Black and Tan

Duke Ellington made his screen debut in this short subject which sad to say catered to black stereotyping and wasn't even that coherent a story line.

Which makes the appearance of those piano movers all the worse for it because it was not necessary. The film opens with Ellington and his trumpeter, Arthur Whetsol, going over some material. Two piano movers come in and they're most determined to do their repossessing thing. Fredi Washington happens on the scene and offers them a bottle of some of Prohibition's finest homemade gin. Then they leave and say they'll tell the boss nobody's home.

Interesting is that Ellington refused to stereotype even thought the piano movers, Edgar Connor and Alec Lovejoy, certainly did. Says something about the man back in the day.

The action shifts to the Cotton Club where Washington, probably feeling the ill effects of the bootleg hooch she just passed to the piano players collapses and dies during a number. Her death scene gives both Ellington and his orchestra and the Hall Johnson choir a chance to perform.

The piano movers were an obvious ripoff of radio's Amos and Andy. And in his next film project, Ellington and the Orchestra would appear in the Amos and Andy movie Check and Doublecheck.

I'd listen to the music for this one and mute it when everything else is going on.

Duke Ellington is a struggling musician. Two men come to repossess his piano. His partner saves the day by offering the men a bottle of gin. She has a new dancing gig, but she has heart trouble.

This has the greatness of Duke Ellington playing his music. I'm not impressed with the line dancing. There's a reason why that didn't catch on. It's a step dance or line dancing except less energetic and closer. It may be skillful, but it has no energy. Fredi Washington's dance is a bit loose, but it does show her illness. That whole plot point is a bummer. I love the music. The dancing is less impressive, partly for plot reason. It's a darker story.

Whilst I agree entirely with thedoge and simuland - especially regarding the incredibly unfunny racist treatment of the two piano removers at the beginning (I presume it WAS meant to be funny!), I thought I'd point out a few things to any possible Ellington fans who may seek out this movie just to see the 1929 band in action. Be warned: the sound quality is awful. The band performs less well than on any of the studio recordings of the period, and every number is tailored to the various dance routines. "Black Beauty" is particularly horrendously butchered, and with a cheesy coda added for no apparent reason except to underline the fact that it has thankfully come to an end. "The Duke Steps Out" - a marvellous recording from the Victor studios, is taken at snail's pace - again to accommodate the so-called dancing I would imagine. What on the studio recording is a brilliant passage for the three trumpets, here is taken down an octave, and they don't even make it together! Nanton's trombone sounds way off mike, and although he is perhaps the major soloist, he doesn't even get properly in any of the shots - all of which are dominated by the oddly unsexy dancing of the semi-naked chorus girls. The opening has Ellington at the piano and Artie Whetsol with his trumpet 'learning' the intro to "Black and Tan Fantasy". It doesn't have much to do with anything, but Ellington buffs might like to note that Whetsol does not use the rubber plunger and pear (pixie) mute (in the manner of Bubber Miley) but an ordinary Harmon mute. Odd - Whetsol was quite adept with the plunger (check out the Vocalion recording of "Take it Easy" where he has to play Bubber Miley's part because the latter didn't show up for the session!) so why not use it in the movie? This brings me to the final number, "Black and Tan Fantasy". Ellington had already recorded this several times by the time this film was made, and it was one of his most well known compositions. It was co-written by the aforementioned Bubber Miley, who was also the featured soloist. What a shame he had left the band shortly before the film was made. I remember being extremely disappointed to discover that he was not in the film when I first saw it back in the 70s. For some reason (its not dancers this time!) the arrangement is altered quite drastically from all the previous recordings, with a clarinet solo from Barney Bigard added in place of Miley's 2nd chorus. (Maybe Duke felt Whetsol wasn't up to two choruses, but I doubt it). Once again Whetsol uses the Harmon mute instead of the plunger, and even more interestingly Joe Nanton, the trombonist, does not use the trumpet straight mute inside the bell underneath his plunger, as he does on all of the studio recordings. The result is an out-of-tune muffled sound that hardly sounds like Nanton at all! This is capped off by a ridiculously over-recorded bass (Wellman Braud) which detracts from everything else. There's also a weird organ coda tagged on the end, which has nothing to do with anything, and the obligatory negro gospel type choir making a meal of it. I'd love to know how much say Ellington had in all of this - not a lot me thinks! But, having said all that, its still the band, and its a worthy historic document. Thedoge and simuland have said everything else. What a shame its nowhere near as good as it COULD have been!

Duke Ellington and his orchestra for a great use of emerging sound technology in Hollywood? Yes, please. To see him collaborate with trumpeter Arthur Whetsel was a treat, and he had great screen presence besides. Fredi Washington also lights up the screen in her dance number, and as UCLA film historian Ellen Scott points out, it's easy to see that she was a protégé of the great Josephine Baker. It was the debut film for both Ellington and Washington, and even if it isn't a terribly well-developed story in its 19 minutes runtime, seeing them here easily makes this film worthwhile. If you've only seen Washington in her better known role in Imitation of Life(1934) with Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers, wow, you'll see a different side of her here.

Many have pointed out the stereotypical aspects of the two guys sent over to repossess the Duke's piano early on, as they can't read or tell time, and those are probably fair criticisms. I did like the line from one of them, who says "Move your anatomy off of that mahogany," when wanting Duke to get off the piano bench though. And more importantly, the film has several very positive aspects, starting with the two lead black characters being allowed to have a romantic relationship. It's also notable that when Fredi Washington's character has a health emergency and the Cotton Club owner wants the band to play on, Duke refuses, in a nice bit of labor (and importantly a black man) not being coerced under unreasonable circumstances to perform for management. There are a couple of nice visual moments shown from the perspective of Washington's character as well - a kaleidoscope effect when she's not feeling well prior to taking the stage, and later, a soft focus on her husband's face when she's ailing in bed.

As for the dancing, the quintet of male dancers who perform as if connected at the hip produced a very nice effect, and the shots of them in reflection on the dance floor was clever. The scantily clad women, Washington included, exude energy and sexuality in the relatively short time they're on the stage. It's kind of shame this wasn't a feature length film where the story and performances could have been expanded on. As it is though, it's a nice little hidden gem. I'm happy it was a part of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures' Regeneration exhibit that I was lucky enough to see recently, and as always, am in love with TCM and host Jacqueline Stewart for having partnered with them.

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.