These videos and movie clips are individually shown on various pages of the Big Bands Database Plus website. They are gathered together here for the convenience of our visitors.

"WHOOPEE GROUP"
A series of Film Clips from the 1930 United Artists all color musical "Whoopee", with music by Walter Donaldson, lyrics Gus Kahn. Performed by Eddie Cantor with the 'Goldwyn Girls'.

    VIDEO:"Stetson"  Another clip from Whoopee! (Song composed by Walter Donaldson, lyrics Gus Kahn) Sung and danced by Ethel Shutta, and the Goldwyn Girls

    "My Baby Just Cares For Me"   sung by Eddie Cantor, except from 1930 film "

    "Cowboys"    Excerpt from the United Artists all color musical Whoopee! (1930). "COWBOYS" Written by Walter Donaldson, lyrics Gus Kahn. Performed by a 14 year old Betty Grable and chorus. Whoopee! was the first movie Busby Berkely worked with as a choreographer.

End of Whoopie group

  VIDEO: "Music Makes Me"   Ginger Rogers singing. Film clip from: "Flying Down To Rio" music by Vincent Youmans with lyric by Edward Eliscu and Gus Kahn Vincent Youmans' score for this film was his last (and perhaps best) before the twin evils of Alcoholism and Tuberculosis sent him to a sanatorium (film clip: prime1mover )

    "Ted Weems Orch. with Norma Schutt's Chorus Girls"   July 17, 1930, Steel Pier, Atlantic City, NJ

    "Auf Wiedersehen, My Dear"   Bing Crosby 1933 02:53 The opening sequences from Crosby's final Mack Sennett short, with two songs Bing never recorded for Brunswick or Decca - "Auf Wiedersehen" and (under the opening credits) a truncated version of "My Silent Love." Look carefully and you'll spot Bing's loyal friend, guitar virtuoso Eddie Lang, in the on-camera band. (film clip: WhenSwingWasKing)

    "Just One More Chance"   and "I Surrender Dear". This is a film clip from "The Road To Hollywood" showing Bing Crosby singing "Just One More Chance" and "I Surrender Dear". These were originally part of some comedy shorts produced by Mack Sennett in the early 1930s

    "Lionel Hampton Band"  , 1940s, with Hampton showing just what two fingers can do on a piano keyboard.

    Artie Shaw and his Orchestra   a 1938 Short film opening with Artie's theme song "Nightmare", then the songs "Begin the Beguine", "Let's Stop the Clock" with Helen Forrest vocal, and "Non-stop Flight" with Tony Pastor sax solo, and ending with a Russian tune "Sunshine" -again with Tony Pastor vocal. played by the Artie Shaw Orch., (From: kpjjazz)

    Symphony in Swing  And a year later, in 1939, the Artie Shaw Orchestra, appeared in a Vitaphone (Warner Brothers subsidiary) film playing the tunes "Alone Together" -a moody instrumental; "Jeepers Creepers with Tony Pastor singing and playing his sax, Helen Forrest singing "Deep Purple"; and the upbeat instrumental "Lady Be Good".

    "Shoot The Likker To Me John Boy"   Artie Shaw Orchestra in 1939. Libofilm. (From: WhenSwingWasKing)

    "Oh Lady Be Good"   Artie Shaw Orchestra playing a George Gershwin tune. (From: ZPants)

    "Je Vous Aime Beaucoup"   Hildegarde singing her own famous composition in 1935. jozefsterkens

    "Rockin' Chair"   Hoagy Carmichael provides the vocals, backed by Jack Teagarden's Orchestra. (film clip: redhotjazz1)

    VIDEO: "Drum Boogie"   performed by Gene Krupa and his band. From the film "Ball of Fire" (1941) starring Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper, directed by Howard Hawks. The voice dubbed over Stanwyck is that of "Liltin'" Martha Tilton. (film clip: cbrace)

    VIDEO: "Gene Krupa - Buddy Rich Drum Battle"   (Film clip: moresco63)

    VIDEO: "Bill "Bojangles" Robinson"  Excerpt from the 1930 RKO operetta Dixiana. This is the only existing footage of Bill Robinson in colour.

    "We Just Couldn't Say Goodbye"   Film clip from "Captain Henry's Showboat" (1933), - Annette Hanshaw singing

    "Chattanooga Choo"Choo   (L-R) Tyrone Power, Kay Starr, Judy Holiday, and Janet Blair in a rendition of the popular song "Chattanooga Choo Choo".

    Adams Sisters Trio   A British vocal group singing in 1929, followed by a solo tap dancer tapping on her toes to "There's A Rainbow Around My Shoulder".

    "Lucky Me Loveable You"   One of the surviving fragments from the 1930 MGM musical 'Chasing Rainbows'. Composed by Milton Ager & Jack Yellen. Performed by Bessie Love And Charles King

    "Rosetta"  Henry "Red" Allen in 1958, near the end of his career. In this session in 1958 he is leading a band with Hawkins tenor sax, Pee Wee Russell clarinet, Vic Dickenson trombone, Rex Stewart cornet, Milt Hinton bass and Jo Jones on drums (Film clip: ilbofilms)
Henry "Red" Allen (January 7, 1906 or 1908 - April 17, 1967) was a jazz trumpeter. Henry James Allen was born in the Algiers neigborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of the noted bandleader Henry Allen. He took early trumpet lessons from Peter Bocage and Manuel Manetta; some of his lessons from Manetta were taken together with another promising young trumpeter, Emmett Hardy.

Allen was playing professionally by 1924, playing with the Excelsior Brass Band and the jazz dance bands of Sam Morgan, George Lewis and John Casimir. After playing on riverboats on the Mississippi River, he went to New York City in 1927 to join King Oliver's band. At this time he also made recordings on the side in the band of Clarence Williams. After returning briefly to New Orleans where he worked with the bands of Fate Marable and Fats Pichon, he was offered a recording contract with Victor Records and returned to New York, where he also joined the Luis Russell band, which was fronted by Louis Armstrong in the late 1930's. Red Allen's trumpet style has been said by some critics to be the first to fully incorporate the innovations of Louis Armstrong and then go beyond Armstrong. Allen's recordings received much favorable attention.

From 1929 on Allen joined Luis Russell's Orchestra where he was a featured soloist until he joined Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra in 1934. He also made a series of recordings in late 1931 with Don Redman, and played with Lucky Millinder's band from 1934 to 1937, when he returned to Luis Russell for three more years at a time when this orchestra was often fronted by Louis Armstrong. Allen continued making many recordings under his own name, as well as recording with Fats Waller and Jelly Roll Morton as well as accompanying vocalists including Victoria Spivey and Billie Holliday. After a short stint with Goodman, Allen started leading his own band at The Famous Door in Manhattan. He then toured with his band around the USA into the late 1950s. Allen's versatility is shown by his winning of Down Beat awards in both the traditional jazz and the modern jazz categories. In 1959 he joined Kid Ory's band, with whom Allen made his first tour of Europe.

Allen then returned to working under his own name making more tours of the USA and Europe until his death on April 17, 1967 in New York City. In this session in 1958 he is leading a band with Hawkins tenor sax, Pee Wee Russell clarinet, Vic Dickenson trombone, Rex Stewart cornet, Milt Hinton bass and Jo Jones on drums

    "Aunt Haggar's Blues"  Kid Ory's band at 'Salle Pleyel', Paris, France in 1959. Near the end of his career, playing this great old Dixieland tune. (film clip: ilbofilms)

    VIDEO: "Charleston"   1920s Film Clip: Dancing the Charleston In Britain, complete with Lessons. (film clip: Aaron1912)

    VIDEO: "I'll See You In C-U-B-A"  Fred Hillebrand singing this 1920 hit song is heard against the background of the Film: 'Love and War'-1899 Produced by Michael J. Loughlin for the Thomas A. Edison Music Video Co. (Film clip: mrocklin)

    VIDEO: "Medley"   Rare footage of a very early "Talkie", -a 'Vitaphone Varieties' film featuring 'Gus Arnheim and His Cocoanut Grove Ambassadors', in 1929, playing a medley of songs including "If I Can't Have You", followed by "Something About A Rose Reminds Me Of You", and ending with "Hold That Tiger ('Dixieland' style)" The film is not only notable for the excellence of Arnheim's orchestra, but also for featuring Russ Columbo playing violin and singing (in the center of the trio). The "Ambassadors" were named for their appearance at the legendary Cocoanut Grove nightclub in Los Angeles' Ambassador Hotel. Crooner Bing Crosby's solo career was launched at the Ambassador, and Columbo was still another famous vocal career that was later launched at the Ambassador, when he served as a stand in for Crosby on Gus Arnheim's radio broadcasts. (Film clip: howyoodoon)

    "Broadway"  , a very rare, 2 minute excerpt, from the 1929 Hungarian silent film "Broadway", directed by Pál Fejös, (aka: Paul Fejos and Paul Féjos. ( b. Dec. 31, 1884, Csongrád, Austria-Hungary (now Hungary), d. April 16, 1960, Cluj. (now Cluj-Napoca), Cluj, Romania. heart ailment). The original music for a "pit orchestra' is lost, and the music heard here, played by 'The Regal Cinema Orchestra', is a mix of medleys written (by Con Conrad, Sidney D. Mitchell, Archie Gottler) for the movie. (Regretfully, the source of this film clip is not known to us presently.)

Fejos, who was a trained chemist and bacteriologist, began his theatrical career first as a set designer, then as a theatrical director who made several features in Hungary before moving to New York in 1923 and to California three years later.

His 1927 experimental, low-budget film "The Last Moment" earned him a contract with Universal Picture where he directed several features, including the highly regarded 1928 film "Lonesome", before returning to Europe in the early 1930s. Ignoring demands from MGM that he return to Hollywood, Fejos worked in France, Austria, Denmark and Hungary, both on features (most notably "Marie, a Hungarian Legend", 1932, and "Sonnenstrahl", 1933) and on anthropological documentaries. He was twice married, first to actress Mara Jankowsky (1921 to 1924) and then to actress Inga Arvad (1936 to 1942).

Mini-Bio:
1914-1918, during WWI, he was a producer of army theatricals on Italian Front
1923 Moved to USA
1924 - 1926 Worked as staff bacteriologist with Rockefeller Institute
1927 Directed first US film, "The Last Moment", experimental film about the visions of a suicidal drowning man
1929 Directed first sound feature, "Broadway"
1931 Joined Braumberg-Richebe in Paris as production supervisor
1932 Returned to Hungary
1937-'38, filmed documentaries for Svensk Filmindustri in East Indies and New Guinea, 1939 in Siam, and 1941 in Peru.
1941 Became director of research for the Viking Fund set up by industrialist Axel Wenner-Gren; named president 1955

    VIDEO: "Love walked In"   a clip from the film "The Goldwyn Follies" (1938), sung by a forgotten talent, Kenny Baker. The two ladies are Andrea Leeds (the romantic lead in the film) and a very young Ella Logan (b. 6 March 1913, Glasgow, Scotland, UK, d. 1 May 1969, Burlingame, California, USA. Cancer. née: Ina Allan), who many years later made her biggest success on Broadway, in the musical "Finian's Rainbow," in which she sang, among other lovely songs, "How are Things in Glocca Morra?" 6 months before this film was completed, George Gershwin died in 1937 of a glioblastoma of the right temporal lobe. (Film clip: lechusita)

    VIDEO: "Do Do Something"   Extremely rare clip from the thought to be lost screen debut of Dorothy Lee, in the 1929 musical comedy 'Syncopation'. (Film clip: stjn00)

    VIDEO: "How'm I Doin' (Hey Hey)"  Paul Whiteman's Rhythm Boys (NOT WITH Bing Crosby). (film clip: HalDee)

    VIDEO: "Heebie Jeebies"   The Boswell Sisters harmonizing in 1932. (film clip: WhenSwingWasKing)

    VIDEO: "Mocny Czlowiek" ("Strong Man")   Music video directed and edited by Michal Chmarzynski. Made from original, last silent Polish movie "Mocny Czlowiek" (Strong Man) from 1929, The last one copy was found in cinema in Moscow (Film clip: ricofederico)

    VIDEO: "Slim and Slam"   AND - The Harlem Congaroos (dancers, AKA Whitey's Lindyhoppers). Clip is from the 1941 Hollywood production of "Hellzapoppin'", starring commdians Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson. This clip features Rex Stewart (cornet), Jap Jones (t'bone), Elmer Fane (clar), unknown (tsax), "Slim" Galliard (piano, guitar, tap-dancing), "Slam" Stewart (base), and "Cee Pee" Johnson (drums), -plus 'The Harlem Congaroos'.

"An interesting sidenote: Whitey's Lindy Hoppers' routine in Hellzapoppin' was originally danced and choreographed to different music, namely 'Jumping at the Woodside'. Universal Studios had a composer who was on staff write new music for the routine."

Harlem Congaroo Dancers ( aka Whitey's Lindy Hoppers)
William Downes (overalls) and Frances "Mickey" Jones (maid).
Norma Miller and Billy Ricker (chef's hat).
Al Minns (white coat, black pants) and Willa Mae Ricker.
Ann Johnson (maid)
Frankie Manning (overalls).
(Film clip: troach)

    VIDEO: "I'm One Hundred Percent For You"  The Savoy Orpheans in the 1920s, with Frances Day vocal. (film clip: lenamai )

    VIDEO: "Story Conference"   A Vitaphone Short starring Eugene von Grona & his wife, Leni Bouvier. (film clip: nedsparks )
"As a child Eugene von Grona (born in Berlin, 1908) was fascinated with "cakewalk" music (ragtime) and dreamed about traveling to the country that spawned the new music. In the 1920s von Grona and his wife, Leni, came to the U.S. with a very open mind for modern music. He and his wife, also a dancer, were especially fascinated by the music heard in Harlem, such as the compositions of Duke Ellington."

"Some critics remarked that his style of dance composition relied heavily on German modernism, but that he had acquired for himself a remarkable, physical suppleness that he conveyed to his twelve girls. Their contortions proved to be extremely difficult feats of balance and strength, including back bends."

"It was in 1934 that von Grona and his wife (billed as Leni Bouvier) appeared as themselves in a film short for the V i t aphone Company in Brooklyn. The film starred Lillian Roth and was released April 7, 1934 as "Story Conference." Since von Grona's career was focused on the stage and recital hall, it is fortunate that this film exists of him and his wife. Had the times been different, his Negro troupe might have made an appearance in films."

"In 1934 he placed an advertisement in a Harlem newspaper offering scholarships. 150 people responded. After many days of auditions, he selected 22 dancers to train. He resisted offers from Hollywood, preferring his exciting life full of discovery. Three years later, on November 21, 1937, they gave their first public performance at the Lafayette Theatre in Harlem. Dances were choreographed to the music as W.C. Handy, Reginald Forsythe, J.S. Bach, Ellington and Stravinsky. The first night audience was more enthusiastic than the downtown newspaper reviewers. Their applause convinced Leni and Eugene that their Negro ballet had a future."

"Von Grona accepted an offer to help Erwin Piscator form a dance school in Houston, Texas. This led to the staging of dance numbers in early American television. His life and career are quite hazy after his first work in Harlem. Although it is known that The Negro Art Theatre Dance Group was founded in the 1920s by Helmsley Winfield, von Grona's attempt at mixing ballet and Harlem blazed a trail for others who would become more successful."

"Evidently von Grona returned to Berlin in 1965 to work on a film with Erwin Piscator. Sadly, Piscator died before his project could begin. von Grona subsequently created a jazz school, wrote a musical show and faded into obscurity in a Berlin sanitarium. If any reader has more information, I would be most pleased to hear it." (film clip: nedsparks )

    VIDEO: "Barrett Deems"   Short film clip of drummer Barrett Deems in action. (film clip: libofilms ) " The Dusty Rhodes Band appeared to be a travelling jazz band which included some important jazz musicians. This is a clip from 1951 featuring drummer Barrett Deems. Barrett Deems (1914-1998) achieved numerous distinctions in a long career as a jazz drummer, but perhaps the most notable of them arrived in 1954, when he was asked to replace the great Cozy Cole in Louis Armstrong's All-Stars. He remained with the band until 1958, and supplied a propulsive drive to their music that brought him widespread commendation, including a stamp of approval from the man he replaced. Deems's family had moved to Chicago by the early 1920s, and he began his professional career in the city at a precocious age, touring with violinist Paul Ash and then leading his own bands by the time he was 15. He moved into more rarified company in the late 1930s, working with violinist Joe Venuti from 1937 until 1944, and subsequently with bands led by Red Norvo, Jimmy Dorsey, Charlie Barnet and Muggsy Spanier. Deems developed a highly polished technique characterised by the very fast, driving style which became his trademark, and earned him frequent billing as "the world's fastest drummer", but his many employers valued his sure time and ability to drive the band with a propulsive but faultless momentum just as much as his speed. (film clip: Libofilms )

    VIDEO: "Tailgate Ramble"   Short 1964 film clip of trumpeter 'Wingy' Manone in action. (film clip: ilbofilms ). "Probably in a recording studio in New York in 1964 we see a performance of Wingy Manone playing one of his favourite tunes "Tailgate Ramble". It appears that this clip has never been published. 12 years later Wingy came to Toronto (Canada) and played for a week with our Climax Jazz Band. I remember him singing this tune almost every night. Wingy Manone (1900-1982) was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He lost an arm in a streetcar accident, which resulted in his nickname of "Wingy". After playing professionally with various bands in his home town, he began to travel widely in the 1920s, working in Chicago, New York City, Texas, Mobile, Alabama, California, St. Louis, Missouri and other locations through the decade; he continued to travel widely around the United States for decades. He and his band did regular recording and radio work through the 1930s, and appeared with Bing Crosby in the movie Rhythm on the River in 1940. (See below). His autobiography "Trumpet On The Wing" was published in 1948. From the 1950s on, he was based mostly in California and Las Vegas, Nevada, although he also toured through the United States, Canada, and parts of Europe to appear at jazz festivals. He was survived by his son, Joseph Matthew Manone II and his grandson, Jimmy Manone who are both musicians as well. (From: ilbofilms )

    VIDEO: "When The Saints Go Marching In"   (film clip: ilbofilms ) Here is Wingy Manone and his Mardi Gras Band in a 'Soundie' made in 1943. Soundies were an early version of music videos. From 1940 to 1946, they were designed to be displayed on coin-operated juke boxes in nightclubs, bars, and restaurants. Soundies covered all genres of music, but they are perhaps best known for the performances of African American artists who were blocked from performing in other public formats. Louis Jordan, Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Louis Armstrong Fats Waller and also Wingie Manone made soundies. Soundies were condemned for their frequent use of strip teases,especially designed to attract military personnel." (film clip: ilbofilms )

    VIDEO: "Rhythm On The River"   Short film clip of 'Wingy' Manone and Bing Crosby singing (and drumming) from 1940 film "Rhythm On The River" -also starring Mary Martin.
" Here is that terrific number in a pawn shop that features the band blowing hot and Bing singing and drumming (!), harkening back to his "Rhythm Boys" days with Paul Whiteman. " (film clip: ilbofilms )

    VIDEO: "Chicago"   (From ilbofilms) "Under the leadership of Eddie Condon we see an all star group playing "Chicago" Next to Eddie playing his 4 string tenor guitar we see Wild Bill Davison, Wingy Manone and Billy Butterfield on trumpets, Edmund Hall clarinet, Vic Dickenson and Cutty Cutshall trombones, Henry Duncan piano, Al Hall bass and George Wettling drums. There is a vocal by Thelma Middleton especially written for this occassion by Johnny Mercer. An ad-in vocal as well by Sammy Davis Jr This is from special feature film called a "Tribute to Eddie Condon". It appears that this 1964 music movie which I received from a collector friend in New Jersey has actually never been issued." (film clip: ilbofilms )

    VIDEO: "Marshall Barer"   a live performance at 'Don't Tell Mama' in New York City. The eccentric writer of the musical "Once upon a mattress" and the "Mighty Mouse" theme in New York, 1994, for his "Don't Tell Mama" show. Marshall Barer, wrote songs for some very successful singers from time to time. But he was probably known best for his eccentricity, especially in his later years. (film clip: synchronicity777 ) .

    VIDEO: "The Man That Got Away"   (film clip: johnmana97 ). Judy Garland on her TV Show singing her great hit: "The Man That Got Away". This song was originally featured in her 1954 film: "A Star Is Born". This song was declared as #11 out of the top 100 most famous movies songs by the American Music Institution.