Hellzapoppin' is a 1941 Universal Pictures adaptation of the musical of the same name
directed by H.C. Potter. The cast includes Ole Olsen and Chic
Johnson (who produced and starred in it on Broadway), Martha Raye, Mischa Auer,
Shemp Howard, and The Six Hits.
The dance scenes from the
movie are some of the best-known Lindy Hop scenes from the swing era, and they
have made the film popular among modern Lindy hoppers. One frenetic routine is
performed by Whitey's Lindy Hoppers (aka The Harlem Congaroos), and another
notable dance scene features Martha Raye and Dean Collins.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellzapoppin'_(film)]
 |
Whitey's Lindy Hoppers was a professional performing group of Savoy Ballroom swing dancers,
started in 1935 by Herbert "Whitey" White. The group took on many
different forms, with up to 12 different groups performing under this name or
one of a number of different names used for the group over the years, including
Whitey's Hopping Maniacs, Harlem
Congaroo Dancers, and The Hot Chocolates. In addition to touring both nationally and internationally, the group
appeared in a number of feature films and Broadway productions and counted Dorothy
Dandridge and Sammy Davis Jr. among their celebrity regulars. The group
disbanded in 1942 a year before the Savoy closed its doors.
Of all the members of
Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, Al Minns, Leon James and Frankie Manning are amongst
the most famous -- Minns and James in part for their role in the research of
Jean and Marshall Stearns's influential book Jazz Dance, Minns for his work with The Rhythm Hot Shots during the 1980s' swing
revival, and Manning for his role, starting in 1986, in contributing to the
swing and Lindy Hop revival after Minns died in 1985. Manning and Norma Miller
were among the few members of Whitey's Lindy Hoppers still alive during the
1990s and 2000s and were some of that era's most influential Lindy Hop
performers and instructors. With Manning's death in April 2009, Miller alone
remains to teach and lecture at dance workshops and Lindy Hop conventions.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitey’s_Lindy_Hoppers]
Frankie
Manning, Al Minns, Norma Miller and the rest of Whitey's Lindy Hoppers as Congeroo Dancers can be
seen performing in the clip below. Also, as the uploader informs us, Slim
Gaillard can be seen performing on the piano, Slam Stewart on the bass, Rex
Stewart on the trumpet, Elmer Fane on the clarinet, Jap Jones on the trombone
and JP Jonstone on the drums.
I
include the clip below, also from the same movie, because it features a very
cute little song called "Watch the Birdie" performed by Martha Raye
& The Six Hits. I first heard that performed by Lisa Stansfield in the
soundtrack of a rather unknown film called Swing [1999]. Recently I heard a much older
version by Anita O'Day and the Gene Krupa Orchestra. However, as I read in this
blog swingjazzblues.blogspot.com, the song first appeared in Hellzapoppin'.
