That's the Spirit (1933 film)

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That's the Spirit
That's the Spirit (1933 film).jpg
Directed by Roy Mack
Starring Jack Carter
Cora LaRedd
Buster Bailey
Mantan Moreland
Flournoy Miller
Cinematography Edwin B. DuPar
Production
company
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date
  • April 15, 1933 (1933-04-15)
Running time
11 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

That's the Spirit is an American short musical film released in 1933. [1] It features an African American cast starring Noble Sissle and was directed by Roy Mack. The Vitaphone film was distributed by Warner Brothers. The film survives.

Contents

That's the Spirit includes Noble Sissle Orchestra performing "Tiger Rag", Jack Carter singing "Saint Louis Blues" and Washboard Stompers performing "Stomp". [2]

It has been described as "one of the greatest all-black jazz shorts ever made." [3]

That's the Spirit includes various special effect gags repeated to ghostly apparitions. It is believed to be Mantan Moreland's first film. [4]

That's the Spirit was included in a jazz program at Festival of the Arts at Wilmington College in 1968. [5]

Plot

Mantan Moreland and Flournoy Miller star as two watchmen who hear singing from a haunted pawn shop. A miniature jazz band comes to life in the film led by Noble Sissle, featuring clarinetist Buster Bailey, and Cora LaRedd sings and dances to "Jig Time". [3] [6]

Cast

Reception

Variety's review was largely critical of the film. “Noble Sissle and his band of colored musicians are no appealing sights on the screen to general theatre audiences. Where the shadowy effects are used, okay. Therefore, no particularly keen screen fare is this short". [7]

References

  1. ↑ Cullen, Frank; Hackman, Florence; McNeilly, Donald (2007). Vaudeville old & new: an encyclopedia of variety performances in America. Psychology Press. ISBN   978-0-415-93853-2.
  2. ↑ "That's the Spirit". Library of Congress.
  3. 1 2 "Cora LaRedd" – via memory.loc.gov.
  4. ↑ Nielsen, Euell A. (June 29, 2020). "Mantan Moreland (1902–1973)" . Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Great Jazz Films Make Great Festival Program". Wilmington News-Journal. May 11, 1968. p. 2. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  6. ↑ Liebman, Roy (2015). Vitaphone Films: A Catalogue of the Features and Shorts. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN   978-1-4766-0936-2.
  7. ↑ "Film review: Talking Shorts – 'That's the Spirit'." Variety. Vol. 111, Iss. 2, (June 20, 1933):
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