A Bundle of Blues Dudley, Bessie performer Hill, Florence performer Film 1933-09-01 Paramount Productions Short subject (SS) b&w 9:00 mins. (1 reel). "Bundle of Blues" made at the threshold of an era during which the "One-Reel Acts" and similar short film series by other studios would be produced in ever growing numbers, concentrating on big bands more than anything else. This short, with its elaborate staging and fine craftsmanship was an auspicious opener of this new phase in entertainment shorts. A brief piano introduction leads into "Rockin' In Rhythm" which was a fixture in Ellington's dance repertoire since first recorded in 1931. The film's main featured number is "Stormy Weather" sung by Ivie Anderson, with solos by Arthur Whetsol (tp) and Lawrence Brown (tb). "Bugle Call Rag" is the film's final number, a lively stomp version (with little of the comparative clumsiness of the original recorded by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings in 1922), and danced by Bessie Dudley and Florence Hill. Dudley, one of whose specialties was the "Shake" (an eccentric style that had been perfected by Earl "Snake-hips" Tucker, with whom she teamed in Ellington's next film, "Symphony in Black") a member of various Cotton Club revues and of Ellington's traveling troupe in theatre engagements; Hill was a noted chorus girl and shake dancer, and was regularly appearing with bands managed by Mills Artists, most notably the Mills Blue Rhythm Band under Baron Lee, at the State Theatre, NY (Variety 5/9/33 p44). Performing Arts Encyclopedia http://www.loc.gov/performingarts Strattemann, Klaus: Duke Ellington: Day by Day, Film by Film. Copenhagen: Jazz Media (1992). Tap Dance America http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/tda/tda-home.html tda IHAS 151216 loc.music.tda.1270