Comedy Cake Walk

SUMMARY
Five African Americans--three men and two women--perform an exaggerated cakewalk in fancy evening clothes. Two of the men wear formal black tie in tuxedos with tails, while the third wears a gray tux of shiny material with an extremely long overcoat and exaggerated cuffs. All have matching top hats and canes. The women wear highly decorated hats and tight-fitting, frilly dresses of only mid-calf length, with one hand on their hip pulling up that side of the skirt. Two couples step in time against a white background as the third, center man prances forward and executes a comedic, wobbly-kneed step. He then moves back to lead the others in the strutting around the stage, all the time spinning and prancing among them. As the couple to stage left jaunt past the camera, the woman pauses to hitch up her stocking. The man in the gray suit on the right twirls his cane and struts toward the camera with his partner; they then pause on opposite sides of the frame. The woman kisses a handkerchief she is holding in one hand and flirtatiously throws it on the ground. As the man smiles knowingly and reaches for it, however, the woman yanks the fabric back to her on a string. Both laugh and continue strutting. All five dancers then return to a line and start a fancy step towards the camera.

From Biograph picture catalogue [MI]: 28 feet. Amusing cake walk of three men and two women in costume, showing the usual antics that occur in affairs of this kind.

CREATED/PUBLISHED
United States: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, 1903.

NOTES
Copyright: American Mutoscope & Biograph Co.; 11May1903; H31675.

Filmed at the Biograph New York City studio, perhaps on the roof.

SUBJECTS
Dance, Black--United States.
Afro-American dance--United States.
Dancers--New York (State)--New York.
Silent films.
Dance.
Vaudeville.
Black films and programs.
Shorts.

RELATED NAMES
American Mutoscope and Biograph Company.
Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)

DIGITAL ID
(m) varsmp http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/varstg:@field(NUMBER+@band(varsmp...))

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• library
• congress
• silent
• dance
• vaudeville