Created by
Calloway, Cab, American, 1907 - 1994
Calloway, Nuffie, American, 1915 - 2008
Owned by
Calloway, Cab, American, 1907 - 1994
Subject of
Calloway, Nuffie, American, 1915 - 2008
Calloway, Cab, American, 1907 - 1994
Date
ca. 1950
Medium
acetate film
Dimensions
Length (film strip): 450 Feet
Duration: 00:16:03
Description
A compilation reel of 16mm home movies filmed by Cab Calloway during a tour of South America, with both Kodachrome and black-and-white film edge codes indicating years of 1950 and 1955.
The initial (somewhat under-exposed) color footage is inside the Teatro Solis in Montevideo, Uruguay, and features musicians and dancers on stage. The following exterior daytime scene depicts a group of men with cameras in front of a motor coach bus. Scenes of the same motor coach in front of a large estate and garden feature Zulme "Nuffie" Calloway and a group of men. Subsequent scenes depict city streetscapes with men wearing gaucho pants, two of which emerge from an antique Model A Ford car. This is followed by a brief shot of a sunset filmed from a moving car. The camera roll ends with slightly overexposed footage of a ivy-walled palatial building, and race horses with jockeys; laboratory punch holes are visible at the end of the roll. The next camera roll opens with under-exposed interior footage of couples dancing in a ballroom; Cab Calloway is visible performing on stage and wearing a plaid blazer. The next scenes are exteriors, near a body of water, with Cab Calloway wearing shorts and a white tunic with black polka dots and hugging another man. Pleasure craft, docked in a harbor, are visible. Subsequent panorama shots feature Mrs. Calloway outdoors in a kimono-like bathrobe, and pans of seaside houses and gardens and of the ocean.
The next roll in this compilation reel is in black and white, and features a tilt pan of an apartment building, women, and children who walk down its stairs. One of the women is Zulme "Nuffie" Calloway and palm trees are present in the gardens in front of the apartment. Subsequent shots from the same location include young girls, and groups of men posing for the camera. There is also a panorama shot of a garden with palm trees. A building is visible with the sign: "Pan American World Airways Compania [illegible] Aviacion." A young girl with a doll has her photograph taken in front of a fountain. In the following scene, Cab Calloway is seen in a white tuxedo, escorting a bride in what appears to be a backyard wedding ceremony. The camera roll ends with an unfocused interior shot, before a cement splice appears. The next camera roll begins with black-and-white footage of the beach, with several beach goers posing in front of the camera, including Mrs. Calloway. The final scenes of this roll are interior shots of what appears to be an Argentinian asada, with plenty of grilled meat and people seated at a long table eating.
Place filmed
Montevideo, Uruguay, Latin America, South America
Collection title
The Cabell “Cab” Calloway III Collection
Classification
Media Arts-Film and Video
Archival Collections
Type
silent films
home movies
color films (visual works)
16mm (photographic film size)
Topic
Composers (Musicians)
Conductors (Musicians)
Entertainers
Families
Film
Holidays and festivals
Jazz (Music)
Marriage customs and rites
Singers (Musicians)
Travel
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Cabella Calloway Langsam
Object number
2015.273.2.4.1a
Restrictions & Rights
Creative Arts By Calloway, LLC
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd56ef1368f-edad-438d-8e18-45d995935e08

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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