Dear Meryem, See my book _Jammin' at the Margins_ (U of Chicago P, 1996) for a short essay on Murphy's _Black and Tan_ with Ellington. The film was the kind of selected short that regularly preceded mainstream movies in mainstream theatres. Rumor has it that it once preceded _King of Jazz_, a celebration of Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra. How's that for irony? I would also guess that a film like _Black and Tan_, with its straight linear narrative and familiar views of black culture, was regarded as "normal" during its time. Even the "avant-garde" camera work in which we see multiple images of the same action are strictly motivated as the point-of-view hallucinations of a woman with a heart condition. Best, Krin "Meryem C. Ersoz" <[log in to unmask]> on 03/25/98 06:33:53 PM Please respond to Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] cc: (bcc: Krin Gabbard/CAS) Subject: still chewin' that musical bone.... okay yawl... in my quest for the perfect teaching musical, I've become obsessed with BLACK AND TAN FANTASY, starring Duke Ellington and his Cotton Club Orchestra. It's got this sort of amazing intersection of influences--part Busby Berkeley, part German Expressionism.... The Kino collection, which recently released a 4-cassette collection of these jazz shorts, does not offer much in the way of liner notes for these films. (Or else, as is often the case, the liner notes have been lost through the circulation of the cassettes to careless library patrons--I'm not quite sure.) Dudley Murphy, who directed B & T, also directed EMPEROR JONES and helped Leger with BALLET MECANIQUE. That's about all I know so far...haven't had time to hep off to the library for more. But I'm wondering if anyone on the list knows anything about the intended audience of these Paramount shorts? Were they developed for white audiences interested in jazz culture? For black audiences? Were they "preview" films or main events? Were they considered avante-garde experiments or mainstream narrative films? Anyone? Meryem Ersoz University of Colorado-Denver ---- Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite http://www.tcf.ua.edu/screensite ---- Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite http://www.tcf.ua.edu/screensite