Nat "King" Cole Movies

From Kultur comes this documentary that looks at the Harlem Renaissance through the music that defined the era. Harlem Renaissance: The Music & Rhythms That Started a Cultural Revolution includes performances of such songs as Cab Calloway's "Minnie the Moocher," Fats Waller's "This Joint Is Jumpin'," Bill "Bojangles" Robinson's "Let's Scuffle," Lena Horne's "Friday Night," and many others. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

The 1940s was a monumental decade for the United States. Amid World War II, economic recovery, and the start of the Cold War, American music provided a soundtrack to a generation. The Music Classics line from MPI Home Video attempts to offer the chance to relieve the era with a ten-volume series of restored film footage featuring performances by many of the 40's most revered artists. Among the musicians who appear in this seventh entry in the series are Monica Lewis, Count Basie, Johnny Downs, Carol Stevens, and Nat King Cole. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Oscar Peterson: Music in the Key of Oscar documents the career of the respected jazz pianist Oscar Peterson. The film combines interviews with the man and many of the people with whom he worked, archival footage, and a great deal of music in order to show how Peterson grew from a teen star into one of the most admired players in the genre with the help of his Oscar Peterson Trio. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

One of the best and most popular musicians of the 1950s and '60s, Nat "King" Cole was the first African-American entertainer to host his own television series, and many of the great musical talents of the day stopped by his studio to appear on The Nat "King" Cole Show. The Incomparable Nat King Cole is a collection of highlights from Cole's acclaimed series, including appearances by Sammy Davis Jr., Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Belafonte, Oscar Peterson, the Mills Brothers, Coleman Hawkins, and Stan Getz, and performances of such timeless classics as "Unforgettable," "Mona Lisa," "Sweet Lorraine," "Almost Like Being in Love," "The Christmas Song," and "A Blossom Fell." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The upbeat big band sounds and performances of the 1940s, originally called "Soundies," which were viewed on a Panoram machine. Highlights include Spade Cooley and his Western Dance Gang, Lawrence Welk and his orchestra performing "Nobody Knows How Much I Love You," and an appearance by Ozzie Nelson. ~ All Movie Guide

A mix of comedy, dance and musical performances is featured in this installment of Storyville Films Jazz Legends series. Among the songs in Variety at the Apollo are "Only a Moment Ago" by Dinah Washington, "Mona Lisa" by Nat King Cole, and "Minnie the Moocher" by Cab Calloway and the Cabaliers. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

In the Storyville Films series Harlem Roots, the fourth film deals with a more upbeat tempo. The popular "Soundies," which were short music programs featuring popular stars at the peak of their careers, were produced between 1941 and 1947. In Harlem Roots, Vol. 4: Jivin' Time, Nat King Cole performs "Got a Penny, Benny," Dorothy Dandridge sings "Zoot Suit," Mabel Lee does "Chicken Shack Shuffle," the Musical Madcaps offer "Rhythm of the Rhythm Band," and Dallas Bartley is "Cryin' and Singin' the Blues." ~ Alice Day, All Movie Guide

This video captures the sounds of Nat Cole, the Mills Brothers and the Delta Rhythm Boys with titles such as "You Call It Madness" (Cole), "Paper Doll" (Mills Bros.) and "Take the 'A' Train" (Delta Boys). ~ All Movie Guide

This musical spoof of Westerns featured Lee Marvin in dual roles that won him a Best Actor Oscar. Jane Fonda stars as the title character, a prim schoolmarm returning to her hometown of Wolf City, Wyoming, after receiving an Eastern education. On the train ride, Cat meets up with a pair of friendly, charming crooks, Clay Boone (Michael Callan) and his uncle, Jed (Dwayne Hickman), the former becoming hopelessly smitten with the naive but tough Cat. Upon arriving home, Cat discovers that her eccentric father, Frankie (John Marley), is being threatened with bodily harm by a development company that desperately wants his land. When Frankie is murdered by ruthless, noseless killer Tim Strawn (Marvin), Cat straps on a pair of six-shooters and persuades Clay, Jed, and her father's loyal Native American hand Jackson Two-Bears (Tom Nardini) to sign on as her posse. In her quest for revenge, Cat also recruits Kid Shelleen (also played by Marvin), a one-time fearsome gunslinger who's now a hopeless alcoholic. Cat Ballou (1965) is interspersed throughout the narrative with appearances by Stubby Kaye and Nat King Cole as a pair of balladeers who comment on the action musically in Greek chorus style. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Scripted in another era, the premise for this interesting though conventional drama defending a partially mixed marriage would not be as convincing a few decades later. Chuck Nelson (John Drew Barrymore) is a wealthy young man who travels South of the border and meets and then marries Ginny (Julie London). His new bride is a wonderful woman until Chuck's socialite mother (Agnes Moorehead) discovers that one of Ginny's grandparents was of African ancestry. The imperious mother-in-law lands the new couple in an embittered court battle as she makes every attempt to annul their marriage. Nat "King" Cole plays Ginny's uncle, and Anna Kashfi is Maria, her cousin. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Writer-director Samuel Fuller applies his kino-fist to this raw-boned war drama -- one of the first American films to deal with Vietnam. The film concerns the battle between the Vietnamese and the Chinese, through the efforts of a small band of soldiers to locate and destroy a hidden communist arms depot. Gene Barry stars as Sgt. Johnny Brock, the cynical leader of the patrol, who is an American Korean War veteran. Leading the expedition to find the munitions dump is the half-Asian Lucky Legs (Angie Dickinson), Brock's ex-wife. One of Brock's less-endearing qualities is his rabid racism -- he can't accept the fact that their five-year-old son is completely Oriental in appearance. The other members of the patrol are also haunted by past memories -- Goldie (Nat "King" Cole) is a veteran of Korea and World war II who hates war and wants to see peace at all costs; Corporal Pigalle (George Givot) is an ex-French gendarme who doesn't like taking orders; and Private Andreades (Gerald Milton), is a hard-nosed Greek expatriate. When the patrol arrives at the compound, they are greeted by Major Cham (Lee Van Cleef), the communist commander who immediately falls in love with Lucky Legs -- complicating the situation immensely. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

The Scarlet Hour was a relatively bold experiment for a mid-1950s Paramount release. The studio expended a great deal of money on the project and enlisted the services of top-flight director Michael Curtiz -- then populated the cast with young unknowns. Carol Ohmart and Tom Tryon (yes, the future novelist) star as Paulie and Marsh, respectively the film's villainess and protagonist. Knowing that Marsh is hopelessly in love with her, Paulie uses him as a dupe in an upcoming jewelry heist. Only after a killing has occurred does Marsh come to his senses. Jody Lawrance, whose previous career as a Columbia contract player had led nowhere, is "introduced" as the good girl to whom Marsh eventually retreats. Other comparative newcomers in the cast include Elaine Stritch, James Gregory and Edward Binns. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide