''Hi De Ho'' (also known as ''Hi-De-Ho'') is a 1947 American

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

race film The race film or race movie was a genre of film produced in the United States between about 1915 and the early 1950s, consisting of films produced for black audiences, and featuring black casts. Approximately five hundred race films were produce ...

directed by Josh Binney. Distributed by All American Entertainment, the film stars an all

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

cast, led by

Cab Calloway Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalis ...

. It first showed at the Squire Theatre in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and would be shown in the more than 500

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

theaters in the US.

Plot

, an up and coming jazz musician is putting together a band, he was looking forward to making it big as the bandleader. His girlfriend Minnie, was upset that Cab has retained the services of a female band manager to help him promote his band and get his first big break. His band manager gets him a chance to audition his jazz octet before the local owner of the new club, which he then signs the big band for its opening. Minnie becomes suspicious and jealous that Nettie, as Cab's new female band manager, is doing good things for Cab and is winning points with him. When Cab auditions with his octet, the new club owner is impressed, but he said that he needs his band for his club opening to become more successful. He gets the job when he says that he can easily recruit more band members, and he opens for the new club for its opening at the end of the week. When he and his band make their success, Minnie gets intensely jealous and goes to a local "fix-it" man Boss Mason, who uses gun man Mo the Mouse as his 'assistant'. Minnie starts to play both sides of the fence in wanting to be his girlfriend, while also trying to keep Cab in place so that his relations with Nettie have "no chance to blossom". When Boss Mason gets too close to Cab, Cab must defend himself against Mo the Mouse before the bullets fly.

Cast

as himself *Cab Calloway Orchestra with Elton Hill as themselves *Ida James as Nettie *

Jeni Le Gon Jeni LeGon (born Jennie Ligon; August 14, 1916 – December 7, 2012), also credited as Jeni Le Gon, was an American dancer, dance instructor, and actress. She was one of the first African-American women to establish a solo career in tap da ...

as Minnie *William Campbell as Sparks * George Wiltshire as Boss Mason * James Dunmore as Mo the Mouse *Leonard Rogers as Ralph

Music

* "Minnie Was a Hepcat" ( a capella) (Calloway and His Orchestra) * " St. James Infirmary" (Calloway and His Orchestra) * "At Dawn Time" (Calloway and His Orchestra) * "Hey Now" (Calloway and His Orchestra) * " The Hi De Ho Man" (Calloway and His Orchestra) * "I Got a Gal Named Nellie" (Calloway and Elton Hill) * "

Open the Door, Richard! "Open the Door, Richard" is a song first recorded by the saxophonist Jack McVea for Black & White Records at the suggestion of A&R man Ralph Bass. In 1947, it was the number one song on ''Billboards "Honor Roll of Hits" and became a runaway po ...

" ( Dusty Fletcher) * "Little Old Lady from Baltimore" (The Peters Sisters) * "A Rainy Sunday" (The Peters Sisters) Orchestra members include Jonah Jones, trombonist Quentin Jackson, tenor saxophonist Sam "The Man" Taylor, pianist Dave Rivera, Milt Hinton and drummer Panama Francis. The film also features

tap dance Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perf ...

Miller Brothers and Lois Miller Brothers and Lois, a renowned tap dance class act team, comprising Danny Miller, George Miller and Lois Bright, was a peak of platform dancing with the tall and graceful Lois said to distinguish the trio. The group performed the majority of ...

doing their routine on built up blocks and stands.

Critical reception

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' noted, "Calloway fans will find ''Hi De Ho'' right up their alley .... Story is just one of those things ... (it) is primarily an excuse for spotlighting some okay vaude acts on celluloid but the audience it's aimed at will overlook the technical deficiencies." Calloway was natural enough and Ida James and

did the best they could with the slim script.

References

External links