Product Details

• Actors: Cab Calloway, Mae Questel, Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra
• Directors: Dave Fleischer
• Format: NTSC
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Mpi Home Video
• VHS Release Date: April 10, 1991
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00000F7G0
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #441,218 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Harlem Renaissance in all its slicked-back, sepia-tone glory, February 25, 2003

By 

The Sanity Inspector (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Minnie the Moocher [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Since there is no description of this video in amazon's catalog, let me provide a little. It will also serve as google bait for kids doing their Harlem Renaissance homework.

This is a low budget but nonetheless delightful look back at famous black jazz entertainers of Harlem in the 1930s. Archival footage is intercut with an interview of reminisces by an aged Cab Calloway, fresh from his triumph in _The Blues Brothers_ movie. (BTW, this film was released in 1981, not 1931) His massive, expressive face softens when talking about dear old friends like Fats Waller, and lights up when talking about brown bombshells like Dorothy Dandridge.

The archival footage is taken from old musicals, along with newreel footage of crowds outside clubs and theaters. There are performances by Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Calloway himself, lots of dance numbers featuring Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, some wild lindy hoppin', even a house rent party scene from some movie. My favorite bits are the numbers featuring Fats Waller, his over-the-top mugging for the camera quite overshadowing his two-fisted musical mastery. But all of it is a must-see for the uninformed. You may see this footage in other film presentations, but you won't get a more knowledgeable host than Calloway.

The film wraps up with the genial old Calloway back on the Harlem street, giving and receiving hugs and pecks from passersby, making his exit. Hi-de-hi-de-hi-de-ho...

3.0 out of 5 stars Biography or documentary?, March 20, 2011

By 

Mark S. Crawford (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Minnie the Moocher [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Anything that includes Cab Calloway gets my attention, and this item was no different. I was hoping for an in-depth interview with Cab as he recalled his days in Harlem. However, what was presented was short, reserved set-ups from Cab (given his extroverted personality I expected a lot more enthusiasm) as he talked about select individuals from his Harlem days. The set-ups then went into performance clips. This format goes on for the entire program. The resulting product was - to me - somewhat mixed. Nothing new is presented about, or from, Cab. It's not really a biography nor a documentary. The performance clips are good, but with today's more thorough compilations they are not rare. There are a couple of enjoyable scenes of Cab walking the streets of Harlem and him responding to his fans. Can you imagine walking down the street and running into Cab Calloway?! This project may have had more impact when it was released in the late 80s, but today it seems dated in format and production values.