The murder of bandleader Richard Webb is not surprising to all who knew him. Wives and girlfriends, family and coworkers. And each of them a suspect. The choice of weapon is a unique one, snake venom placed on his trumpet. (And here I thought my idea for a unique murder weapon, poison dental floss, would make a good plot.) As the plot is developed between musical numbers, the audience gets to see why Webb was hated so much. For nightclub singer Josephine Edwards, being near the scene of the murder results in threats against her and a shocking twist while she's on stage performing.
This mostly all black cast doesn't really seem to have good direction as far as their performances are concerned. A lot of their dialogue is spoken in monotone and without emotion or character development. There's a white actor as a reporter and another as a police officer, but pretty much everybody else is in keeping with whom the film was intended for. It's entertaining and quick moving, in spite of being cheap and choppy with some performances decent to make up for the weaker ones. Without the songs, this probably would have been a two reel short. The film is at its most alive when the band is performing. Definitely a historical curiosity however, with the songs truly upbeat and bringing a party feel to the downbeat plot.
This mostly all black cast doesn't really seem to have good direction as far as their performances are concerned. A lot of their dialogue is spoken in monotone and without emotion or character development. There's a white actor as a reporter and another as a police officer, but pretty much everybody else is in keeping with whom the film was intended for. It's entertaining and quick moving, in spite of being cheap and choppy with some performances decent to make up for the weaker ones. Without the songs, this probably would have been a two reel short. The film is at its most alive when the band is performing. Definitely a historical curiosity however, with the songs truly upbeat and bringing a party feel to the downbeat plot.