1940s Jazz, R&B, Gospel and Black music and dance performances in Film or TV
includes mainstream movies with scenes easily cut for jim crow
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- DirectorArthur DreifussStarsMonte HawleyMarguerite WhittenTommie MooreIn and around some great blues, swing and jazz music, a very unpopular band-leader. Prince Ellis, is killed in a Harlem nightclub, and, in and around some more great music, a detective finds the lists of suspects is very long, as Prince Ellis was indeed very unpopular with many citizens.Four Toppers: all or part of 3 songs; CeePee Johnson: all or part of 3 tracks
- DirectorPen TennysonStarsPaul RobesonEdward ChapmanSimon LackIn a Welsh coal mining valley, a young man with a beautiful singing voice is called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice when a pit disaster threatens.Paul Robeson
- StarsDewey 'Pigmeat' MarkhamLillian RandolphJohnny TaylorA straight man comes over to three comedians and tells them how the only way to handle a woman is to treat her rough and make her like it.Lillian Randolph
- DirectorWalter LangStarsAlice FayeBetty GrableJack OakieSongwriters Calhoun and Harrigan get Katie and Lily Blane to introduce a new one. Lily goes to England, and Katy joins her after the boys give a new song to Nora Bayes. All are reunited when the boys, now in the army, show up in England.Nicholas Brothers: part of 1 song
- DirectorRichard C. KahnStarsZack WilliamsLaura BowmanAlfred GrantA newlywed couple is visited by a strange old woman who harbors a secret about the young girl's father.
- DirectorH.C. PotterStarsFred AstairePaulette GoddardArtie ShawWhen perennial college students Danny O'Neill and Hank Taylor are forced to make it on their own, the competitive pair get jobs with Artie Shaw's band and reunite with ex-manager Ellen Miller.Artie Shaw: part of 8 songs
- DirectorHarold D. SchusterStarsLola LaneJames CraigEduardo CiannelliA beautiful young woman organizes an expedition to Africa to search for a sacred skull that is worshiped by the locals.Clarence Muse: part of 1 song
- DirectorNorman Z. McLeodStarsKay FrancisJack OakieGeorge BancroftJo March and her husband Professor Bhaer operate the Plumfield School for poor boys. When Dan, a tough street kid, comes to the school, he wins Jo's heart despite his hard edge, and she defends him when he is falsely accused of theft. Dan's foster father, Major Burdle, is a swindler in cahoots with another crook called Willie the Fox. When the Plumfield School becomes in danger of foreclosure, the two con men cook up a scheme to save the home.Lillian Randolph: all or part of 2 songs
- StarsDelta Rhythm BoysLee GainesTraverse CrawfordDelta Rhythm Boys
- DirectorArthur DreifussStarsMamie SmithAlec LovejoyCristola WilliamsDon Heywood
- DirectorRoy MackStarsWoody Herman and His OrchestraLee WileyHal AbbottWoody Herman's orchestra plays five tunes, and guest performers sing and dance.all or part of 5 songs
- DirectorJoseph H. LewisStarsBobby JordanLeo GorceyClarence MuseGang member, Muggs, aspires to be a jockey and tries to cheat his way to the top.Clarance Muse: part of 1 song
- DirectorHeckleDewey 'Pigmeat' MarkhamStarsDewey 'Pigmeat' MarkhamLaurence CrinerJohnny TaylorLillian Randolph
- DirectorIrving CummingsStarsDon AmecheBetty GrableCarmen MirandaAn American girl on vacation in Argentina falls for a wealthy racehorse owner.Nicholas Brothers: part of 1 song
- StarsNina Mae McKinneyDewey 'Pigmeat' MarkhamMable LeeNina Mae McKinney
- StarsBuster CrabbeMorton DowneyGlen GrayBill Robinson, Rosetta LeNoire
- DirectorDenis KavanaghStarsEvelyn DallNat GonellaThe Mills BrothersMills Brothers
- DirectorAnatole LitvakStarsPriscilla LaneBetty FieldRichard Whorf"Jigger' Pine forms a band that includes singer Ginger 'Character' Powell, wife of the trumpeter Leo Powell, and Nickie Haroyen and Peppi. All of them dedicate themselves to work as a unit and to play blues music. The dedication isn't paying off financially and, while riding the rails in a boxcar, they meet and befriend gangster Del Davis. He offers them a job at a New Jersey roadhouse, where Powell falls in love with Kay Grant, a former 'real good friend' of Davis. But when Powell learns that Character is about to have a baby, he returns to her. Jigger tries to make Kay the band's singer and, after this fails, runs off with her. She leaves him with nothing but a nervous breakdown. Back at the roadhouse, after his recovery, Kay shows up, has a quarrel with Davis, shoots and kills him, and plans to take back up with Jigger, who knows better but just can't help himself. While she is waiting in a car for him, along comes cripple Brad Ames, who she put in that condition, and he gets in and drives the car over a cliff, leaving no survivors in the two-passenger crash. The band is back together at the end, still using boxcars as their transportation, but happy playing the blues.William Gillespie: 1 song; Jimmy Lunceford band
- DirectorWalter LantzStarsIvie AndersonMel BlancLeroy Hurte ChorusThe black residents of Lazy Town are bored one day until a sultry light-skinned woman shows up to teach them what rhythm is.Vivian Dandridge: part of 1 song
- DirectorJohn PrimiStarsLucky Millinder and His BandSister Rosetta TharpeWinnie JohnsonSister Rosetta Tharpe with Lucky Millinder band
- DirectorWarren MurrayStarsFats WallerHilda BrownMyra JohnsonFats Waller performs his classic hit accompanied by his big band and a bevy of beauties.Fats Waller: 1 song (Myra Johnson vocal)
- DirectorRobert R. SnodyStarsDelta Rhythm BoysLee GainesTraverse CrawfordSoundie of the Delta Rhythm Boys' version of the eponymous classic song, accompanied by some dancing beauties.Delta Rhythm Boys
- DirectorJohn PrimiStarsLucky Millinder and His BandSister Rosetta TharpeWinnie JohnsonIn this "Soundie", Sister Rosetta Tharpe sings the title song while young couples do the Lindy Hop.Sister Rosetta Tharpe with Lucky Millinder band
- DirectorWarren MurrayStarsFats WallerMyra JohnsonHilda BrownFats Waller: 1 song (Myra Johnson vocal)
- DirectorLeslie M. RoushStarsGene KrupaHoward DulanyIrene Daye
- DirectorWarren MurrayStarsFats WallerAl CaseyVivian BrownFats Waller performs his hit surrounded by beautiful women in a 1940s version music video.Fats Waller
- DirectorGeorge P. QuigleyStarsBob HowardMilton WilliamsNellie HillThe beautiful Nellie Hill has many admirers but when one of them gets killed all the others are suspected. All this in among some great singing and dancing, some great bands and songs. This is a showcase for Black Entertainment of the time.Noble Sissle
- DirectorJosef BerneDudley MurphyStarsDorothy DandridgeFour Spirits of RhythmDorothy Dandridge
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsGary CooperBarbara StanwyckOscar HomolkaA group of professors working on a new encyclopedia while living in a Manhattan mansion take in a mouthy nightclub singer who is wanted by the police to help bring down her mob boss lover.Gene Krupa: part of 1 song
- DirectorDudley MurphyStarsDorothy DandridgeDorothy Dandridge
- DirectorLeslie GoodwinsStarsBob CrosbyJean RogersElisabeth RisdonWith the size of her classes dwindling each year, Newton High music teacher Malvina Adams is asked to retire. Trying to prove she's still got it, she composes a school fight song which finds its way into the hands of bandleader Bob Crosby who turns it into an overnight hit. Over the protestations of her stuffy niece Abby, Malvina travels to New York and performs her song with Bob's band and becomes even more popular. The newness of the song fades quickly though, and, faced with becoming a flash-in-the-pan, Malvina tries to write one last hit song before giving up and returning to Newton.Bob Crosby: all or part of 5 songs
- DirectorRichard C. KahnStarsThe Four ToppersSpencer WilliamsSpencer Williams & the Four Toppers
- DirectorJohn PrimiStarsLucky MillinderWinnie JohnsonMable LeeLucky Millinder
- DirectorRobert R. SnodyStarsDelta Rhythm BoysEssie AdkinsTraverse CrawfordDelta Rhythm Boys
- DirectorWarren MurrayStarsFats WallerHilda BrownVivian BrownSoundie performance by Fats Waller of this titular song accompanied by dancers and a very big hat.Fats Waller
- StarsCount BasieDon ByasFreddie GreenWhile in the middle of playing a number, a sax player in Count Basie's band falls asleep and dreams that his girlfriend, who had just broken up with him because he's too fat and has too many girlfriends besides her, has decided to take him back.Jimmy Rushing with Count Basie band
- DirectorVictor SchertzingerStarsBing CrosbyMary MartinBrian DonlevyJeff grows up near Basin Street in New Orleans, playing his clarinet with the dock workers. He puts together a band, the Basin Street Hot-Shots, which includes a cornet player, Memphis. They struggle to get their jazz music accepted by the cafe society of the city. Betty Lou joins their band as a singer and gets Louey to show her how to do scat singing. Memphis and Jeff both fall in love with Betty Lou.Jack Teagarden (with Bing Crosby): part of 1 song; Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman
- DirectorRobert R. SnodyStarsDelta Rhythm BoysEssie AdkinsTraverse CrawfordDelta Rhythm Boys
- DirectorArchie MayoStarsAlice FayeJack OakieJohn PayneAfter WWI two men go into radio. Failure leads the wife of one to borrow money from another; she goes on, after separation, to stardom. A coast-to-coast radio program is set up to bring everyone back together.Ink Spots: all or part of 4 songs (1 with Nicholas Brothers)
- DirectorRobert R. SnodyStarsCount Basie and His OrchestraCount BasieJeanne BayerIn this Soundie, Count Basie and His Orchestra play the title song while many couples do the Lindy Hop.Count Basie
- DirectorJosef BerneStarsDuke Ellington OrchestraArthur White's Lindy Hoppers and JitterbugsBen WebsterDuke Ellington leads his orchestra as the Lindy Hoppers (aka The Harlem Congaroos) dance in this soundie (a short musical filmclip).Duke Ellington
- DirectorH. Bruce HumberstoneStarsSonja HenieJohn PayneGlenn MillerAfter Phil Corey's band arrives at the Idaho ski resort, its pianist Ted Scott is smitten with a Norwegian refugee he has sponsored, Karen Benson. Later, soloist Vivian Dawn quits and Karen stages an ice show as a substitute.Nicholas Brothers with Dorothy Dandridge: part of 1 song
- DirectorArthur DreifussStarsMamie SmithAlec LovejoyNorman AstwoodDramatic events in a Harlem apartment house center around Pa Wilkins, chosen by the Better Business League to replace their ousted, crooked leader Marshall...who wants revenge.Don Haywood: all or pert of 4 songs (vocals by Wahneta San, Mamie Smith, Alberta Perkins...)
- DirectorJosef BerneStarsDuke EllingtonRay NanceRex StewartDuke Ellington and Orchestra perform 'C Jam Blues'.Duke Ellington band: 1 song
- DirectorJosef BerneStarsMarie BryantPaul WhiteMarie Bryant and Paul White sing and dance in this 1942 "Soundie" with music by Duke Ellington Orchestra.
- DirectorStuart HeislerStarsAlan LaddVeronica LakeBrian DonlevyA crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.
- DirectorNorman Z. McLeodRoy Del RuthVincente MinnelliStarsRed SkeltonAnn SothernRags RaglandSailors suspicious of spies and a singer who is in love enjoy life in the Canal Zone.
- DirectorArthur LubinStarsBud AbbottLou CostelloDick ForanTwo peanut vendors at a traveling rodeo show get in trouble with their boss and hide out on a railroad train heading west. They get jobs as cowboys on a dude ranch, despite the fact that both know nothing about cowboys, horses, or much of anything.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsAdolphe MenjouGeorge BancroftTodd DuncanCovering a quarter-century of American 'syncopated" music (Ragtime, Jazz, Swing, Blues, Boogie Woogie) from prior to WWI through prohibition, the stock market crash, the depression and the outbreak of WWII. A romance between singer Kit Latimer from New Orleans, and Johnny Schumacher, in which they share and argue over musical ideas ensues. Prior to the making of the film, RKO held a contest for the readers of 'The Saturday Evening Post" to vote on the musicians to make up the All-American Dance Band featured in the film; the magazine's readers chose, in the above-the-title listing: Charlie Barnet, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Jack Jenney. Gene Krupa, Alvino Rey, Joe Venuti, and singer Connee Boswell.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeStarsJeanette MacDonaldRobert YoungEthel WatersReporter Homer Smith accidentally draws Marcia Warren into his mission to stop Nazis from bombing Allied Convoys with robot-planes.
- DirectorJosef BerneStarsDorothy DandridgeDudley DickersonEugene JacksonSoundie of Dorothy Dandridge performing the cowboy classic.
- DirectorRobert R. SnodyStarsGene KrupaGene Krupa and His OrchestraJeanne BayerAnita O'Day performs the hit song "Let Me Off Uptown", accompanied by Gene Krupa on drums and Roy Eldridge on trumpet.
- DirectorEdward BuzzellStarsEleanor PowellRed SkeltonBert LahrMiss Winters is a dancer with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and is asked to secretly transport a prototype magnetic mine to Puerto Rico. She thinks that she is working for the US Government, but fails to see why she would be involved.
- DirectorJulien DuvivierStarsCharles BoyerRita HayworthGinger RogersA formal tailcoat that gets passed from one owner to another affects each life in a significant way.
- DirectorArthur DreifussStars'Smoke' Wells
- DirectorErle C. KentonStarsBud AbbottLou CostelloVirginia BruceA pair of bus drivers accidentally steal their own bus. With the company issuing a warrant for their arrest, they tag along with a playboy on a boat trip that finds them on a tropical island, where a jewel thief has sinister plans for them.
- DirectorBernard B. RayStarsClarence MuseSybil LewisWilliam WashingtonAfter noted violinist Arthur Williams suffers a hand injury which ends his playing career, his hopes are transferred to his son, who prefers swing music to classical.
- StarsCab CallowayCab Calloway and His Cotton Club OrchestraThis Soundie shows Cab Calloway and his orchestra performing the title song.
- DirectorJosef BerneStarsDorothy DandridgePaul WhitePaul White and Dorothy Dandridge sing about the clothes they will wear to impress their "Sunday" beaux.
- DirectorChristy CabanneStarsOna MunsonStuart ErwinPeggy MoranA safari sets out to find a meteorite that fell in the African jungle.
- DirectorJosef BerneStarsDuke EllingtonHerb JeffriesJanet Collins
- DirectorJohn HarlowStarsAnn DvorakBen LyonGriffith JonesOn the eve of the Nazi occupation, spies in Paris try to outguess each other
- DirectorEdward F. ClineStarsThe Andrews SistersPatty AndrewsMaxene AndrewsA group of entertainers visit a radio singer's home to try to get her to book them on her show.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallA. Edward SutherlandStarsBing CrosbyBob HopeFred MacMurrayA Paramount Studios security guard who was a major actor during the silent film era must carry out the illusion that he is still a big deal when his sailor son comes to visit.
- DirectorHoward BrethertonDave GouldStarsNils T. GranlundGale StormRobert LoweryA nightclub performer, jealous about the talents of an aspiring singer, tries to sabotage her chances at a professional career.
- StarsCab CallowayThe CabaliersAn early form of music video featuring the legendary Cab Calloway and his orchestra.
- DirectorArchie MayoStarsGeorge MontgomeryAnn RutherfordGlenn Miller and His OrchestraConnie Ward is in seventh heaven when Gene Morrison's band rolls into town. She is swept off her feet by trumpeter Bill Abbot. After marrying him, she joins the bands tour and learns about life as an orchestra wife, weathering the catty attacks of the other band wives.
- DirectorAndrew L. StoneStarsLena HorneBill RobinsonCab Calloway and His Cotton Club OrchestraThe relationship between an aspiring dancer and a popular songstress provides a retrospective of the great African-American entertainers of the early 1900s.
- DirectorCharles BartonStarsAnn MillerBob Crosby OrchestraFreddie Slack and His OrchestraBeverly Ross moderates a 5:30 AM radio show with swing music, dedicated to the local servicemen. Two buddies of her brother have a chance to meet her and both fall in love. One of them is a wealthy sponsor and the other used to be his chauffeur. Before she can decide which one she prefers, the soldiers have their marching orders and are away to their destination.
- DirectorJohn C. GrahamStarsLouis Jordan
- DirectorVincente MinnelliBusby BerkeleyStarsEthel WatersEddie 'Rochester' AndersonLena HorneA compulsive gambler dies during a shooting, but he'll receive a second chance to reform himself and to make up with his worried wife.
- DirectorNorman Z. McLeodStarsGeorge MurphyAnne ShirleyCarole LandisTwo sisters living in New York City aspire to become high-profile models.
- DirectorJean YarbroughStarsBillie BurkeDonald WoodsElyse KnoxCircumstances arise that result in a man impersonating his uncle. As the "uncle", he finds himself pursued by his girlfriend's aunt, who does not approve of their relationship.
- DirectorGregory RatoffStarsDon AmecheJanet BlairJack OakieFollowing three flops in a row, Broadway stage producer Willard Samson is told by wealthy divorcée Donna Davis that she will finance a show but only if she is the star. The fact she can neither sing, act nor dance does not deter Samson. His press agent, Ken Douglas, lives in a theatrical boarding house run by his friend from vaudeville, Larry Martin, where he meets Jeanie Maxwell, singing teacher and aspiring songwriter from, of course, Altoona, Pa., who has come to New York to sell her songs. Samson is not interested in her songs as much as he is her stage abilities, but he can't get rid of Donna. Ken is also plugging for Samson to use the vaudeville acts, living at the boarding house, who can't get work because there is no more vaudeville, despite the fact that some of the acts are examples of what killed vaudeville in the first place. The show appears to have potential, with the exception of Donna, when Ken convinces her she is the perfect "outdoorable girl" for a publicity campaign and takes her to the countryside. Samson frames them as being dangerous counterfeiters and they are arrested by the country sheriff, and Samson rushes Jeanie into the star role for the final dress rehearsal. But Donna is released from jail, returns to the show for opening night and it is a miserable flop. Jeanie returns to Altoona, Samson goes on a drunken binge and Ken tries to save the show by convincing Donna into quitting.
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsCheryl WalkerWilliam TerryJudith AndersonA young soldier arrives in NYC and, before heading overseas to WWII, visits Stage Door Canteen, where famous actresses and entertainers volunteer to entertain soldiers.
- DirectorGregory RatoffStarsMae WestVictor MooreWilliam GaxtonWhen his biggest star joins a rival's show, a Broadway producer bluffs and schemes to get her back.
- DirectorJean YarbroughStarsDonald WoodsElyse KnoxEddie QuillanBob Jackson and his three Merchant Marine shipmates have each invested $50 in a song Bob has written and which he thinks will be published for a fee of $200. In a taxicab driven by Pat Rogers, they search for the publisher's office but finally realize they have been swindled. Plus, they now owe Pat a large taxi-bill. They go to a serviceman's canteen where a noted singer, Annabelle is performing. As she leaves she drops an expensive cigarette-case which is picked up by Pat. She tells Bob to return the case and pay the cab-fare from an anticipated reward. At the night club where Annabelle is appearing,(along with the very female Mayris Chaney and HER Dance Trio) Bob's intentions are misunderstood and a brawl ensues.
- DirectorJoseph BarberaWilliam HannaStarsWilliam HannaHarry LangLillian RandolphJerry crashes a vase onto Tom's head, which gets Mammy to throw Tom out. Jerry revels in his freedom, among other things turning Tom's picture into a Hitler caricature then spitting on it. But he soon tires of this, and under a flag of truce, hatches a plan with Tom. The abnormally talkative duo stage a grand chase, but whenever they're out of sight of Mammy, they fake it, pausing for patty-cake, a turkey leg, and a drum jam session. Eventually, Tom chases Jerry under a rug, then swaps in a tomato, which Mammy crushes. With Jerry apparently vanquished, Tom is rewarded with a pie, but when Jerry tries to claim his share, Tom shuts him out.
- DirectorEdward F. ClineStarsDick ForanIrene HerveyJoan DavisThe former members of a vaudeville team meet up again in a defense plant during WW II.
- DirectorEdward F. ClineStarsOle OlsenChic JohnsonCass DaleyOlsen and Johnson, stage comedians turned film stars, produce a star-studded musical comedy with an eccentric "millionaire" who hasn't got a dime.
- DirectorJean NegulescoStarsArt GilmoreJames CagneyGary CooperThis short traces the history of sound in the movies, beginning with French scientist Leon Scott's experiments in 1857.
- DirectorJohn BrahmStarsSonja HenieJack OakieCesar RomeroNora and her uncle get railroaded into spending the night at a broken-down hotel in Canada. After Nora falls for the handsome owner, she convinces her uncle to invest in the inn and modernize it. After the hotel opens, Nora's uncle faces financial ruin and her romance hits a snag in the form of pretty reporter.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsGeorge MurphyJoan LeslieGeorge TobiasA soldier wounded in the War (WWI) becomes a producer and stages a show for the forces.
- DirectorCharles LamontStarsDonald O'ConnorSusanna FosterLillian GishMusical in which a family puts on a show to boost the morale of the local factory workers.
- DirectorErle C. KentonStarsBud AbbottLou CostelloGrace McDonaldThe horse of a street vendor is replaced by a racehorse.
- DirectorAlbert S. RogellStarsJohn CarrollSusan HaywardGail PatrickOne of the many films made at Republic with a year attached to the "Hit Parade" title, which came from the "Hit Parade" radio program sponsored by Lucky Strike cigarettes. On re-issue, all of the entries underwent a title change from "Hit Parade of 19??" to, usually, a title of a song contained in the film, as happened in the case of this film when it was reissued as "Change of Heart" in 1949. Not re-issuing the film under the original title of "Hit Parade of 1943" had a two-fold purpose; the audiences of that era were not much interested in seeing a film twice, and a changed title - even when the original title was clearly shown in (very) small print in the ads and on the posters---had a chance of being seen again by that segment of the ticket-buying public who didn't read the small print. The plot here is just a trifle---Susan Hayward ghost writes songs for composer John Carroll, whose charms evidently outweighed his song-writing ability---played in and around some great singing and dancing numbers by, for its time, a large number of black performers including Dorothy Dandridge, Count Basie, dancing by the great Jack Williams and the team of "Pops and Louie" (Albert Whitman and Louis Williams) and others, including Spanish dancer Chinita Marin, billed as Chinita. The song "Change of Heart", by Jule Styne and Harold Adamson, was Oscar-nominated, and also became the title of the film on 1949 re-issue. Walter Scharf also was Oscar-nominated for Best Scoring of a Musical. Republic seldom got two nominations in any single year, much less two in the same film.
- DirectorBusby BerkeleyStarsAlice FayeCarmen MirandaPhil BakerA soldier falls for a chorus girl and then experiences trouble when he is posted to the Pacific.
- DirectorNorman TaurogStarsJudy GarlandVan HeflinFay BainterSmall-town Indiana girl Lily Mars dreams to be a stage actress. She begs visiting Broadway producer John Thornway for a role but he dismisses her as an amateur. She follows him to New York and worms her way into his show, and his heart.
- DirectorJosef BerneStarsDorothy DandridgeStepin FetchitDudley DickersonStepin Fetchit introduces a band which plays several numbers, including "Cow Cow Boogie" and a swing version of "Rigoletto." Dorothy Dandridge appears in a Western number singing the aforementioned "Cow Cow Boogie." (This section is edited into the film from an earlier Soundie, Cow-Cow Boogie (1942).
- DirectorFrank P. DonovanStarsMarian AndersonTex BenekePerry Como
- StarsWingy ManoneAnn Lee