Killer Diller (1948)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Josh Binney

Writers:

Hal Seeger (screenplay)
Hal Seeger (story)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot Keywords:

Variety | Race Movie | Public Domain

Cast

Dusty Fletcher	...	Dusty (as Dusty 'Open the Door Richard' Fletcher)
George Wiltshire	...	Dumdone, the Manager
Butterfly McQueen	...	Butterfly
Nellie Hill	...	Lola, His Fianée
Freddie Robinson	...	Sarge
William Campbell	...	Policeman
Edgar Martin	...	Policeman
Sidney Easton	...	Policeman (as Sid Easton)
Augustus Smith	...	Stage Hand (as Gus Smith)
Moms Mabley	...	Vaudeville Star (as Jackie Mabley)
Ken Renard	...	The Great Voodoo
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
The Clark Brothers	...	Themselves
Nat 'King' Cole	...	Himself (as King Cole Trio)
The Four Congaroos	...	Themselves
The King Cole Trio	...	Themselves
Johnny Miller	...	Himself (as The King Cole Trio)
Oscar Moore	...	Himself (as The King Cole Trio)
Warren Patterson	...	Himself (as Patterson & Jackson)

Runtime:

73 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Company:

All-American News

Movie Connections:

Featured in That's Black Entertainment (1990)

Soundtrack:

Basie Boogie

astonishing!

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!