Killer Diller (1948 film)
Encyclopedia
Killer Diller is a 1948 American
musical comedy-drama film directed by Josh Binney and released by All American.
The movie features The Clark Brothers
(tap dancers), Nat King Cole
, Moms Mabley
, Dusty Fletcher
, Butterfly McQueen
, the Andy Kirk Orchestra and the Four Congaroos (dancing Lindy Hop
).
Dusty's slapstick antics take up a large portion of the film's first act, with some Keystone cop type schtick thrown in when four police officers (Fredie Robinson, William Campbell, Edgar Martin and Sidney Easton) begin chasing Dusty in and out of his disappearance-cabinet.
The Clark Brothers
, Nat 'King' Cole and The King Cole Trio, The Four Congaroos, Johnny Miller
, Oscar Moore
and Warren Patterson appear as themselves.
The act of Warren Patterson & Al Jackson sing Jule Styne & Sammy Kahn's "I Believe," Warren leading off & Al doing his part as a Louis Armstrong impersonation. Then Al sings the Fats Waller classic "Ain't Misbehavin" as Warren tapdances. He is still dancing like crazy when Al adds "Wonderful One" to his medley. Lastly they impersonate the Ink Spots though there's only two of them to recreate "If I Didn't Care," Warren duplicating the tenor lead very nicely until he intentionally goes comical while Al does the spoken bridge with new silly words.
Jackie "Moms" Mabley comes out & does some comedy. She sings the comic song "Don't Sit on My Bed." The Clark Brothers then do a tap dance.
The King Cole Trio's up next. Nat at piano sings "Oo, Kickerooni." The trio follows this song with the Don Wolf & Alan Brandt composition "Now He Tells Me," another humorous bit of cool jazz, & The Trio closes with "Breezy and the Bass" written by Nat & Johnny "Breezy" Miller.
An act called the Four Congaroos are next. They do the Lindy Hop while Andy Kirk's orchestra plays "Basie's Boogie." Kirk's Orchestra does two more songs, featuring guitar, bass guitar, and saxophone solos. The "Varietettes Dancing Girls" (from Katherine Durham's School of Dancing) close the show with Andy Kirk and His Orchestra backing them with "Apollo Groove."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musical comedy-drama film directed by Josh Binney and released by All American.
The movie features The Clark Brothers
The Clark Brothers (tap dancers)
The Clark Brothers, Steve Clark and his brother, Jimmy, were thought to be the last of the "brothers" acts of tap-dancing's golden age. Jimmy Clark died in October 2009.-Biography:...
(tap dancers), Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
, Moms Mabley
Moms Mabley
Jackie "Moms" Mabley, born Loretta Mary Aiken , was an American standup comedian and a pioneer of the so-called "Chitlin' Circuit" of African-American vaudeville.-Early years:...
, Dusty Fletcher
Dusty Fletcher
Clinton "Dusty" Fletcher was an African-American vaudeville performer who was best known for the comedy routine which became a hit record in 1947, "Open the Door, Richard".-Life:...
, Butterfly McQueen
Butterfly McQueen
Thelma "Butterfly" McQueen was an American actress. Originally a dancer, the 28-year-old McQueen first appeared as Prissy, Scarlett O'Hara's maid in the 1939 film Gone with the Wind, then continued as an actress in film in the 1940s, then moving to television acting in the 1950s .-Early life:Born...
, the Andy Kirk Orchestra and the Four Congaroos (dancing Lindy Hop
Lindy Hop
The Lindy Hop is an American social dance, from the swing dance family. It evolved in Harlem, New York City in the 1920s and '30s and originally evolved with the jazz music of that time. Lindy was a fusion of many dances that preceded it or were popular during its development but is mainly based...
).
Plot summary
Dusty Fletcher plays a comic, tap dancer and bad magician. While practicing his routine for that evening's variety show, he accidentally vanishes Lola (Nellie Hill), the girlfriend of the show's manager Baltimore Dumdone (George Wiltshire). She was wearing a thousand-dollar string of pearls and it seems most likely that criminality is afoot.Dusty's slapstick antics take up a large portion of the film's first act, with some Keystone cop type schtick thrown in when four police officers (Fredie Robinson, William Campbell, Edgar Martin and Sidney Easton) begin chasing Dusty in and out of his disappearance-cabinet.
Cast
- Dusty FletcherDusty FletcherClinton "Dusty" Fletcher was an African-American vaudeville performer who was best known for the comedy routine which became a hit record in 1947, "Open the Door, Richard".-Life:...
as Dusty - George Wiltshire as Dumdone, the Manager
- Butterfly McQueenButterfly McQueenThelma "Butterfly" McQueen was an American actress. Originally a dancer, the 28-year-old McQueen first appeared as Prissy, Scarlett O'Hara's maid in the 1939 film Gone with the Wind, then continued as an actress in film in the 1940s, then moving to television acting in the 1950s .-Early life:Born...
as Butterfly - Nellie Hill as Lola, His Fianée
- Freddie Robinson as Sarge
- William CampbellWilliam Campbell-Canada:* William Campbell , Scottish-born Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Upper Canada* Lord William Campbell , Scottish-born Royal Governor of Nova Scotia and South Carolina* William A. Campbell -Canada:* William Campbell (jurist) (1758–1834), Scottish-born Chief Justice of the Supreme...
as Policeman - Edgar MartinEdgar MartinEdgar Everett Martin , known to his family and friends as Abe Martin, was an American cartoonist, who kept his comic strip, Boots and Her Buddies, running for decades, eventually reaching an audience of 60,000,000 readers.Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, the youth moved with his family to Nashville,...
as Policeman - Sidney Easton as Policeman
- Augustus SmithAugustus SmithAugustus John Smith was governor of the Isles of Scilly for over thirty years, and was largely responsible for the economy of the islands as it is today.-Biography:...
as Stage Hand - Moms MableyMoms MableyJackie "Moms" Mabley, born Loretta Mary Aiken , was an American standup comedian and a pioneer of the so-called "Chitlin' Circuit" of African-American vaudeville.-Early years:...
as Moms - Ken Renard as The Great Voodoo
The Clark Brothers
The Clark Brothers
Sons of Sylvia is an American country pop trio composed of three brothers with the surname Clark: Adam , Ashley and Austin . All three, along with their three other brothers Aaron, Andrew, and Alan, originally comprised a sextet called The Clark Family Experience...
, Nat 'King' Cole and The King Cole Trio, The Four Congaroos, Johnny Miller
Johnny Miller
John Laurence Miller is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour. He was one of the top players in the world during the mid-1970s; he ranked second in the world on Mark McCormack's world golf rankings in both 1974 and 1975 behind Jack Nicklaus. He is currently the lead golf...
, Oscar Moore
Oscar Moore
Oscar Moore was an American swing jazz guitarist.Moore was an integral part of the Nat King Cole Trio during 1937–1947, appearing on virtually all of Cole's records during the period. A superb and influential guitarist, Moore was himself influenced by Charlie Christian...
and Warren Patterson appear as themselves.
Music
The variety show is impressive. Ray Abrams & Gator Green play the two-tenor sax number "Gator Serenade" written by Green, supported by the rest of the Andy Kirk and His Orchestra. Beverly White sings the racy jazz tune "I Don't Want to Get Married." Her second song "Ain't Nobody's Business What I Do" is likewise racy, about the joy of carousing & cheating: "If I feel like going out and having some fun/ With some young cat who looks like he might be my son/ That ain't nobody's business what I do."The act of Warren Patterson & Al Jackson sing Jule Styne & Sammy Kahn's "I Believe," Warren leading off & Al doing his part as a Louis Armstrong impersonation. Then Al sings the Fats Waller classic "Ain't Misbehavin" as Warren tapdances. He is still dancing like crazy when Al adds "Wonderful One" to his medley. Lastly they impersonate the Ink Spots though there's only two of them to recreate "If I Didn't Care," Warren duplicating the tenor lead very nicely until he intentionally goes comical while Al does the spoken bridge with new silly words.
Jackie "Moms" Mabley comes out & does some comedy. She sings the comic song "Don't Sit on My Bed." The Clark Brothers then do a tap dance.
The King Cole Trio's up next. Nat at piano sings "Oo, Kickerooni." The trio follows this song with the Don Wolf & Alan Brandt composition "Now He Tells Me," another humorous bit of cool jazz, & The Trio closes with "Breezy and the Bass" written by Nat & Johnny "Breezy" Miller.
An act called the Four Congaroos are next. They do the Lindy Hop while Andy Kirk's orchestra plays "Basie's Boogie." Kirk's Orchestra does two more songs, featuring guitar, bass guitar, and saxophone solos. The "Varietettes Dancing Girls" (from Katherine Durham's School of Dancing) close the show with Andy Kirk and His Orchestra backing them with "Apollo Groove."
Soundtrack
- The King Cole Trio featuring Johnny MillerJohnny MillerJohn Laurence Miller is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour. He was one of the top players in the world during the mid-1970s; he ranked second in the world on Mark McCormack's world golf rankings in both 1974 and 1975 behind Jack Nicklaus. He is currently the lead golf...
- "Breezy and the Bass" (Music by Nat 'King' Cole and Johnny Miller) - Andy Kirk and His Orchestra - "Basie Boogie" (Music by Count BasieCount BasieWilliam "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
and Milton Ebbens) - Andy Kirk and His Orchestra - "Gator Serenade"
- Andy Kirk and His Orchestra - "Apollo Groove"
- The King Cole Trio - "Ooh, Kickeroonie" (Music and lyrics by Nat 'King' Cole)
- The King Cole Trio - "Now He Tells Me" (Music and lyrics by Don Wolf and Alan Brandt)
- Warren Patterson and ? Jackson - "If I didn't Care" (Music and lyrics by Jack LawrenceJack LawrenceJack Lawrence was an American songwriter. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975.- Biography :...
) - Warren Patterson and ? Jackson - "I Believe" (Music by Jule StyneJule StyneJule Styne was a British-born American songwriter especially famous for a series of Broadway musicals, which included several very well known and frequently revived shows.-Early life:...
, lyrics by Sammy CahnSammy CahnSammy Cahn was an American lyricist, songwriter and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premiered by recording companies in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
) - ? Jackson and danced by Warren Patterson - "Ain't Misbehavin'" (Music by Fats WallerFats WallerFats Waller , born Thomas Wright Waller, was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer...
and Harry BrooksHarry Brooks (composer)Harry Brooks was an American writer of popular songs, jazz pianist and composer in the 1920s through the early 1950s....
, lyrics by Andy Razaf) - Beverly White - "It Ain't Nobody's Business What I Do" (Music and lyrics by S.G. Stampsel, Morris Markowitz and J.A. Browne)
- Beverly White - "I Don't Want to Get Married"
- Moms MableyMoms MableyJackie "Moms" Mabley, born Loretta Mary Aiken , was an American standup comedian and a pioneer of the so-called "Chitlin' Circuit" of African-American vaudeville.-Early years:...
- "Don't Sit on My Bed!"