Weirdo Video Rare & authentic films of cultural, historical, and ironical significance.

A Jazz Etude

1930

A Jazz Etude

A Jazz Etude - Serendipitously Surreal

In this serendipitously surreal short “A Jazz Etude,” tap dance extraordinaire Billy Burt dances up a storm in top hat, tuxedo tail and cane. Is he floating? And that screwy soundtrack … a mishmash of ‘Flight of the Bumblebee,’ ragtime fills, and 1930’s jazz cliches, is remeniscent of Carl Stalling or Raymond Scott. Still, I […]

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California the Golden

1930

California the Golden

California the Golden - 1930

If you were taking a sea cruise from the Eastern Seaboard to the West Coast via the Panama Canal, this might be the film you’d see before disembarking in San Diego, Los Angeles, or San Francisco. An exquisite travel film documenting the magnificent landscape and locales of pre-WWII California, this film showcases classic school California, […]

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The Brown Sisters: Underneath the Harlem Moon

1930

The Brown Sisters: Underneath the Harlem Moon

The Brown Sisters: Underneath the Harlem Moon - 1930's

In this clip, the undocumented Brown sisters sing the number “Underneath the Harlem Moon.” The soulful trio starts the song slow and syncopated. But this gives way to an almost swingy up-tempo rhythm more than worthy of being captured on film.

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Jimmie Rodgers: The Singing Brakeman

1930

Jimmie Rodgers: The Singing Brakeman

Jimmie Rodgers in The Singing Brakeman - 1930

In 1930, Jimmie Rodgers was probably one of the hottest Americana pop artists in America. Five years later, he would be dead. Born in 1897, a native of Mississippi, Jimmie Rodgers, along with the Carter Family, would influence generations of country musicians to come as the Blue Yodeler with songs like “In the Jailhouse Now,” […]

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Frank Westphal’s Orchestra: Sing You Sinners

1920's

Frank Westphal’s Orchestra: Sing You Sinners

Frank Westphal's Orchestra: Sing You Sinners - 1930's

In this soundie from the early 1930’s, Frank Westphal’s Orchestra performs Sing You Sinners live on WENR Chicago. Westphal, a native to Chicago, began his career as a pianist-for-hire in vaudeville around 1910. It was during his time on the circuit that the up-and-coming performer met the great singer Sophie Tucker who hired him as […]

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