Ebony Parade Explained

Ebony Parade
Producer:	William Forest Crouch
Starring:	Cab Calloway Count Basie The Mills Brothers Vanita Smythe Mantan Moreland Ruby Hill Francine Everett Dorothy Dandridge Pat Flowers
Distributor:	Astor Pictures
Runtime:	30 minutes
Country:	United States
Language:	English

Ebony Parade is a 1947 American musical compilation film made from footage of African-American performers.^[1] The three-reel film featured jazz music from many acts (usually from soundies) with interstitial segments featuring Mantan Moreland as a comedic magician.^[2] Advertised as including 20 great stars, it was an Astor Pictures release. The National Museum of African American History and Culture has a poster for the film.^[3] Getty Images also has an image of a poster from the film.^[4]

Cast

• Cab Calloway
  • Count Basie The Mills Brothers
    • • • • • • • Vanita Smythe Mantan Moreland Mable Lee Ruby Hill Francine Everett Dorothy Dandridge Pat Flowers Day, Dawn, and Dusk The Jubalaires^[3]

Notes and References

1. Web site: EBONY PARADE. Library of Congress.
2. Pitts, Michael R. “Astor Pictures: a Filmography and History of the Reissue King, 1933-1965.” Astor Pictures: a Filmography and History of the Reissue King, 1933-1965, McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2019, p. 64.
3. Web site: Poster for Ebony Parade. National Museum of African American History and Culture.
4. Web site: Photo of Count BASIE and Cab CALLOWAY and FILM POSTERS; Ebony Parade -. Getty Images.