Cab Calloway's Jitterbug Party

Cab Calloway’s Jitterbug Party’s is a perfectly serviceable musical short that needed some visual imagination to match the high-octane energy of the music and performers. Cursed with a point-and-shoot style that several early sound musicals are doomed with, Jitterbug Party nearly undermines the swinging good time promised by Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra. Leave it to Calloway’s rapid-fire vocal technique and manic movements to keep you engaged. It’s also notable for historical import: a very young Lena Horne appears as a chorus girl during the final scene.