London’s Famous Clubs and Cabarets: No. 2 -"Playtime at the Piccadilly"

Series

Series Name: Eve And Everybody’s Film Review

Issue

Issue No.

246

Date Released

18 Feb 1926

Length of issue (in feet)

950

Stories in this Issue:

Story

Story No. within this Issue

2 / 4

Section Title

London’s Famous Clubs and Cabarets

Summary

NoS Summary - Hank the Mule, Hal Sherman, Barry Oliver and Doreen Read, Don Parker and his Band at the Piccadilly.
NoS synopsis: "Under the bright light of our "Sunlights" and the persuasive strains of Don. Parker’s band, the dancers glide round the ballroom." The Don Parker band plays. "No Cabaret would be complete without "the girls". ("Put on your shoes, we’re goin’ to have fun," was their invitation.)" We see the dancers glide around the dance floor with a film light clearly visible in the foreground. Chorus girls do a routine involving high kicks and twirls. "But, before we could accept their invitation, Barrie Oliver and Doreen Read had something to show us -". They sing and dance in front of the band. "In other steps, Barrie was even faster -". Barrie does a fast tap dance by himself. "Just at this moment we nearly lost our Cameramen, for four other dancers appeared and sang "I want a lonely Romeo!". The girls do a high kick routine. "Then "Hank" the Mule appeared and had a quiet nibble at Mr. C. B. Cochran before doing his act -". He climbs on a table and nibbles at Mr C.B. Cochran. He walks around the stage, pretends to slip over, walks over a woman, then sits on her. ""More haste - less speed", say Hal’s famous feet." Hal Sherman (a short fellow) does a funny rubber legged dance. He pretends to be out of control of his feet. "So we turned on our "Slow" Camera just to see what his feet really could do -". We see his dancing in slow motion. He does lots of india rubber type movements.

Researcher Comments

British Pathe - All the costumes for this cabaret were designed by Dolly Tree.
A short handwritten shot list is present in the Pathe boxfile.

Keywords

Music and dance

Written sources

Kinematograph Weekly 25 February 1926 p64.
Pathe Inventory File Tin No.57
British Pathe Database 1997 Reference No. EP057
D. Gifford ‘Entertainers in British Films’ (Westport, 1998) p194.
Pathe Eve 246-280 Boxfile Issue sheet
National Film Archive Catalogue

Credits:

Production Co.: British Pathe Ltd.

Length of story (in feet)

420

This series is held by:

Film Archive

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