Race Movies: Hi-De-Ho/The Devil's Daughter/Beware/Reet, Petite, and Gone

Customer Reviews:

Musicals from Black Cinema's golden age.......2007-08-19

"Race movies," a genre unique to the United States between 1915 and 1947, were quite popular with black Southern audiences and in Northern industrial cities that had large African American communities. After the successful legal desegregation of the film industry in 1948, this type of movie vanished, literally. Today, only a fifth of the original 500 race films still exist.

SYNOPSES:

"Beware" - Ware College alumnus Louis Jordan brings his band to Ohio in an effort to save the financially-troubled institution. Classroom attendance soars once word gets out that Jordan is on campus, but the college CEO (and grandson of the founder) has other plans in the works.

"The Devil's Daughter" - A Harlem-born woman inherits a Jamaican banana plantation. After taking up residence there she is vexed by incessant drums, voodoo spells and a jealous half-sister.

"Hi-De-Ho" - Cab Calloway plays himself in this story of jealousy, intrigue and swing music. Cab hopes manager Nettie will help him become famous. Cab's girlfriend Minnie is jealous of the two, and imagines infidelities she seeks vengeance for. In between all this are some great songs by one of the finest bands ever.

"Reet, Petite, and Gone" - When an old-time bandleader dies, a sleazy lawyer alters his will so that the man's son and girlfriend get nothing. A slight story that's used as backdrop for several musical numbers.

A few other "all-black" musicals may be found on the MUSICALS CLASSICS 50 MOVIE PACK COLLECTION.

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Parenthetical numbers preceding titles are 1 to 10 viewer poll ratings found at a film resource website.

(5.4) Beware (1946) - Louis Jordan/Frank L. Wilson/Emory Richardson/Valerie Black/Milton Woods

(3.4) The Devil's Daughter (1939) - Nina Mae McKinney/Jack Carter/Ida James/Willa Mae Lang

(5.5) Hi-De-Ho (1947) - Cab Calloway/Ida James/Jeni Le Gon/William Campbell

(6.8) Reet, Petite, And Gone (1947) - Louis Jordan/June Richmond/Milton Woods/Bea Griffith/David Bethea/Lorenzo Tucker

Good collection of early Black films.......2006-11-19

This is a fine collection of early Black American films from the 1930s and 40s. It begins with Cab Calloway in "Hi De Ho" (1947), a story of Cab fighting gangsters and a sluttish "girlfriend" (Jeni Le Gon as Minnie the Moocher-who he regrettably slaps early on in the film-shades of "Purple Rain") to achieve musical success and love with the right woman. Domestic violence issues aside, it's quite entertaining. "The Devils Daughter" (ca. 1939) features the legendary Nina Mae McKinney in a rather hokey but amusing tale about voodoo in Haiti. "Beware" is one of the best of Jazz comedian Louis Jordan's musical comedies. An interesting tale of his efforts to save a Black college (this was some 40 years before Spike Lee's "School Daze") from a crooked president. Lots of good music and clowning with a good story. LJ strikes again in "Reet Petite and Gone," not one of his better films, but some really entertaining songs and antics from LJ and femme fatale Mabel Lee. See these films and dig what Black Cinema was like prior to Superfly, Sweetback, and Spike Lee.

Harlem Double Feature: Hi De Ho (1947) / Duke Is Tops (1938)

Average customer rating:

Cab Calloway and a young Lena Horne are great...but the movies lack a lot, including transfer quality

Harlem Double Feature: Hi De Ho (1947) / Duke Is Tops (1938)
Starring: Harlem Double Feature
Manufacturer: Alpha Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000JU8HBU
Release Date: 2006-12-26

Product Description

The great Cab Calloway becomes involved with gangsters in this all black cast classic / A young man will do anything to see his beautiful and talented sweetheart succeed on Broadway.

Customer Reviews:

Cab Calloway and a young Lena Horne are great...but the movies lack a lot, including transfer quality.......2007-08-09

HI DE HO:
Hi De Ho is one more of the quick, cheap movies cranked out by Hollywood featuring black entertainers and designed to fill seats in the movie houses for the segregated black audiences of the south and the unofficially but just as segregated theaters everywhere else. Hi De Ho is exceptional in one regard. It features that great showman and entertainer Cab Calloway in his prime and a year before he decided to disband his orchestra because of changing musical tastes. Calloway had a long career, and had become a star by 1930. He sang, moved (not exactly danced), strutted and jived. White audiences most probably learned what they knew about jump jazz, scat singing and the hep cat beat from Calloway. He was a fine singer, wrote a lot of his own stuff, and led one of the best swing orchestras around. He also seemed to have inexhaustible energy. So fair warning...Calloway's high energy pours out of this movie. Because the film is in such bad condition, however, watching it can wear you down after a while.

The story line is little more than an excuse for Calloway and his orchestra to perform some great, driving, swing numbers. The movie is only 63 minutes long and the plot is over in the first half hour. For the last half hour we watch a non-stop performance of some great music and speciality acts. The idea is that Cab is just starting out in the business. He has a jealous girlfriend, Minnie (Jeni Le Gon) and a new, young manager, Etta (Ida James), who is as pretty as his girlfriend. Etta wangles a gig for Cab and his orchestra at a new nightclub, but it's right across the street from one owned by a gangster. Minnie thinks Cab has fallen for Etta, so she convinces the mob boss to eliminate his new competition by shooting Cab. Then Minnie realizes her mistake, tries to save Cab and takes the bullet meant for him. This is the plot, and in 30 minutes it's all squeezed in between eight full musical numbers of him and his orchestra rehearsing or playing at the nightclub. Now we learn that Cab has become a huge success. For the next 30 minutes we're in a plush nightclub where we watch nine terrific numbers, including the rotund Peter Sisters, singers, and the extraordinary The Miller Brothers and Lois, tap dancers. A highlight is Calloway doing St. James Infirmary Blues. Another is a full-throttle, sophisticated arrangement of At Dawn Time. Although his now-dead former girlfriend was named Minnie and was something of a moocher, Calloway never sings his signature, Minnie the Moocher. The closest we get is Minnie Is a Hep Cat Now.

The movie is one of those ancient public domain films which has never received an ounce of preservative love. It's in bad shape. The acting, except for Calloway, is dismal. But Cab Calloway and His Orchestra show why they were first-class musicians as well as first-class entertainers. If you've ever heard Cab Calloway sing, you'll hear his voice...

"I was walkin' up the street feelin' bad and bold
Deep down in my pockets I didn't have no gold
I looked up to the skies and to my surprise
I saw a million dollar bill floatin' before my eyes.
Hey now..."

THE DUKE IS TOPS:
If The Duke Is Tops needs to be remembered today, it's for two reasons. First, this was Lena Horne's first movie. She was 21 and still has a little baby fat. The voice catches you immediately. She's no actress yet, and all that sleek sophistication is in the future. She's already a stunning looker, however, with a great smile. In a satin dress with her shoulders just a little sloped and a toss of her head while she looks at the sky, she reminds me a lot of Jean Harlow, sexy and good-natured. "Look at that personality," a promoter says while the character she's playing is on-stage singing, "she's a cinch for the big-time. Hear that voice? That's what they're buying!" The second reason, as with all the other cheaply-produced all-Negro films aimed for the movie equivalent of the chitlin circuit, are the specialty acts. This circuit was made up of law-enforced segregated movie houses in the south and de facto segregated movie houses everywhere else. The speciality acts preserved on these films are often the only things we have left to witness some great black entertainers. In The Duke Is Tops we have William Covan, a stylish tap dancer; Rubber Neck Holmes, a singular combination of tap and odd gymnastics; Cats and the Fiddle, a swinging singing group; Marie Bryant, a terrific exotic dancer in African costume; the Basin Street Boys, a singing group who are all style; plus the Harlemania Orchestra.

What's the plot? Duke Davis (Ralph Cooper), a big, multi-talented, good-looking guy, is a small-time producer of variety shows in the south. His latest review is the Sepia Scandals. Ethel Andrews (Lena Horne) is his headliner. He brought her along to stardom, even if it's just small-town stardom. They think the world of each other and dream of making the big-time on Broadway together. Then Ethel gets a Broadway offer, but it doesn't include Duke. She turns it down. Duke realizes what he has to do for her. He engineers a split with Ethel so that she'll leave him. She does and heads north. Duke is left with little money and his next review without Ethel flops. But Duke has talent and energy. He hooks up with Dr. Doramos and turns the failing Dr. Doramos' Universal Elixir traveling medicine show into the successful Doramos and Davis road show, selling a lot of bottles of the universal elixir to all the rubes...I mean, customers.

But Duke hears that Ethel isn't bringing in the customers. The word's out; Ethel Andrews isn't a star, she's just another specialty act. Duke drops everything, rejoins Ethel and completely recasts and transforms her show. The nightclub is packed, the show is a success, and Ethel, thanks to Duke, proves she's a star in the big time. It's a lot to slog through. Still, the movie is only 75 minutes and Ralph Cooper does a fine and funny job as Duke while he's working the medicine show gig. Most of all, there are all those acts, plus Lena Horne. The movie is not in good shape. As history, it's certainly worth watching.

Swing Era - Cab Calloway - HI-DE-HO and other Movies

Average customer rating:

An extraordinarily influential Artist

Swing Era - Cab Calloway - HI-DE-HO and other Movies
Starring: Cab Calloway
Manufacturer: Swing Era
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0001WTW6K
Release Date: 2004-05-25

Product Description

HI-DE-HO AND OTHER MOVIES (CALLOWAY,CAB)

Customer Reviews:

An extraordinarily influential Artist.......2007-04-09

It is impossible to estimate the extent of Cab Calloway's influence on modern music. This is a terrific collection of live performances. You will want to watch them over and over again, but it will only take once to convince you of the greatness of Cab Calloway.

Black Cinema: Mystery in Swing & Hi De Ho

Average customer rating:

Black Cinema: Mystery in Swing & Hi De Ho

Manufacturer: Cascadia
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

ASIN: B0001ZVQWU

Product Description

Hi De Ho - 1947 Musical stars Cab Calloway & Ida James - Mystery in Swing 1940 Mystery Musical stars Monte Hawley & Tommie Moore

Average customer rating:

Double Feature: Jazzball and Hi De Ho

Manufacturer: Digital Disc
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Stormy Weather

Product Features:

Digitally remastered version of classics
Superior picture and sound quality
Chapter stops
Interactive menus

ASIN: B000FL586K

Product Description

Jazzball: Features performances by Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong as well as other jazz artists. Hi De Ho: A musical drama where a band leader is caught between two women.

Average customer rating:

Hi-De-Ho/The Duke Is Tops
Starring: Classic Cinema Collection-Hi De Ho & the Duke Is T
Manufacturer: Urban Works
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0001Z4910
Release Date: 2004-07-13

Average customer rating:

Hi De Ho

Manufacturer: Synergy Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000VSOZVG
Release Date: 2007-09-06

amazon.com

Bandleader Cab Calloway is tiring of his sexy girlfriend Minnie, who in turn is jealous of Cab's manager Nettie. When Nettie gets Cab a job at the Brass Hat Club, Minnie retaliates for his imagined infidelity by setting gangster Boss Mason, owner of a rival club, against him. Will she regret her action before it's too late? (This plot resolves halfway through the film; the rest is a series of 'soundies' featuring the Calloway band's inimitable jive).

Average customer rating:

Good only for the music and historical purposes
Interesting slice of 1930's black cinema...

Hi De Ho/The Duke is Tops
Starring: Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra , Cab Calloway , Ralph Cooper , Lena Horne , and Laurence Criner
Director: Roy Mack , and William L. Nolte
Manufacturer: Whirlwind Media
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00004Z4WP
Release Date: 2000-11-14

Customer Reviews:

Good only for the music and historical purposes.......2005-04-11

Both of these are considered "classic Black films" of the 1930s and 40s, popular in Black theaters and often shown on BET in the early days before it became "Booty Entertainment Television."

But I digress. "Hi De Ho" is a vehicle for Cab Calloway. Some really great music and comedy, including the legendary Dusty Fletcher in his classic "Open the Door Richard" routine that was as popular among Blacks as "Who's On First" was to whites. Cab also does an excellent "St. James Infirmary" and the scenes of him jamming with his band in his apartment are fun to watch. But the scenes were Cab slaps around Jeni Le Gon (Andy 's girlfriend on the Amos and Andy Show) and barks orders at her are major turn-offs to the modern viewer.

"The Duke Is Tops" has even less to recommend it. Ralph Cooper (best remembered as the MC at the Apollo Theater) plays Duke, the love interest of a young Lena Horne. Mighty humdrum stuff, except for the pioneering rap and doo-wop group the Cats and the Fiddle cavorting and clowing on their jazz/r&b classic "Killing Jive" (listen carefully to the lyrics, it's a coded tune about marijuana smoking). This one scene is usually considered by those who have seen it to be the highlight of the picture.

But music aside, these films are mainly for historic interest as a look at pre-Superfly and Spike Lee African-American cinema.

Interesting slice of 1930's black cinema..........2001-06-04

Both of the movies on this DVD appear to be classic black cinema. That is, films made for black audiences of the '30s.

The fist film, "Hi De Ho", Cab Calloway plays himself in a very poor vehicle about the rise to fame of a bandleader. Grade Z acting is the order of the day in this one, but the real reason to watch is Cab's music. There's also a great tap dance routine in the finale. Although he plays "himself", Cab gets involved in a gunfight and even smacks his girl around! Certainly an odd proceeding for the bandleader.

"The Duke is Tops" is much better, and better produced. Lena Horne makes her film debut in this story about a show producer who feels he is standing in Lena's way. He loves Lena so much he steps aside so she can have her shot at stardom while he fades into obscurity, eventually working with a travelling medicine show. This film is the more enjoyable of the two.

Included with the two movies is a color cartoon from the forgotten Van Beuren Studios, featuring "Mr. Bang", a perpetually angry and argumentative character, and a foreign woman named Katrinka with superhuman strength. Van Beuren Studios went belly up in 1936, having failed to create any lasting characters of note. A strange, but somewhat useful inclusion on this disc for the film student.

There's also a newsreel with footage of Hitler, the Hindenburg disaster, and Joe Louis preparing for a fight.

DVD:

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