''Burlesque in Harlem'' (also released as Rock & Roll Burlesque and A French Peep Show) is a

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

film directed by

William D. Alexander William D. Alexander (1916 – November 19 1991) was an American filmmaker. He made U.S. government sponsored newsreels for African American audiences. He later established his own production company, Alexander Productions, in New York City and b ...

that features a cast of singers, dancers and comedians who were prominent on the so-called

Chitlin' Circuit The Chitlin' Circuit was a collection of performance venues throughout the eastern, southern, and upper Midwest areas of the United States that provided commercial and cultural acceptance for African American musicians, comedians, and other enterta ...

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

theaters and

nightclubs A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

that exclusively presented

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

talent. The plotless film is hosted by Dick Barrow, who sings "Juice Head Baby", and the main headliner is the comedian

Pigmeat Markham Dewey "Pigmeat" Markham (April 18, 1904 – December 13, 1981) was an American entertainer. Though best known as a comedian, Markham was also a singer, dancer, and actor. His nickname came from a stage routine, in which he declared himself to be ...

, who performs a sketch called ''The Love Making Bureau''. Other performers in the cast include the dancer Gertrude "Baby" Banks, the singers

Jo Jo Adams Joel Adams (c. 1918 – February 27, 1988), sometimes credited as Doctor Jo Jo Adams, was an American jump blues singer, comedian, dancer, and MC, who recorded in the 1940s and 1950s. Career He was born in a rural area of Alabama, an ...

and Hucklebuck Jones, the striptease contortionist Tarza Young, and the

tap dance Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perfo ...

duo Slip and Slide.Weldon, Michael J. “The

Psychotronic Video ''Psychotronic Video'' was a film magazine founded by publisher/editor Michael J. Weldon in 1980 in New York City, covering what he dubbed "psychotronic movies", which he defined as "the ones traditionally ignored or ridiculed by mainstream critics ...

Guide.”1996, St. Martin’s Press.

Plot

Barrow, the master of ceremonies, invites the audience to a special "bronze burlesque", consisting of a series of performances from strip-tease dancers, burlesque singers, and the club comedians. The dance duo Slip and Slide does a soft-shoe routine. There is also a comedy sketch by Dewey "Pigmeat" Markham involving a "love-making bureau".

Cast

* Vivian Harris (comedian) * Dick Barrow, Master of ceremonies *

* Mabel Hunter *Gertrude "Baby" Banks * Luella Owens * Princess D'Orsey *Gloria Howard "Atomic Bomb" *Slip and Slide * Tarza Young *The Betty Taylor Taylorettes * Olive Sayles * Maria Rout * Adella Gross * Ezella Lester * Marion L. Greene *Dorothy McCarty * Fannie Thornton * Griffen Trixie Terry * Rose Marie Foster * Gwendolyn Shaklett

References

External links

Burlesque in Harlem in the Internet Movie Database
1949 films American black-and-white films African-American comedy films 1949 comedy films Films set in Harlem 1940s American films {{1940s-comedy-film-stub