a good impression of the Cotton Club scene at the time this club was run by gangsters and although the entertainers were black, no black people were allowed in. This was not a gangster thing but a common American racist practice. Still, even if this clip is a racist stereotype, it's not nearly as bad as say, the average hip hop clip nowadays, which is something to worry about. Now, this movie is of enormous historical interest and features an early version of the most significant jazz orchestra of the 20th century! So please don't listen to the puritan reviews and check this out. Then try to see maybe "Cotton tail" with Ben Webster on tenor, or basically anything by Ellington. It's great music! And American culture at its best.
helpful•212
- post-103
- Oct 13, 2005
Details
- Runtime19 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.20 : 1
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