The Black Bottom (1927)

The dance craze of 1926-7, supposedly based on the movements of a cow stuck in deep mud! Silent film accompanied by a contemporary recording of the tune. How comic it is that this is danced by white people posing as upper-class! And how comic is the man's white make-up. Is this a fashion of the times, or due to Mr Pilcer's having a red complexion, which the film of the time would have rendered as almost black? And what does it tell us that this might have mattered? / La danse à la mode de 1926-7, accompagnée par en enregistrement contemporaine de la musique.

[@watchingover3592]

The music in this film, whether added later or in the original , was written by my grandfather Ray Henderson. I don’t know the origin of the dance - as some say by blacks - but my grandfather was white and this was a very popular song in the 20’s. He wrote it with his partners DeSilva , Henderson and Brown and they had a string of Broadway hits in the 20’s and 30’s and Black Bottom was one of the songs in a show.

[@stephenpapworth4105]

Many thanks for this information.

[@petraroch8510]

Ever appropiating...

[@richardmagnuson2131]

Very interesting. The internet can offer interesting information that we otherwise would never know. Thanks.

[@janicesmith2475]

@@petraroch8510 😏 Yup

[@KarmicSalt]

@@petraroch8510 ever whining

[@connywelch5192]

My parents were married in 1928, did they see this? They loved the music and the movies of the times- l wonder if they did actually see it. If not, l know they experienced much like it because my mother was great at dancing the Charleston and she thought me! They were married 71 years. Now l am 76, l would love to see more from the Roaring 20’s. They were in their later years two quiet, strong people who had survived being northeastern US citizens of long family lines. They did very big things for this nation. My dad was a very important officer in the U S Army who was stationed in Persia during WWII, my mother kept the home front strong. He was a military attaché so he had to stay months after the war was over to liquidate U S interests there. They were older and it was a miracle that l was born and survived four months in incubators to go on and be a teacher of hundreds and raise their grandchildren and great grand children. People never know or can even imagine what the future will be for them and theirs!!! Imagine…. These comments all arose just from seeing these two happy people dance their hearts out so long ago.

[@connywelch5192]

P.S. My dad was a Colonel in the U S Army.

[@joshbenda351]

loving that dress! trumpet-flared skirt trimmed with ostrich feathers - and it moves beautifully.

[@UkuleleOgee]

Very Interesting film clip of an early era. The white makeup of the male dancer was probably a technical and/or an artistic consideration. Makeup was used, necessary in early black and white film/TV. The male dance was a comic presentation "Long Hair'. Burlesque, stage performers used makeup to make comic/dramatic expressions more visible. Howard Lanin and His Orch. was one of the best "White" Jazz bands through the 1920s.

[@kfl611]

A lot of 'screen stars' had to wear very strange makeup, to show up on the film correctly, as the film was not very sensitive. They wore black lipstick, and lots of eye makeup or they would have looked washed out. I think a lot of times it was a contrast thing, to show nicely on film on playback.

[@FNTPAUnderwriting-fc1qx]

Note the difference between the way women dressed on the Titanic in 1912 and how they looked 17 years later. So many cultural changes, largely though not entirely because of World War I (1914-1918) - partly technological (cars, telephones, radio, electric refrigerators), social (women voting, playing sports), probably a feeling among young people that they were trying to leave as much of the 19th century behind as possible!

[@autisticflapper]

The lady's facial expressions are so beautiful.

[@1928jazz]

The music added later is the song Black Bottom, recorded by Lou Gold and his Orchestra with vocal by Irving Kaufman.

[@duckbaker6604]

Black bands did perform for rich white folks during the jazz age. Rex Stewart's "Boy Meets Horn" has some great accounts of this. Worth noting that the soundtrack is a "contemporary" recording by a white band. A very good one, to be sure, but we can only wonder what the band here sounded like!

[@ClairDeLume]

Very cool video!! My great grandmother was born in 1927. I just sometimes wish she could remember more from that era, but then again she was a baby, lol.

[@Terry-te1ij]

How could she possibly remember the Roaring 20s if she was born in 1927?

[@ClairDeLume]

@Terry Never said she could. That is why I said, “she was a baby.”

[@alejandroevl5890]

Your grandmother is too old

[@user-lo1rk4ep7b]

100 лет назад! Просто фантастика!

[@juanperezmaturana3675]

My loved mom is 99 years old. She was 4 y. by then.

[@cynicalandrealistic2678]

How wonderful and what a beautiful era

[@bill-2018]

Nice to see this. I have this tune on a 78 r.p.m. record.

[@rickybutler2826]

Ann Pennington became famous for her rendition of The Black Bottom dance. I assume it is the same dance..sort-of.

[@kmterpin]

In all of France, nay, in all the world, these are the two best dancers they could come up with??😳

[@roderickfernandez5382]

I've been looking for some time to see what the black bottom really look like not a high-school black bottom but the real thing and the fact that you slowed it down so that I actually know how to do the steps and how it was done thank you so much I mean it wasn't nearly as exuberant as the Charleston but I guess it was a crazy anyway thanks again

[@nevittwoods1730]

everything before the 20s seems like a load of rubbish,, cars helped speed stuff up

[@petraroch8510]

Sorry nope sanitized for white audience.

[@Matty06001]

Uuuuck, Harry doesn’t look like he knows what he’s doing! Goodness. HA, the girl is smiling and counting for him! Looks like he didn’t rehearse at all.

[@eyecomeinpeace2707]

This was absolutely amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@tstrini1]

Music almost certainly added later.

[@StephendelRoser]

Yes, the original film is silent, and I added a 1920s recording of the music.

[@bigred8432]

No you think?! 🙄

[@duckbaker6604]

@@StephendelRoser - you did find something that matched, and that's a good record, but oh, to have heard the band seen in the film!

[@simon23]

This female dancer, Jenny Golder committed suicide one year later in 1928.

[@arnoldbradford8438]

TOTALLY unlike the polka!

[@juliamcintyre5012]

Glad you've woken up!

[@lindafitak]

A small black jazz band is seen playing in the film but the music heard sounds like it is a large white dance orchestra. The music sounds like it was added later to the film. I wish I could hear the music the black jazz band was playing in the film.

[@stephenpapworth4105]

You’re quite right about the music. Aa y suggestions for improving it would be welcome.

[@margi9103]

It would have been a silent film when originally shown, but the music heard by the audience would have been from musicians on site in the theatre or a recording played on a phonograph.

[@tommunyon2874]

See the roots of the 'jazz box step.'

[@artatoosa]

do you know who is the director?

[@DFerrante-nz6sk]

Interesting and fun😊

[@kangadillo]

I think I've heard this music with different words. Isn't there a song called "The Varsity Drag?"

[@Mignarda]

Yes, there is a song called "The Varsity Drag" but while the two songs have a similar overall sound, they are quite different.

[@descsnseempazqueasuamusica687]

Boa noite tempo bom.

[@jourwalis-8875]

I don´t get it. What has "swedish gymnastics" with this to do? And this french caption is not even translated into english!

[@LarsCarlsen-or6ky]

Not graceful, like a waltz.....

[@Mignarda]

Some Swedish couple dances like the Hambo and Slängpolska can be quite athletic.

[@anelesaneles4364]

Каким интересным может быть фокстрот

[@monakat8517]

High on drugs

[@MaisAnimado]

Os músicos são negros? Isso já deixa mais interessante.

[@FREELEOONE]

No images of Black people dancing The Black Bottom? This is a mess.

[@marchall230]

OMG! I have searched page after page and NO video of Black people dancing The Black Bottom! Whitewashing anyone?

[@arianrhodhyde7482]

@@marchall230 it was a segregated country back then. Apparently even in the 30s and 40s if black dancers were in a scene (see hellzapoppin for a fabulous example), the scene would always be written in such a way that it could be edited out when the film was shown in the south.

[@casparpolitman]

in france it was danced by black people, of course footages of night life in Paris in the 1920s are VERY SCARCE, war and lack of care destroyed ALL

[@marchall230]

@@cynicalandrealistic2678 WHAT are you talking about and WHY are you talking to me? FOH!

[@cynicalandrealistic2678]

@@marchall230 oh sorry

[@brianevans4200]

The dancers are too stiff - especially him. Not exactly Fred and Ginger!

[@alexlebron8384]

Only reason she was able to dance was because she’s

[@AlistairKiwi]

Surely the most milquetoast version of this dance...

[@user-nj8wz2de7x]

Ok, but it's still the worse dancing of the time..lol

[@kennethsandford2264]

They stole this dance from the blacks it was the black bottom dance

[@gunnarthorsen]

The name of the dance is right at the top of the page, and no, it wasn't "stolen". Even in the early 20th century the origin of this dance was known. Enough already with "cultural appropriation" nonsense. The fact that non-blacks enjoyed black creations like jazz, ragtime and dances like the Cake Walk, the Black Bottom the Texas Tommy, and the Twist, benefitted black entertainers, composers and musicians in particular, and the black community as a whole, helping to dispel stereotypes and showing the world that blacks were and are a creative people too. These things in the U.S. became AMERICAN things that all could enjoy, and yes, there is(or was) an "America culture" which all groups contributed too, though today so much emphasis is put on each group celebrating itself (and God help you if you "steal" from that group) that we've lost sight of that. Does it annoy you that blacks also enjoy music, dance and fashion that were created by whites? Is it "stealing" when a black man wears a tuxedo or a black woman plays Bach on the piano? If black music and dance is only supposed to be enjoyed by black people, isn't that a reverse-ghetto way of thinking? Take off those race based glasses and put on a pair of HUMAN ones. "They stole this dance" my foot.

[@clubhead433]

@@gunnarthorsen You are right. I loooooooooooove the Players' Association, an all white-jazz funk outfit and they are BAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!!!! OMG! One of my favorite bands. Never knew they were white as they always had a beautiful Black model on the cover o their LPs and never had a band pix on any of their releases.

[@duckbaker6604]

They gave credit, though I suspect the original dance didn't look like this.

[@rossibonugli]

“Stole” is a rather harsh way of saying it. The dance may have been created by black culture but like most things it morphs into a different dance while maintaining its roots in the original

[@lindafitak]

A small black jazz band is seen playing in the film but the music heard sounds like it is a large white dance orchestra. The music sounds like it was added later to the film. I wish I could hear the music the black jazz band was playing in the film.

[@paperprincess1050]

Musicians great dancing boring

[@keidumps]

lol corny as hell

[@EricBrownBey]

Bye, this is fun. Stop hating and being salty.

[@user-ih6vs3eg3o]

And tik tok isn’t?

[@thekingofmoney2000]

Such a hater

[@mastodon.social]

Follow the...Pathe...

[@andriucon_iu]

name of girl?

[@redfire20003]

Jenny Golder

[@randomuser1105]

Pretty sure it's a woman.