Descriptive Summary: 1718f., b&w, a compilation reel created by Ernie Smith
1. Three teen-age "street boys"
Descriptive Summary: silent
Copyright: 1903
2. Cakewalk
Descriptive Summary: silent
Copyright: 1903 (see also 491.1(2))
3. "Tiger Rag"
Copyright: 1929
Performer(s): James Barton
4. Symphony in Black: A Rhapsody of Negro Life, (excerpt from 491.29)
Copyright: 1935
Corporate Creator: Paramount Pictures
Producer: Adolph Zukor
Director: Fred Waller
Performer(s): Snake Hips Tucker, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra incl. Greer, Hodges, Whetsol and Jenkins
Song Title(s): "Merry-Go-Round", part Four-Harlem Rhythm
5. "Harlem Harmony"
Copyright: 1932
Performer(s): Cab Calloway, introduction by James Wallington
Song Title(s): "Harlem Harmony"
6. Snow White (see also 491.187)
Copyright: 1933
Corporate Creator: Fleischer Studios, distributed by Paramount Pictures
Producer: Max Fleischer
Director: Dave Fleischer
Performer(s): Cab Calloway, voice of Betty Boop is Mae Questel
Song Title(s): "St. James Infirmary Blues", vocals by Calloway and Questel
7. "Christopher Columbus"
Copyright: 1937
Performer(s): Stringbean, Jimmy Lunceford and His Orchestra, (Willie Smith on alto sax)
8. "Nagasaki"
Copyright: 1934
Performer(s): Red and Struggie, Lucky Millinder's Orchestra
9. unidentified clip
Copyright: ca. early 1940s
Performer(s): Slick and Slack, (bass drum reads Chris and Crew)
10. "Solid Sending Soft Shoe Specialist"
Copyright: 1944
Performer(s): Rubberneck Holmes
11. Stump and Stumpy
Copyright: 1948
12. "Ain't Misbehaven"
Copyright: 1948 Performer(s) Patterson and Jackson
13. Raymond Kaylund
Copyright: 1941
Performer(s): Jimmy Lunceford and His Orchestra
Descriptive Summary: Same setting as #7, but noted as 1941
14. A Bundle of Blues, excerpt
Copyright: 1933
Corporate Creator: Paramount Pictures
Performer(s): Bessie Dudley and Florence Hill, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra personnel: Hardwick, Hodges, Bigard, Carney (reeds), Whetsol, Williams, Jenkins (trumpets), Nanton, Tizol, Brown (trombones), Ellington, Guy, Broad, Greer (rhythm)
Song Title(s): "Bugle Call Rag"
15. "Bugle Call Rag"
Copyright: 1938
Performer(s): Miss Harris
16. "It Don't Mean A Thing" and an unidentified musical number
Copyright: 1939
Performer(s): Miller and Rhodes, unidentified young female
17. Follow the Boys, excerpt
Descriptive Summary: An excerpt from a George Raft film.
Copyright: 1944
Corporate Creator: Universal Films Producer(s): Charles K. Feldman, Albert L. Rockett
Director: A. Edward Sutherland Performer(s):
Song Title(s): "Sweet Georgia Brown"
18. Al Minns and Leon James; Playboy Club Show, excerpt
Descriptive Summary: an excerpt from 491.5
Copyright: 1964
Corporate Creator: Playboy Magazine/Enterprises
Producer: Dan Schuffman
Director: Dan Schuffman
Performer(s): Al Minns and Leon James
Song Title(s): Camptown Races, "Charleston", "Stompin' at the Savoy", "One O'Clock Jump", "How High the Moon"
19. The Berry Brothers
Copyright: ca. late 1940s, early 1950s
Performer(s): Introduced by Phil Silvers, The Berry Brothers
20. Three scat-singing unidentified male dancers
21. Two unidentified male dancers
22. Jump rope dancer
Corporate Creator: Vitaphone, Warner Brothers
Video reference copy
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the films are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Ernie Smith Jazz Film Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Sponsor:
America's Jazz Heritage: A Partnership of the The Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund and the Smithsonian Institution provided the funding to produce many of the video master and reference copies.