Hi De Ho (1947) User Reviews

For Cab Calloway fans

[psteier · 6/10 · 28 January 2002]

The plot is thin and the acting is mostly wooden, but the real point of the movie is Cab Calloway's wonderful band and some specialty numbers, especially the finale that is the last third of the film.

The best additional act is high powered tap dancing by Miller Bros. and Lois. Dusty Fletcher does his famous "Open the Door Richard" sketch in blackface. The Peters Sisters are curious but didn't do anything for me.

If you love Cab Calloway -- otherwise . . .

[mark-952 · 6/10 · 3 July 2005]

Cab Calloway is the center of this short film -- and just about the only thing it has to offer. As mentioned elsewhere, "Hi-De-Ho" is a genre piece weak on plot, acting and production alike. Folks who love the "King of Hi-de-ho", however, will relish his dancing, mugging, swinging and singing, oh singing! Uncredited in the opening titles except as "and his Orchestra" is a great line-up of jazz notables: Milt Hinton on bass and Cozy Cole on drums to name but two. If for no other reason, see "Hi-De-Ho" for the great big band numbers played as cool and hot as you could ask.

Great Film Entertainment!

[dahall-934-421671 · 7/10 · 26 December 2010]

As with all the reviews, there's no real storyline, but you MUST watch for all the great performances. One of the reviews mentions Dusty Fletcher's "blackface" performance "Open the Door Richard" is in this film - it's not on my copy. However, there seems to be earlier versions of Hi-De-Ho released with different plots (1934) and (1937) so I'm not certain if my copy is bad copy (although I have 2 copies of 1947) or if that particular act is in one of the earlier releases...whatever the case, if you are into Cab Calloway - the performances are phenomenal! The same goes for the Miller Bros. & Lois. I actually like the Peters Sisters - they had great voices and my favorite numbers were "Rainy Sunday" and "Old Lady From Baltimore"...hope this helps!

Must see TV

[JohnSeal · 6/10 · 15 February 2002]

Well, you sure don't need to see it on the big screen...Hi De Ho is a slightly above average 'race' film that includes most of the trademarks of the genre: a slight story, a little comedy, and lots and lots of entertainment. Thankfully there's none of the moralising (well, not much) that characterises some of these films, like The Blood of Jesus. Cab Calloway is, of course, riveting, the music excellent, and the tap dancing scenes almost breathtaking --even when shot awkwardly.

This is a treat if you like Cab Calloway, and there's not much of a story to pay attention to

[Terrell-4 · 6/10 · 27 January 2008]

Hi De Ho is one more of the quick, cheap movies cranked out by Hollywood featuring black entertainers and designed to fill seats in the movie houses for the segregated black audiences of the south and the unofficially but just as segregated theaters everywhere else. Hi De Ho is exceptional in one regard. It features that great showman and entertainer Cab Calloway in his prime and a year before he decided to disband his orchestra because of changing musical tastes. Calloway had a long career, and had become a star by 1930. He sang, moved (not exactly danced), strutted and jived. White audiences most probably learned what they knew about jump jazz, scat singing and the hep cat beat from Calloway. He was a fine singer, wrote a lot of his own stuff, and led one of the best swing orchestras around. He also seemed to have inexhaustible energy. So fair warning...Calloway's high energy pours out of this movie; watching it can wear you down after a while.

The story line is little more than an excuse for Calloway and his orchestra to perform some great, driving, swing numbers. The movie is little more than an hour long and the plot is over in the first half hour. For the last half hour we watch a non-stop performance of some great music and specialty acts. The idea is that Cab is just starting out in the business. He has a jealous girlfriend, Minnie (Jeni Le Gon) and a new, young manager, Etta (Ida James), who is as pretty as his girlfriend. Etta wangles a gig for Cab and his orchestra at a new nightclub, but it's right across the street from one owned by a gangster. Minnie thinks Cab has fallen for Etta, so she convinces the mob boss to eliminate his new competition by shooting Cab. Then Minnie realizes her mistake, tries to save Cab and takes the bullet meant for him. This is the plot, and in 30 minutes it's all squeezed in between eight full musical numbers of him and his orchestra rehearsing or playing at the nightclub. Now we learn that Cab has become a huge success. For the next 30 minutes we're in a plush nightclub where we watch nine terrific numbers, including the rotund Peter Sisters, singers, and the extraordinary The Miller Brothers and Lois, tap dancers. A highlight is Calloway doing St. James Infirmary Blues. Another is a full-throttle, sophisticated arrangement of At Dawn Time. Although his now- dead former girlfriend was named Minnie and was something of a moocher, Calloway never sings his signature, Minnie the Moocher. The closest we get is Minnie Is a Hep Cat Now.

The acting, except for Calloway, is dismal. But Cab Calloway and His Orchestra show why they were first-class musicians as well as first-class entertainers. If you've ever heard Cab Calloway sing, you'll hear his voice...

"I was walkin' up the street feelin' bad and bold. Deep down in my pockets I didn't have no gold. I looked up to the skies and to my surprise I saw a million dollar bill floatin' before my eyes. Hey now..."

Mostly fun, a little disturbing. Great music.

[rooprect · 4/10 · 22 February 2010]

The plot races by in the first 40 minutes, and after that we get a series of musical numbers. That's pretty much the formula for all early musicals with the only variation being whether the musical extravaganza comes before, after or in the middle of the story. In this case it was at the end, and I actually enjoyed that format. It was as if the filmmakers were telling us, "OK now that the silly plot is out of the way, here's what you really came here for."

Call me crazy, though... I actually liked the plot! And it ended on a very profound & emotional note, where Cab sings "Minnie's a Hepcat Now" a capella.

The second half brings us the musical showcase with the only link to the rest of the film being the appearance of a strange man reading a Variety newspaper. He & his newspaper also appear in almost every other scene without explanation, almost like "find Waldo", lending a surreal comedic flavour to the picture.

The only real downside to this movie, the disturbing part which I mentioned in my title, is the way Cab & others repeatedly smack poor Minnie around. Sure, I realize it's just a movie, but since Cab Calloway plays himself, we can't help but wonder if he may have been violent toward his women in real life. I found myself distracted by that thought.

Otherwise, I thought this was a thoroughly enjoyable flick with some great performances. Also, somebody help me out here... even though this was a "race" film (meaning: racially segregated like all early Hollywood musicals), I swear I saw a white man in Cab's trombone section at the end. If so, could this be one of the earliest instances of an integrated band? Or maybe my vision sucks. Keep your eyes peeled and you be the judge.

Watch it more to see and experience Cab Calloway and his band than for its plot.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 27 March 2020]

"Hi De Ho" is the second of two films by the same title starring Cab Calloway. The first was an enjoyable short and this later one is an example of black cinema...a film with an all-black cast intended to be watched by black audiences. Generally, these sorts of films have very low production values and less than stellar acting. In this one, the story and acting aren't very important nor all that great....but Calloway's music is terrific.

There are two main themes in this film---Calloway's girlfriend Minnie who is super jealous of him as well as a couple gangsters who are trying to force Cab to work in their night club...or else. Neither plot is all that strong and resolve themselves rather quickly and much of the film simply consists of Calloway doing what he does best...sing and lead his band.

I was not surprised that some of the acting wasn't great. However, I was pleased to see that Calloway was far better at acting than I'd assumed. And, as far as his music goes, it was as enjoyable and entertaining as ever...and is THE reason to watch this movie.

Remarkable all black cast film for its time

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 7 February 2016]

The charismatic presence of Cab Calloway one of the best entertainers is reason enough to see Hi-De-Ho. The film is chock full of numbers that Calloway sang over the years in the style that made him known as the Hi-De-Ho man. But overall the film is not the best.

Hi-De-Ho is an independent production made for the black audiences of the day. I doubt too many white people saw it because it played in black neighborhood movie houses in the north and in the black theaters in the segregated south. Additionally it was done on a minuscule budget and Calloway didn't exactly have a director as talented as Spike Lee. That would come in a couple of generations.

Later on Calloway showed his acting chops in such films as The Cincinnati Kid, St.Louis Blues, and The Blues Brothers. Here the plot is threadbare and it involves two rival Harlem club owners who are fighting for Cab's services and two women just fighting over Cab. The last half of the film is strictly a variety with Cab and his orchestra and other black performers.

One thing very much makes this film worthwhile is it's one of the few you will find where no one is playing any kind of Stepin' Fetchit type part. For 1947 that's remarkable and I have no doubt that Calloway insisted on it.

Fans of the Hi-De-Ho man will love this film.

A must see for this genre

[ippon-2 · 7/10 · 6 March 1999]

The best part of this movie were the dynamic tap dancing Millers. Unfortunately, they received very little credit.

What was best about this film, were the early direction, acting and cinematography. The camera shots were amateurish, and crude. However, this added to the excitement of early black film genera. The acting was contrived, the plot line weak, and the characters one dimensional. If you like early black film, this one's a must see.

If you are a film instructor this is a good example of the early attempt at story telling.

Every flower loves a few drop!

[cgvsluis · 5/10 · 14 March 2022]

This was an all black cast platform to showcase the charismatic Cab Calloway. I think the best musical numbers were actually at the beginning, but it ends with a whole series of musical and tap dance numbers.

Thin on plot, this is a surprisingly violent story that even depicts violence against women. It pits two competing night clubs against one another and ends in a shoot out where a woman and the mob club owner are both shot.

"You think you'd be mine at dawn time."

"Every flower loves a few drop...Gumbo has it's New Orleans"

This is a great time piece and worth seeing for Cab Calloway alone.

Never dull when Cab Calloway is performing

[Nozz · 8/10 · 15 January 2009]

My jaw dropped shortly after the start of the movie, when Cab Calloway sang "Minnie's a Hepcat Now" solo a cappella. This was a big band leader who actually had all the music an audience needed right inside himself. An extraordinary performer; and though the rest of the movie is packed with an abundance of band numbers, he never allows a dull musical moment. Like some of the songs Cab Calloway sang, the 1947 HI-DE-HO movie mixes pathos and joie de vivre against the background of a gritty story. In a musical performance like the "Saint James Infirmary" seen here, the mixture is funny and powerful. In the plot line of the movie, it's less successful.

Unfortunately, in the European TV broadcast I caught, I didn't notice that "Dusty Fletcher does his famous 'Open the Door Richard' sketch" as in the version someone else saw. An odd thing I did notice was that in the nightclub scenes when the plot is in its long suspension near the end, the dancers seem sized wrongly for the perspective, as if they were dancing in front of a screen on which the band was projected.

Archival value and that's all

[mharah · 3/10 · 11 August 2020]

It's a treat to see anything of Cab Calloway's work. Much of it here would not be readily available on film, so that's a plus. Even as an actor, he was promising.

The balance, with the exception of a few bits here and there, is hideous - too much horrible acting in one place. Without singling anybody out, the line readings - and they were mostly readings - were just plain bad. In 1947, Hollywood just didn't have much depth of black acting talent, and this is proof. (Unless someone was just casting their friends - always possible - these "actors" just need to find another line of work.) The technical work ranged from average to embarrassing. The musical numbers were mostly just stage shots but handled okay. The acting scenes were often badly blocked, badly lit, badly miked. Nobody since to early days of one-camera silents used back and forth pan shots for conversations. Yet here they are.

All in all, a good gig for Cab alone. The rest of it - phew!

Hi-De-Ho (1947) was a mostly excellent musical showcase for Cab Calloway

[tavm · 8/10 · 18 July 2008]

At first, I wasn't too thrilled about this movie because of Cab's rough treatment of Minnie (Jeni Le Gon) and her insolent attitude in return. And the idea of Calloway going to an audition arranged by his manager Nettie (Ida James) when, at this point in his life, he had already entertained millions of people in several movies, on radio, and in concerts makes this very much a plot for the birds. Good thing then that not too much time is spent on the "story" though Minnie's tragic end was a little touching with Cab granting her last wish. From then on, it's just a variety show starring Cab with his orchestra along with The Peters Sisters (a talented group of full-figured women singers), and the tap-dancing Millers and Lois (their tap routines are some of the best I've seen). While just every number performed by the Hi-De-Ho man is great, he's especially compelling on the "St. James Infirmary" number. And seeing the wedding number with Cab, Ida without the glasses, and Augustus Smith as the preacher makes an excellent finale for the picture. So on that note, I highly recommend Hi-De-Ho (1947 version since Cab previously made a couple of shorts with this name, one of which I reviewed in February). P.S. David Betha who plays the Brass Hat Owner here was previously in The Green Pastures (another movie I reviewed in February) as Aaron, Ms. Le Gon was born in my birth town of Chicago, Ill., Mr. Smith was born in Jacksonville, Fl., a place I lived in from 1987-2003.