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Film, Video Symphony in black--a rhapsody of Negro life

digital viewing copy

About this Item

Title

  • Symphony in black--a rhapsody of Negro life

Summary

  • As Duke Ellington composes his symphony, cuts are made to a band playing a cinematic enactment of the music.

Names

  • Waller, Fred, 1886-1954, direction
  • Hockey, Milton, -1949, writing
  • Rath, Fred (Frederick William), 1874-1954, writing
  • Steiner, William, camera
  • Ellington, Duke, 1899-1974, music, performer
  • Holiday, Billie, 1915-1959, performer
  • Tucker, Snakehips, performer
  • Paramount Pictures, Inc
  • Valburn/Ellington Collection (Library of Congress)

Created / Published

  • United States : Paramount Pictures, 1935 ; United States : U.M. & M. TV Corp.

Headings

  • -  Jazz--1931-1940
  • -  Big band music
  • -  African Americans--Music

Genre

  • Short films
  • Nonfiction films

Notes

  • -  MP5851 U.S. Copyright Office
  • -  Copyright: Paramount Productions, Inc.; 12Sep35; MP5851.
  • -  Copyright notice on film: U.M. & M. TV Corp. ; 1935.
  • -  Composed by Duke Ellington ; photography, William Steiner, Jr.
  • -  Appearing: Duke Ellington and his orchestra, Billie Holiday, "Snake hips" Tucker.
  • -  LC copies are the television reissue; reissue date unknown. Active in the 1950's, U.M. & M. TV Corporation bought Paramount short films and cartoons and handled their distribution to television networks.
  • -  Filmed in New York City in late 1934.
  • -  Viewing copy on one cassette with two other films: St. Louis Blues and Caldonia.
  • -  Sources used: Donor collection inventory in M/B/RS Acquisitions file; Meeker, Jazz in the movies; Wikipedia WWW site, accessed April 14, 2020 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.M._%26_M._TV_Corporation External).

Medium

  • 1 video file (digital) (ca. 10 min.) : sd., b&w.
  • viewing copy 1 videocassette of 1 (VHS) (10 min.) : sd., b&w ; 1/2 in.
  • viewing print 1 film reel of 1 (ca. 10 min., 350 ft.) : sd., b&w ; 16 mm.
  • viewing print (copy 2) 1 film reel of 1 (ca. 10 min., 340 ft.) : sd., b&w ; 16 mm.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • VAB 6837 (viewing copy)
  • FAB 6260 (viewing print)
  • FAC 5903 (viewing print, copy 2)

Source Collection

  • MacDonald (J. Fred and Leslie W.) Collection (Library of Congress)

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 92506512

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

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Credit Line: Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division.

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Hockey, Milton, -1949, Writing, Fred Rath, William Steiner, Inc Paramount Pictures, and Valburn/Ellington Collection. Symphony in black--a rhapsody of Negro life. performeds by Ellington, Duke, Music, Holiday, Billie, and Tucker, Snakehips, directeds by Waller, Fred, Ection United States: Paramount Pictures, ; United States: U.M. & M. TV Corp, 1935. Video. https://www.loc.gov/item/92506512/.

APA citation style:

Hockey, M., Rath, F., Steiner, W., Paramount Pictures, I. & Valburn/Ellington Collection. (1935) Symphony in black--a rhapsody of Negro life. Ellington, D., Holiday, B. & Tucker, S., performers, Waller, F., dir United States: Paramount Pictures, ; United States: U.M. & M. TV Corp. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/92506512/.

MLA citation style:

Hockey, Milton, -1949, Writing, et al. Symphony in black--a rhapsody of Negro life. performer by Ellington, Duke, Music, Holiday, Billie, and Tucker, Snakehips, dir by Waller, Fred, Ection United States: Paramount Pictures, ; United States: U.M. & M. TV Corp, 1935. Video. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/92506512/>.