Killer Diller

The plot doesn't matter much, although it is fairly important to understanding the ending (which I failed to pay attention to.) But it isn't necessary in order to enjoy the classic performances from some of the 1940s biggest acts, my favorite being Nat King Cole's silky melodies with his early King Cole Trio. But the Clark Brothers are showstoppers, and their tap routine here is no less entertaining than the Nicholas Brothers in Stormy Weather, another personal favorite. Some of the comedy material may be extremely dated, but I couldn't help but think if "Moms" Mabley's set was performed by my Grandmother...now THAT is what killed me. What surprised me most amidst all the notable performances was that any of the humor survived these 57 years, making it a barely hour-long curiosity for the brave jazz, dance, or history buff.

Even a z grade DVD from a battered 16mm print full of joins can NOT dampen my enthusiasm for this jaw dropping roster of vaudeville talent captured on film from the front row of The Lincoln Theatre Somewheres-ville 1947. Like Boardinghouse Blues the previous year, this film is basically a camera in the front row capturing an all black talent show...but God Almighty! what astonishing talent! The swing music and the orchestrations will keep this on play for days only to pause and gawp at The Clark Bros..two handsome slick young tappers who almost out-tap the Nicholas Bros in two high speed routines I needed to watch 77 times just to stop applauding in the privacy of my own lounge room. See 25 year old Nat King Cole and his trio and a hilarious Flip Wilson style deadpan comedian called Moms Maberly as a dry witted housewife, droll in the extreme (I almost expected her to exclaim "The Devil made Me Do It!") delivering a hilarious and well timed song called "Don't Sit On My Bed". More talent on show than any MGM musical costing a zillion dollars more, KILLER DILLER lives right up to it's name. There is a story there somewhere about a rascally invisible comedian or is that a magician who keeps disappearing with someone's girlfriend....almost like THE NIGHT THEY RAIDED MINSKY'S but gloriously all Negro and wall to wall talent! a real wow!

The chubby bros sing the song "I Believe" - which i believe ive never heard before, except for my dad singing it around the house. Its just amazing for me when i hear some random bits of music that my dad essentially employed as memes when he spoke, which he did a lot. Use verbal memes, i mean.

Also worth watching to see Moms Mabley as a young woman, altho no too different from her as an older woman. And my own personal new theme song is "Aint nobodys business but my own."

Very interesting movie made when there were all black films made exclusively for all black theatres in the 40s. The films featured popular black acts of the day.

The director of this movie also directed a number of all black movies including Hi De Ho, which is a classic.

The story is thin, but the action keeps moving forward at a good pace. Most notable is a young Mom Mabley (actually in her 50s with teeth!) and Nat King Cole, as well as Butterfly McQueen.

Parenthetically, the Wiki listing of Mom's Mabley is very confusing. It says she came out as a lesbian in 1921 at aged 27, which is not only hard to believe, but also doesn't explain how she had a bunch of kids and grand kids.

It's not a great movie, but is worth watching as a way to remember how things were in the past during segregation when producers found a profitable market with all black audiences. Interestingly, some of the action might be considered racist or stereotyped today, but one must remember that these acts played this way for black audiences and these movies were not even seen by whites until recent years when the movies were release on DVD!

Hi, Everyone, The best part of this is the dance routine, make that two dance routines by The Clark Brothers. They are gorgeous to watch and they move like boneless puppets on rubber strings. How can they keep smiling when they have to be pooped? Nat Cole is the biggest name here. This was about two years before he became a huge name in the world of show business when he recorded "Mona Lisa." He had a lot of fame already when he appeared here from earlier, but lesser hits like "Sweet Lorraine" and more notably, "The Christmas Song," which eventually would become his biggest seller. He was only 17 years from the end of his career. He would die in 1965.

The songs he sings here are good from a musicianship standpoint, but they suck for the listener. If he had done "Nature Boy" or "Ramblin' Rose" or "Pretend" this movie would have been a real winner. I guess they weren't written yet.

Some of the other musical numbers and comedy entries are just barely acceptable, including "Moms" Mabley, who would become a wonderful comedy actress and act in her later years. It is hard to believe she was past 50 when this was made. Her style was taking shape, but her writing was not there yet.

The twosome that does an impression of The Ink Spots is enjoyable and I would like to have seen them with some great material. Perhaps a script would have helped.

The basic story is OK and it keeps one amused with a Keystone Kops type troupe, but the sets are not quite as grandiose as one might see in Ben Hur or Pee Wee's Big Adventure.

There is a lot to like here. It is wonderful some early footage like this exists to show what vaudeville was and where some of the big names came from.

Nat was more enjoyable in Cat Ballou. I once had the pleasure of watching him perform in person at NBC TV in Hollywood for his TV show. He was great with a live audience. He stayed for about an hour after the show was over to perform for the audience in the theater.

Tom Willett