Hattie McDaniel & Willie Best - Ice Cold Katie | Thank Your Lucky Stars | Warner Archive

[@gilbertblaze]

Wow. So glad I found this. Great to see Hattie Not playing a Maid in this film. She looked so Regal all Dressed Up.

[@aaroncohoon5603]

I was thinking the same , they always rag her for maid roles but rarely speak on her roles outside of maids🤦🏽‍♂️

[@lisarandleman6141]

I agree. Beautifully executed. Costumes-excellent. Alas, the traditional black tropes on display.

[@diamondsr4marie]

I was surprised myself! A good surprise though! She was a talent!

[@austindreher2791]

Maid or upper class Hattie McDaniels BEAUTIFUL.

[@MsMrReason]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bV6knZ6go6mjmtE

[@tianrichards]

One of the few performance worth Ms. Hattie’s astronomical talent and respect she should have been offered more often

[@jwrielly]

p0

[@jwrielly]

⁰

[@DrMoorehen]

Here here

[@danjones3746]

My favourite actress 😀 She’s amazing x🥰

[@johnyzero2000]

Damn Hattie's a hell of a singer she's lungs of iron.

[@richardgraham5051]

Hattie McDaniel & Willie Best were each paid $50,000 ($756,000 in 2021) for their appearance in this film. They each donated all of it to The Hollywood Canteen, a club at 1451 Cahuenga Blvd. in Hollywood. The club had food, dancing, and entertainment, all for free, for Servicemen and Servicewomen only. It was open from October 3, 1942 to November 22, 1945 and was founded by Bette Davis and John Garfield. The salaries plus admissions to this film raised over $2M for the club.

[@chocolatesouljah]

I love it! I've never heard Hattie McDaniel sing. What pipes!

[@Juliaflo]

There was more to Miss McDaniel than her Oscar-winning performance in "GWTW'. She was a singer and songwriter.

[@agc2477]

McDaniel was a blues singer in the 20's. She was billed as "High-Hat Hattie".

[@tommoncrieff1154]

She was in Show Boat on stage and in the 1936 movie, both times opposite Paul Robeson.

[@chocolatesouljah]

Tom Moncrieff hello yes! I’m a big fan and I love all that she did her versatility! I’m glad to be in appreciative company.

[@Arthur_McGowan]

She sang in SONG OF THE SOUTH.

[@GottagitchaGROOOVEon]

I can honestly say, Everyone looks good in this video. 😃

[@LittleTut]

Wow! My mother, God rest her soul, 1921-2007, if you would see a particular photo of her, you would sworn it was her "calling cast card" for Hollywood producers. She and her sisters dressed just like the women depicted in this movie. Beautiful. :))

[@GottagitchaGROOOVEon]

@@LittleTut I'm sure she must've been a very beautiful woman. I pray that she's at rest with the Lord. 🙂👑

[@LittleTut]

@@GottagitchaGROOOVEon Bless you... I know she is. :))

[@lisahayden1355]

GottagitchaGROOOVEon I can’t

[@GottagitchaGROOOVEon]

@@lisahayden1355 Bye. ✌

[@robynalvin6319]

Gone With the Wind has come under so much fire in the recent weeks. She won an Academy award for her brilliant performance but she and the industry was criticized saying she only played a maid. Apparently, that’s not true. She was a wonderful woman and lived a wonderful life. Too bad so many people see the glass only half empty. That half empty glass doesn’t serve anyone well.

[@robynalvin6319]

Vivian Lee /Thank you for your comments!

[@gilgameshofuruk4060]

I've only seen GWTW once but my memory of it is that maid or not, Miss McDaniel played one of the only decent and genuinely good characters in it. All the others were schemers, con artists, cretins or bigots.

[@twc3546]

Hattie’s character was wise, she could see thru Scarletts southern belle facade and knew she was a scheming b-it-h underneath. Hatties friendship with Rhett was great. There’s a fun clip of her and James Cagney in a movie together showing their hilarious comradery. Also she sings with Paul Robeson in Showboat a tune called “Ah still suits me”

[@fliplinefungus]

I read somewhere that Hattie McDaniel said she'd rather make 700 dollars playing a maid than 7 dollars a week being one.

[@dale19532]

She had to sit at a back table for the Oscars, and wasn't allowed into the cinema for the premiere!

[@azucenathegysy]

she was a very talented women like alot of the black actors and actresses of her time!if hollyweird would have given these men and women of color i real chance iam sure that they would have more of their talent!

[@jessykapop]

I agree

[@johnlorenzen4633]

So agree.

[@girlfromthebronxbywayofelb7288]

Absolutely! In 2022 terms, there's a lot wrong with this number, but it is just wonderful anyway! Hattie McDaniel, it doesn't get better. Every voice inflection, every facial expression. The tapping, the most amazing wedding dress ever, yummy! The sardonic jokes hidden in the lyrics. I can't stop watching this!

[@anyaw340]

It wasn't Hollywood that wouldn't give them a chance. It was American society. Films featuring black actors in "normal" rolls did not do well much of the time, especially in Southern markets, because so much of America still only wanted to see black people on screen as buffoons in blackface or as maids.

[@Canerican.]

The level of talent here is astronomical ⭐️

[@Fandango541]

All I could do was smile with joy and pleasure seeing this wonderful clip. So much talent, so much wonderful music. Swingin' to the beat. Why do we not see more of these beautiful, talented stars of Hollywood?

[@witchsistah]

Racism

[@Anointed012]

They wouldn’t let black stars who most likely would have out performed and upstaged hollywood then. Racism

Southern audiences at the time didn't liked movies or scenes where blacks were treated equally, making studios often lose money having to cut these scenes or not releasing movies in some states, making the production of more stuff like this very difficult to happen :(

[@MikeBlitzMag]

As always, Hattie McDaniel is over the top brilliant in this magnificent performance. Absolute, utter perfection. She is greatly, greatly missed.

[@leverdia]

I love it! Its great to finally see a scene from old Hollywood that show cased the class and talent of black old Hollywood without anyone having to degrade or downplay themselves. I'm so impressed with Ms. Hattie. I never knew she was a singer, too. Thank you so much for sharing!😄♥️

[@leverdia]

@John Edwards lol! Thank you! Of course I've seen Lena Horne and Dorothy Dandidge movies. They were amazing, but their skin was lighter so of course they played classier roles. It is also great to have known that happened for the darker skinned ladies every now and then back then, too😊. Talent is talent no matter what.😉

[@aaronsarchive82]

@John Edwards Lena's performance in Stormy Weather is a highlight of classic Hollywood.

[@toomuchinformation]

@John Edwards In some ways, it's better then than it is now.

[@toomuchinformation]

@John Edwards But those scenes were cut when the film played in the South. So they were deliberately made irrelevant to the plot of the film so that they could be easily cut.

[@dwightpowell6673]

@John Edwards I can tell you are homosexual

[@hensonlaura]

The costumes, the glamour, the talent - wonderful!

[@kimways390]

Hattie McDaniel is a distant cousin of mine on my mother's side. Ms. Hattie is related to my grandfather. I'm very proud to claim her!!

[@kimways390]

@renkar820 thank you so much for your comment.

[@kimways390]

@Renkar820, hi. I love watching Hattie McDaniel act. I loved her in GWTW. I also think she's funny and her country english cracks me up. One of my favorite scenes in GWTW is when Rhett Butler gave her the red silk petticoat and she pulled her skirt up so he could see that she was wearing it....Lol!! Her brother acted with her as well in some movies. They acted together in the movie " The big lie" starring Bette Davis. I love watching old black and white movies. It was acting back then. It has certainly been a pleasure chatting with you. You're a breath of fresh air.

[@kimways390]

@renkar820 Wow!! I don't have enough personal family information on her to do that. I really wish that I did. My mother knew a lot of the family history and also my grandfather because Hattie was related to my grandfather. My mother and grandfather are both deceased now. My grandfather is the McDaniel. I wish that I would have realized the importance of family history back then growing up. It is so important especially with 'Royalty ' in the family...Lol!! Oh, by the way, I never heard of that movie with Hattie and Barbara Stanwyck. I'm going to have to look for it and watch it. Thank you so much for your interest.

[@kimways390]

@renkar820 I'm going to look for the movie with Hattie and Barbara Stanwyck on Netflix. I hope they have it. I really want to see it.

[@kimways390]

@renkar820 I sure will let you know. I hope that I can find it.

[@iamdynez]

The harmonies....❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@chocolatesouljah]

Those 1940s style close harmonies!

[@tracyskitchenandappalachia2954]

Black people at their finest. Fabulous outfits! 👍👍🙂🙂🎵🎼💜

[@jpmr611]

You mean back in the Jim Crow era?

[@tracyskitchenandappalachia2954]

@jpmr611 we still looked nice

[@mikeangelo6667]

Incredible talent, and what stage scenery!

[@arthursantel5180]

a stage set not aiming at realism but character, all this would have amazing in color :)

[@marvinmuonekejazz]

I recognised the song at first as the opening music for the 1944 Warner Bros. Cartoon. "Tom Turk and Daffy". But this is without a doubt, one of the most enjoyable musical sequences I've ever seen. And it's a wonderful pleasure to see the great Hattie McDaniel in a role different from a maid.

[@esmeephillips5888]

You could write a book about how Golden Age animators carried on a kind of mocking running commentary on their 'betters' in live-action feature films, by quoting from their scores. It gave moviegoers the pleasure of recognition while they were settling down for the main part of the programme.

[@karinamiddlebrooks2167]

I knew this song sound familiar.

[@cameronjournal]

That's a pretty impressive continuous shot at the beginning. This has so few cuts in it and probably was filmed as one continuous performance. That's talent folks.

[@jaymesguy239]

I had no idea Hattie could do that! Too bad she didn't have the chance to do that more in film.

[@scottstacey7447]

She sang in "Saratoga", which was Jean Harlow's last film in a group sing-a-long about a horse.

[@howardmoore1332]

@@scottstacey7447 Hattie McDaniel performed in night clubs and cabarets in between her movie gigs.

[@JoeLibby]

She also sings in the 1936 film of SHOW BOAT.

[@sandragailgoudelock1531]

I remember seeing this movie, " Thank Your Lucky Stars" when I was younger and was totally swept away w/the dazzling costumes the dancing and the feeling that we were at war and were one as a nation all contributing to the war effort. It was the only time I got to see Hattie dressed to kill in something fun and upbeat. I truly wish she had more opportunities but she did the best she could with what she had.

[@afrocentrkgypsy]

I came here after doing a search on Willie Best. This looks magnificent.

[@Gr8LilLady]

My search for Willie Best brought me here too.

[@WytZox1]

Willie was a regular on Stu Erwin's TV sitcom and was Charlie the elevator operator on My Little Margie! ☺

[@leebennett1821]

Actually Willie is resting in Valhalla i bet Odin was supprised

[@brittanylofton6826]

Me too!

[@theresaford3319]

AMAZING PERFORMANCE!

[@Frances6889]

Lovely! Never forget this brilliant actress

[@memprichard2611]

Awesome

[@wheretwowillgather4057]

Where has this been all my life??

[@gailjackson-chapman7085]

I love my black & white movies. There were quite a few stars in this movie 🎬 😘🥰😍❤️❤️

[@malorie8557]

I'm 30 and I am just in love with black and white films.

[@gailjackson-chapman7085]

Malorie I'm 64 and still watching them

[@independentfilmchannel1476]

Hattie was a belter! This vid offers a rare opportunity to see her display her musical talent. If there are more, I'd love to know about them.

[@queen_of_domination]

This was so brilliant. The artist value is like no other.

[@donaldleider7382]

When Hollywood knew how to make musicals!

[@witchsistah]

And be hella racist.

[@austindreher2791]

Love this ❤️. I'm 18 and I love the old movies. When the Actors had Talent and Class

[@Transit_my-way]

@Maria Don't Bow Down but it's true. Hollywood was extremely racist back then.

[@Transit_my-way]

@Maria Don't Bow Down I'm an atheist so I don't believe in God.

[@Transit_my-way]

@Maria Don't Bow Down are you flirting with me? 😉

[@patriceikome1507]

She makes me smile

[@noelmaldonado5117]

Patrice Ikome me 2

[@janettucker3196]

Talk about eye candy. My eyes got toothache! The energy, the 40's big band music, the direction, the performances-wow!

[@guggle86]

Hattie did indeed have a wonderful life, as a singer and actress, she was a very popular Blues singer on radio on the 1920;s and cut many records. Search for her in iTunes and Spotify and listen just how good she was. Clark Gable was one of the few white actors to be invited to her house parties. A rare talent and generous lady to friends and strangers alike.

[@Sandra-dz3nv]

Fantastic video. What a treasure...The stage setting, costumes, singing and dancing. Thank God for KZbin!

Damn I didn't know Hattie McDaniel could sing like that !!

[@maureentuohy8672]

So wonderful to see Hattie McDaniels displaying her many talents. She was a wonder!

[@dennyii5292]

WONDERFUL musical number....so much fun.

[@SoutherbBelle]

I'm jitterbugging in my seat. Yassss God lol :)

[@hornybodhisattva]

Kaza Luv u gotta watch it on ur big screen

[@brunoav6999]

Classy moves!!!

[@kenh.5903]

Beautifully lit gorgeous black and white and an amazing performance. Willie bests facial expressions were absolutely hilarious

[@feliperojasanchez]

Wow incredible!!! Better filmed than musicals nowadays! Amazing singers!!

[@lucky1206]

That was the most entertaining video I have seen all month if not all year. It gave me an insight on how the 1940's we're like and how talented everyone was back then

[@eavilla89]

Nothing short of a phenomenal performance!!!

[@94110mission]

Beautifully staged and shot! No one made musicals better than Hollywood. And all that talent! KZbin is the single greatest repository of African American culture on Earth.

[@RestlessSoulAD]

Unforgettable speaking voice, and the singing wowza!

[@shelleyannette]

I wish you had the whole movie saved. I'd love to see the entire movie.

[@deathmetal271]

Especially if it gets banned

[@antonmarino6568]

A classy woman who will always be remembered that she did everything in her own way. Will always be loved.

[@laceykeysha]

80 YEARS AGO! 🎉 wow, so beautiful to see today!!!

[@gillianwinnie7196]

This is such a beautiful piece . Love it

[@Gr8LilLady]

Amazing‼ I love both Legacies of Hattie McDaniels and Willie Best. R.I.P ❤🌹

[@lumiere7216]

BEAUTIFUL 💜💜💜 ♊♊ ❤️💜☮️ Peace 🕊️ love 💜and light 🌟

[@kittymervine6115]

few people know what a great voice McDaniel had. She was known first for her voice, so wonderful.

[@PJGRAND]

Fantastic

[@casualobserver3145]

Hattie? I couldn’t take my eyes off the back up singers, dancers and Miss “Ice Cold” Katie!! Wow, such Gorgeous women of the 40’s!!!

[@redbone8844]

Very pretty ladies I’m so intrigued of their beauty and class back then!!

[@carolynkingsley4421]

Great entertainer. She had talent that Hollywood barely tapped.

[@mylesburris3885]

Today is October 15th 2018, this is absolutely fantastic!!! From the singing to the costumes to the set design, the music ... just everything is wonderful! I think I met ""ice-cold-Katie a few years back!!! Lol

[@arminjamesrashidy994]

God bless her may she Rest In Peace ✌🏽

[@mark-j-adderley]

Extraordinary production. Magnificent choreography, splendid singing, wonderful camerawork, great costumes and an all round good time had by everyone. 😁🍾🥂🎂💃🏽🎷🎺

[@TheUglyMan]

What a voice

[@redbone8844]

Beautiful ladies and Hattie taking the spotlight as usual!

[@cindysmith765]

What a incredibly complex routine. Mind boggling . Wonderful.

[@lumiere7216]

Right?!?! Nobody is twerking, nobody is having saggy pants and calling anybody a N word! Everyone is just singing and having a good time. No guns and no fighting ✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿

[@margaritadikanti9062]

Yes! There is so much talent here :-)

[@petitelapin60]

Wow didn't know Hattie could sing! What a talent Love her! Great scene Want to see the whole film! Thanks for sharing!

[@TheRach995]

Everyone in this is so talented & coordinated, mad respect for these actresses and actors

[@paulakeenan9377]

I love Hattie McDaniel. She was a great talent.

[@Anewuser_6282]

Lighting is perfect and skin tones captured well

[@crixxxxxxxxx]

1:46 - sounds like he could be James Earl Jones’ dad.

[@eamonndeane587]

James Earl Jones actually played Paul Robeson in the Stage Play 'Are You or Have You Ever Been'.

[@jamie1707]

So nice seeing Hattie playing something other than a maid. Who knew she could sing and dance? I'm so glad I stumbled upon this.

[@jayrosen6663]

What a talented actor and a grand lady as well!!!!

[@nokomarie1963]

A ton of talent on that stage.

[@Kenikex]

Fantastic number, love Hattie. Big fan.

[@rgs6236]

This had me smiling from ear to ear 😊

[@valeriecampbell9581]

I want Katie's dress

[@wheninrome345]

Ice-Cold Katie. 😀😀😀😀

[@isisabdullah6814]

very nice and elegant, marvelous material cut to her shape, lovely fitting ice cold sharp to the Tee

[@ceeceetracey9839]

Their shoes are something else too. U see the trio of female singer's shoes?

[@stuartperry1047]

Ice Cold Katie- was played by Rita Christiani, a dancer with Katherine Dunham's Troupe. She was also a dead ringer for Mike Tyson's second wife- Monica.

[@ceeceetracey9839]

@@stuartperry1047 Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[@davidnelson7972]

I always loved these guys in the movies - they were just real people to me that brought fun and enjoyment to their parts. Willie was always great to see.

[@Bella-bn2lq]

Thank you Lindsay Ellis for including a 2 second clip of this in a video and making me search for it

[@esmeephillips5888]

The connections between Hollywood and the earlier days of 'experimental' cinema are sporadic. I have only just realized that the star of Maya Deren's dreamlike short, 'Ritual in Transfigured Time', looking scared and subfusc rather than haughty and glamorous, is none other than Katy! Her name was Rita Christiani. She was from Trinidad, like Minnie, born 1917. The Deren film (1946) was her last after several specialty spots in mainstream movies such as this. Died 2008.

Wow, that was fabulous! The moves and choreography seemed at least 10 years ahead of its time, if not 15 years. Wonderful stuff!

[@chezcrisden5999]

they certainly are kickn' it.... Imagine having this song and movie-- out today; Hattie? Fantabulous :)

[@playersloucoss]

That time when my grandma’s born, wow so different she was born on the 10th March in 1943

[@jovyjovy7328]

That gentleman playing the groom sure can act!!!

[@esmeephillips5888]

Willie Best was much in demand as a character man who could inject a little of his own into any part, transcending the stereotyped roles as a slow-witted and shiftless guy to which he was confined. He was always in work, racking up 120 movie credits and many more in TV.

[@pinky-ud1rt]

I just love this nice to see my people with there talent hattie is just amazing. She was to good to be playing a maid all the time bless her

[@Anointed012]

They are so stunning to look at ! And they look just like us today.

[@hcombs0104]

By 1947 she was the star of The Beulah Show. Two years later she was on TV with Ed Wynn, doing a Sophie Tucker impression. It should still be on KZbin.

[@TheRcooper2]

I love this. Lots of talent here.

[@leeinvegas]

Just love Hattie she died way to young . Your style was yours alone .

[@lumiere7216]

@Harold Potsdamer She passed from Breast Cancer not Obesity!

[@aaronbuffalo7769]

@@lumiere7216 eh, obesity does cause cancer though, plus the heart issues and mild stroke. But generally speaking , its not great for your health, but being a heavy set woman with such an abundance of character and talent, she was a fantastically extraordinary person.

[@hemming57]

Willie Best was killed in a car wreck

[@esmeephillips5888]

Nope. He passed at the Motion Picture Country Home. Cancer took him in 1962, aged 48.

[@lukesaki1211]

Willie Best. What a dude. RIP Sleep n' Eat.

[@dudley5533]

What a great lively video! Hattie at her best using her numerous talents. The singing and dancing by the rest of the cast is priceless, such a nice contribution for the morale of the military men during WWII. Like the quick cameo by S.Z. Sakall.

[@LittleTut]

Wow! My mother, God rest her soul, 1921-2007, if you would see a particular photo of her, you would sworn it was her "calling cast card" for Hollywood producers. She and her sisters dressed just like the women depicted in this movie. Beautiful. :))

[@jojo-ir9um]

This was amazing...what talent everyone shows in this film...I would love to see the whole video..

[@Lokie-cd2hw]

Perfect timing, everyone hit their mark perfectly.

[@stevecrow7020]

R.I.P. HATTIE YOU ARE TRULY MISSED.

[@donnar3612]

Loved this! Absolutely exquisite performances ❤️❤️

[@mattrussillo4587]

Regardless of its context, her performance in Gone With the Wind was also undeniably fantastic. She got an Emmy for it and deserves the credit. I didn't realize she could sing!

[@esmeephillips5888]

Oscar. No Emmys then, and not much TV.

[@michaelbuttcher2956]

Fabulous! actors at their finest !!!! Hattie McDaniel my favorite of all times , Amazing actress their are non like her .....WELL loved Cicley Tyson another one the greats and favorite of mine !

[@leemclaury6251]

I just love Hattie .

[@kelleyfisher6932]

Wow! The singing and costumes-this looks colorful even in black and white.

[@kentuckylady2990]

Such great talent. I love this. Hattie, what a surprise.

[@stephanebelizaire3627]

Vivat for Mrs Hattie McDaniels !

[@vezner]

Great music! I miss musicals from the 40s and 50s.

[@kathitownsend3857]

Wonderful actress. So much easier, then, to live.

[@itsthehumor95]

Would love to see this one live. This number is great.

[@corvusdelicti8853]

Beautiful men and women, beautiful costumes, choreographed with amazing energy.

[@CKBrooke]

Lexicon Valley sent me here and I do not regret it. Wow, wow, wow, what a number!