Jimmie Lunceford and His Dance Orchestra (1936)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Joseph Henabery

Release Date:

19 December 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Short | Music

Plot Keywords:

Big Band | Vitaphone Melody Master | Character Name In Title

Cast

Jimmie Lunceford	...	Himself
The Three Brown Jacks	...	Themselves
Myra Johnson	...	Herself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jimmie Lunceford and His Orchestra	...	Themselves

Also Known As:

Melody Masters: Jimmie Lunceford and His Orchestra (USA) (series title)

Runtime:

10 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Vitaphone production reel #2062

Soundtrack:

Moonlight on the Ganges

Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra- Personification of the Harlem Sound

This Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra musical short is breathtaking. Wonderful. All the good words of the English language describes this musical short. Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra was one of the top bands of the 1930s, the members of the band was superb, not only did they play that hot syncopated rhythm, they could entertain as well, they singed, scat, and danced. On top of that they wore extravagant suits, and they had personality plus which wowed the audiences and made instant fans and made them one of the new most popular bands in the mid 1930's giving Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington a run for their popularity and money. Jimmie Lunceford had the best musicians in their band like Sy Oliver and Willie Smith and it's been said Jimmie Lunceford and his Orchestra populated "Swing" music with their different form of Jazz which was upbeat and that equaled Swing.

This short shows why the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra was so hot. In this short they're at that the height of their career - hot, young, handsome, energetic, vivacious, and talented gentleman, with a unbelievable sound that you just can't help but want to move to. If you ever see this, turn the volume up and close your eyes and just reminiscing as if you were apart of that time era, sitting right in the audience watching them perform. Hearing and watching the band makes you experience the Harlem sound as if you were there. If you know what I mean!

Too bad bands live performances weren't recorded, but thanks to Vitaphone shorts, soundies, and studios that made shorts, future generations are able to view their performances and experience a by-gone era that was the greatest in entertainment history. Today's entertainment you can't even call entertainment once you see this type of entertainment.

Included in the short is the vivacious personality girl Myra Johnson singing "You Can't Pull The Wool Over My Eyes" and The Three Brown Jacks doing fine dancing.

The Orchestra starts off by playing their theme song "Rhythm Is Our Business" - turn the volume up on the TV and close your eyes - you'll almost get high and get chills within you when hearing this song played, you couldn't help but smile and shake your head in delight, and they play the jazz standard Nagisaki and Sy Oliver scat/sings it, and they play a few other tunes.

I can't say enough about these guys. Their just fine and excellent. If you ever get this short, you'll watch it over and over, you'll never get enough of it.

Would love to know more about the guys, wish a documentary would be done on them or wish some of them could of wrote a book. Too many books are written and documentaries are done on Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Louis Armstrong and others are overlooked that contributed to the Big Band/Jazz/Swing sound like Claude Hopkins, Don Redman, Noble Sissle, Andy Kirk, Fletcher Henderson, Lucky Millander, Les Hite, and quite a few other orchestras.

Jimmie Lunceford died tragic, many believe he was poisoned by a racist in a restaurant.

Sy Oliver and Willie Smith were the men behind the great sound. Their not known widely but in their time they were highly respected and sought after by people in the business. May they all rest in peace.

Watching this short will be the best 10 minutes of your life. A great entertaining bunch of guys. I can't say enough about them.