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Join this channel to get access to perks: Want to learn more about Periscope Film and get access to exclusive swag? Join us on Patreon. Visit Visit our website This collection of music shorts and soundies -- 1940s musical shorts / music videos -- features prominent African American artists. It also features what are known as “Reverse Soundies“ (explained below). The reel begins with “Harlem Medley“, including “Tuxedo Junction“ sung by Edna Mae Harris, followed by Hilda Rogers singing “I Can't Give You Anything But Love“ at (2:48). At (5:22) the Mills Brothers perform “Cielito Lindo“. This is followed by a “reverse soundie“ -- a film made to be projected through a special Mills-Panoram musical jukebox (it used a mirror, thus the reversed titles). First, “The Counts and the Countess“ performing “I've Got to Be A Rug Cutter“, followed by “Half Past Jump Time“ starring Mabel Lee. At (13:47) “Tap Happy“ is performed by Slim and Sweets. At (16:56) “Brother Bill“ is sung by the Jubalaires. This soundie, like many others with an all-African-American cast, was directed by William Forest Crouch. (Crouch also directed the feature-length musical race film “Reet, Petite, and Gone.“) At (19:28) “Every Day is Saturday in Harlem“ is performed by Hilda Rogers. At (22:00), “Tain't Yours“ is performed by Una Mae Carlisle. At (24:46), “Taps“ Miller performs “Song and Dance Man“. Edna Mae Harris (1914 – 1997), was one of the first African–American film actress of the late 1930s and early 1940s, appearing in films featuring mostly African–American casts. The Mills Brothers were an American jazz and traditional pop vocal quartet who made more than 2,000 recordings that sold more than 50 million copies and garnered at least three dozen gold records. Una Mae Carlisle (1915 – 1956) was an American jazz singer, pianist, and songwriter. Marion Joseph “Taps“ Miller was an American entertainer, trumpeter, and vocalist. The Jubalaires were an American gospel group active between 1940 and 1950. The band was known for song verses delivered in a rhythmic, rhyming style that has been described as an early version of rapping, their 1946 song “Noah“ being often named as the first recorded instance of rap. Panoram was the trademark name of a visual jukebox that played short-filmed musicals (the effect being the equivalent of 1980s music videos) popular within the USA during the 1940s. It was conceived and produced by the Mills Novelty Company. With the beginning of World War II, production of the Panoram machines was drastically reduced due to a wartime shortage of raw materials, and the Mills Panoram's 1940 success started to fade. Soundies (the 16mm media used in the Panoram) continued to be produced and distributed to Panoram locations until 1947. By then, the novelty of the visual jukebox was compromised owing to the availability of the television. You can learn more about Soundies by reading Mark Cantor's excellent book on the subject, available at this link: We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.“ This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit
