''Caldonia'' is a two reel American

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

short film directed by

William Forest Crouch William Forest Crouch (January 16, 1904 – March, 1968) was an American director and writer of film, mostly Short film, shorts. His work includes ''Reet, Petite, and Gone'' (1947) made with an all-African-American cast. He was active during the 1 ...

and released by

Astor Pictures Astor Pictures was a motion picture distribution company in the United States from 1930 to 1963. It was founded by Robert M. Savini (29 August 1886 – 29 April 1956). Astor specialized in film re-releases. It later released independently m ...

in 1945. The film stars musician

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as " the King of the Jukebox", he earned his high ...

and was produced by his manager Berle Adams. The film includes four songs performed by Jordan and his band: "Caldonia", "Honey Child", "Tillie" and "Buzz Me", which were also released individually by the

Soundies Soundies are three-minute American musical films, and each short displays a performance. The shorts were produced between 1940 and 1946 and have been referred to as "precursors to music videos" by UCLA. Soundies exhibited a variety of musical gen ...

Distributing Corporation of America. In 2008, a poster for the film was included on a

U.S. postage stamp Postal service in the United States began with the delivery of stampless letters whose cost was borne by the receiving person, later encompassed pre-paid letters carried by private mail carriers and provisional post offices, and culminated in a ...

in a set of five celebrating Vintage Black Cinema.

Synopsis

Louis Jordan and his band are on the way to Hollywood to make a film, but producer Richard Huey (Felix Paradise) and Jordan's girlfriend Caldonia (Nicky O'Daniel) convince him to remain in Harlem, promising that he'll will have a great movie career. The shoot gets foreclosed and Jordan loses his Hollywood contract as well as his girlfriend.

Production

The film was financed by Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) and cost "approximately $3,000 to produce". It was filmed in the winter of 1944 in New York.

Reception

The success of the ''Caldonia'' gave Jordan's film career a boost, leading to other film roles. ''Billboard'' (June 8, 1946) noted:

Louis Jordan's use of the film short, Caldonia, as an exploitation medium, differs from most ork promotional stunts in that it is in itself a direct source of revenue… So successful is Caldonia, and so promising the forthcoming 60-minute feature ''Beware'', that Jordan's manager, Berle Adams, has arranged for the leader to make two features a year for Astor Pictures. The Astor trick, which sets Jordan's flickers apart from the usual run of band shorts and features, is in its distribution. Astor has its own distrib set up… and can plant the Jordan movie directly ahead of him in practically every town he plays.

The stamp issued in 2008 was part of a Postal Service tribute to Vintage Black Cinema. "Vivid reminders of a bygone era stamps issued in that series were based on five vintage

movie posters A film poster is a poster used to promote and advertise a film primarily to persuade paying customers into a theater to see it. Studios often print several posters that vary in size and content for various domestic and international markets. The ...

. Whether spotlighting the talents of entertainment icons or documenting changing social attitudes and expectations, these posters now serve a greater purpose than publicity and promotion. They are invaluable pieces of history, preserving memories of cultural phenomena that otherwise might have been forgotten."

Cast

Although

Cab Calloway Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist ...

Doc Cheatham Adolphus Anthony Cheatham, better known as Doc Cheatham (June 13, 1905 – June 2, 1997), was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and bandleader. He is also the Grandfather of musician Theo Croker. Early life Doc Cheatham was born in Nashvi ...

Milt Hinton Milton John Hinton (June 23, 1910 – December 19, 2000) was an American double bassist and photographer. Regarded as the Dean of American jazz bass players, his nicknames included "Sporty" from his years in Chicago, "Fump" from his time on the ...

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Career Early life and career A native of Kansas City, Missouri, he studied violin, learned how to play blues on the piano from ...

have credited appearances according to some sources such as

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

, they do not appear in the film. The cast includes: *

& His

Tympany Five Tympany Five was a successful and influential American rhythm and blues and jazz dance band founded by Louis Jordan in 1938. The group was composed of a horn section of three to five different pieces and also drums, double bass, guitar and pian ...

: ** Louis Jordan, alto and tenor sax, vocal and bandleader ** Eddie Roane, trumpet ** William Austin, piano ** Al Morgan, string bass ** Alex "Razz" Mitchell, drums * Nicky O'Daniel (Caldonia) * Richard Huey (Felix Paradise) * Sam "Spo-De-O-De" Theard *

George Wiltshire George Wiltshire (also known as George Wilshire, born October 21, 1901 - died December 4, 1976) was an American character actor He appeared on stage, film, and television. He was perhaps best known for portraying Ed Smalls, the proprietor of famed ...

* Roxie Joynes (Performer) * Raymond Kaalund (Tap dancer) * Taylor & Harris (Dance team) * The Three Sun Tan Girls (Singers) * Joan Clark (Josie)

References

{{Louis Jordan 1945 films Astor Pictures films American black-and-white films African-American musical films 1945 musical films American musical films Jazz films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films