Product Details

• Actors: Showtime USA
• Format: Black & White, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Vci Video
• DVD Release Date: November 13, 2007
• Run Time: 134 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000WPE8O2
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #32,847 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Yes Sir, Mr. Bones!: A young boy wanders into a home for old minstrel men and wants to know more about them, cueing the oldsters to tell HIM (and the Lords of Flashback to show US) a performance from the days of riverboat shows. Square Dance Jubilee: New York television talent scouts (Don "Red" Barry and Wally Vernon) head west to look for musical talent for Spade Cooley's TV show and find plenty--and even help round up some cattle rustlers! Bonus Features: Scene Selection| Trailers| Yes Sir, Mr. Bones! and Square Dance Jubilee commentaries by film historians Richard Roberts, Brent Walker and Randy Sketvedt| Technicolor Featurette: "The Shortest Way Home" (1946)| "Square Dance Jubilee" Deleted Scenes| Original Theatrical Trailer: "Kentucky Jubilee." Product Specs: DVD9; 134 min; B&W; 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio; MPAA - NR; Year - 1951, 1949; SRP - $14.99.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting curiosity . . . , December 6, 2007

By	Silent film comedy lover (The Jersey Shore) - See all my reviews

I picked this one up "on spec" because I was interested in the minstrel featurette, had never heard of this movie before, and was curious about it. Turns out this was an independent production distributed by Lippert Pictures, the same company who for a time also held the reissue rights to Hal Roach's 1934 feature "Babes in Toyland/March of the Wooden Soldiers" starring Laurel & Hardy. Given the budget constraints, this is an impressive production and very well executed; the costumes in particular are great.

I suppose this is about as close as we may ever get to seeing a reconstruction of a minstrel show, which is actually a precursor to 1920's vaudeville and the 1950-60's "variety shows" on television. The tunes are authentic to the time period, although the arrangements have more than a little 1940's feel to them. The performances are very good, considering everything, and some of them, such as the "bones" routine, the soft shoe and the "sand dance," are amazing. Watch closely and you may even see where Michael Jackson's "Moonwalk" move may have originated.

Of course, there are some VERY politically uncorrect portions here, starting with the blackface makeup and continuing with a number of the "comedy" routines, which are pretty embarrassing in light of present sensibilities. It's actually amazing that some of these routines got filmed in the first place, and I wonder exactly where this featurette was distributed! Still, it's good to have it, if only as a historical document and a way of measuring how far we've come since the 1940's.

I should also mention that the commentary, although sometimes a bit flippant, is generally very good. The speakers have done a fine job of identifying and researching the cast, and have plenty of interesting nuggests of information to share. For example, they found that Chester Conklin, one of the original Keystone Kops, appears as a extra! They also confirmed that the "sand dance" was done by the son of the owner of Haverly's Mastodon Minstrels, one of the premier minstrel troupes at the turn of the century. Lots of good detective work here (including why the chorus girls' shoes don't match). The only downside is the audio quality -- at times it sounds as though the interview was recorded on a very windy back porch!

On the other hand, the DVD transfer is impeccable, and was made from what appears to be pristine source material, perhaps even an original 35mm print. Except for one or two very tiny splices and one or two "jumps" (probably caused by some minor sprocket-hole damage) in the first five minutes, the picture is crystal clear with beautiful contrast and excellent audio. Somebody did an excellent job of preserving this film for posterity (or perhaps it just sat on a shelf and was ignored for 50 years, who knows?) and then transferred it to DVD with great care. Other studios and distributors, please take note!!

5.0 out of 5 stars "Get the Low Down on the Hoe Down! ... VCI Ent. (2007)", November 14, 2007

By	J. Lovins "Mr. Jim" (Missouri-USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

VCI Entertainment and Kit Parker Films presents "SHOWTIME USA VOL. 2: YES SIR, MR. BONES & SQUARE DANCE JUBILEE" --- (Dolby digitally remastered) --- Find yourself a front-row seat as the curtain once again rises on the fun-time of a lifetime! --- Great fun for fans of vaudeville, minstrel shows and vintage musicals --- So perk up your ears and put on your dancin' shoes as lost chapters from the big book of Live Entertainment history are re-opened in this one-of-a-kind classic compilation of feature films from the late 1940s to the and early '50s --- Many of the most memorable vaudeville headliners preceding and including that era strut their stuff in these extravaganzas--the singers, dancers and acrobatic acts that got that generation's toes tappin' and funny bones ticklin' --- Some performers are seen here in their only on-camera appearances --- For the true buffs, there is also rare home-movie footage of live vaudeville acts and a trio of expert historian commentators offering a high-energy crash course in the medium's history --- and much, much more!

Showtime USA, Vol. 2 - Yes Sir, Mr. Bones! / Square Dance Jubilee - Get the Low Down on the Hoe Down! - Drectors Ron Ormond and Paul Landres

"Yes Sir, Mr. Bones!" (1951, 54 min)
What happens when a young boy wanders into a home for old minstrel men and wants to know more about them, cueing the oldsters to tell HIM (and the Lords of Flashback to show US) a performance from the days of riverboat shows --- This brings back some old songs (including "Is Your Rent Paid Up in Heaven?"), buck-and-wing and soft-shoe are all part of the nostalgic fun --- Featured is Cotton & Chick Watts, Ches Davis, F.E. Miller, Billy Green and the Hobnobbers. Square Dance Jubilee: Don Barry, Spade Cooley, Mary Beth Hughes, Wally Vernon, Max Terhune and John Eldredge

"Square Dance Jubilee" (1949, 80 min)
Ride the dusty trails as some New York television talent scouts (Don "Red" Barry and Wally Vernon) head west to look for musical talent for Spade Cooley's TV show and find plenty--and even help round up some cattle rustlers --- Enjoy the musical talents with a whopping 25 songs, this one stacks up as a strong entry in the western music market --- has all the makings of a crackerjack exploitation potential, gotta love it! - - - - Special footnote, Don "Red" Barry was a big star in is own right -- Barry got the role that would change his image, it was Red Ryder in the Republic Pictures serial "Adventures of Red Ryder" (1940). Although he had appeared in westerns for two years or so, this was the one that would keep him there. He would acquire the nickname "Red" from his association with the Red Ryder character. After the success of "Red Ryder" Barry starred in a string of westerns for Republic. Studio chief Herbert J. Yates got the idea that Barry could be Republic's version of James Cagney, as he was short and had the same scrappy, feisty nature that Cagney had -- Unfortunately, while Barry could in fact be a good actor when he wanted to be--as he showed in the WW II drama "The Purple Heart" (1944) -- Fact remains Barry was one of the best B-Western actors of his time.

BIOS:
1. Spade Cooley (aka: Donnell Clyde Cooley)
Date of Birth: 17 December 1910 - Grand, Oklahoma
Date of Death: 23 November 1969 - Oakland, California

2. Don 'Red' Barry (aka: Donald Barry De Acosta)
Date of Birth: 11 January 1912 - Houston, Texas
Date of Death: 17 July 1980 - Hollywood, California

SPECIAL BONUS FEATURES:
1. Scene Selection
2. Trailers
3. Yes Sir, Mr. Bones! and Square Dance Jubilee commentaries by film historians Richard Roberts, Brent Walker and Randy Sketvedt
Technicolor Featurette: "The Shortest Way Home" (1946)
4. "Square Dance Jubilee" Deleted Scenes
5. Original Theatrical Trailer: "Kentucky Jubilee."

Great job by VCI Video and Kit Parker --- looking forward to more Nostalgic Collections --- order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment where there are plenty of copies available on DVD, stay tuned once again for top notch releases --- where they are experts in releasing long forgotten films and treasures to the collector.

Total Time: 134 mins on DVD ~ VCI Entertainment ~ (11/13/2007)