Hi De Ho

"Hi De Ho" is the second of two films by the same title starring Cab Calloway. The first was an enjoyable short and this later one is an example of black cinema...a film with an all-black cast intended to be watched by black audiences. Generally, these sorts of films have very low production values and less than stellar acting. In this one, the story and acting aren't very important nor all that great....but Calloway's music is terrific.

There are two main themes in this film---Calloway's girlfriend Minnie who is super jealous of him as well as a couple gangsters who are trying to force Cab to work in their night club...or else. Neither plot is all that strong and resolve themselves rather quickly and much of the film simply consists of Calloway doing what he does best...sing and lead his band.

I was not surprised that some of the acting wasn't great. However, I was pleased to see that Calloway was far better at acting than I'd assumed. And, as far as his music goes, it was as enjoyable and entertaining as ever...and is THE reason to watch this movie.

Cab Calloway is the center of this short film -- and just about the only thing it has to offer. As mentioned elsewhere, "Hi-De-Ho" is a genre piece weak on plot, acting and production alike. Folks who love the "King of Hi-de-ho", however, will relish his dancing, mugging, swinging and singing, oh singing! Uncredited in the opening titles except as "and his Orchestra" is a great line-up of jazz notables: Milt Hinton on bass and Cozy Cole on drums to name but two. If for no other reason, see "Hi-De-Ho" for the great big band numbers played as cool and hot as you could ask.

My jaw dropped shortly after the start of the movie, when Cab Calloway sang "Minnie's a Hepcat Now" solo a cappella. This was a big band leader who actually had all the music an audience needed right inside himself. An extraordinary performer; and though the rest of the movie is packed with an abundance of band numbers, he never allows a dull musical moment. Like some of the songs Cab Calloway sang, the 1947 HI-DE-HO movie mixes pathos and joie de vivre against the background of a gritty story. In a musical performance like the "Saint James Infirmary" seen here, the mixture is funny and powerful. In the plot line of the movie, it's less successful.

Unfortunately, in the European TV broadcast I caught, I didn't notice that "Dusty Fletcher does his famous 'Open the Door Richard' sketch" as in the version someone else saw. An odd thing I did notice was that in the nightclub scenes when the plot is in its long suspension near the end, the dancers seem sized wrongly for the perspective, as if they were dancing in front of a screen on which the band was projected.

The plot is thin and the acting is mostly wooden, but the real point of the movie is Cab Calloway's wonderful band and some specialty numbers, especially the finale that is the last third of the film.

The best additional act is high powered tap dancing by Miller Bros. and Lois. Dusty Fletcher does his famous "Open the Door Richard" sketch in blackface. The Peters Sisters are curious but didn't do anything for me.

This was an all black cast platform to showcase the charismatic Cab Calloway. I think the best musical numbers were actually at the beginning, but it ends with a whole series of musical and tap dance numbers.

Thin on plot, this is a surprisingly violent story that even depicts violence against women. It pits two competing night clubs against one another and ends in a shoot out where a woman and the mob club owner are both shot.

"You think you'd be mine at dawn time."

"Every flower loves a few drop...Gumbo has it's New Orleans"

This is a great time piece and worth seeing for Cab Calloway alone.