Lumsdal Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

arfdawg-1 THere are actually 3 different Cab Calloway movies made named Hi De Ho from 1934 to 1947.All black casts.It is surprising that these all black movies, depicting blacks as entertainers and professionals, not gangsters or criminals didn't provide a suitable role model to lift the black culture up.The movie has the slimmest of plots and the exposition just serves as breaks between Cab's musical numbers.Those are the only good part of the film, although it is a curious piece.The Plot.Bandleader Cab Calloway is tiring of his sexy girlfriend Minnie, who in turn is jealous of Cab's manager Nettie. When Nettie gets Cab a job at the Brass Hat Club, Minnie retaliates for his imagined infidelity by setting gangster Boss Mason, owner of a rival club, against him. Will she regret her action before it's too late? (This plot resolves halfway through the film; the rest is a series of 'soundies' featuring the Calloway band's inimitable jive). All-black cast.

mark-952 Cab Calloway is the center of this short film -- and just about the only thing it has to offer. As mentioned elsewhere, "Hi-De-Ho" is a genre piece weak on plot, acting and production alike. Folks who love the "King of Hi-de-ho", however, will relish his dancing, mugging, swinging and singing, oh singing! Uncredited in the opening titles except as "and his Orchestra" is a great line-up of jazz notables: Milt Hinton on bass and Cozy Cole on drums to name but two. If for no other reason, see "Hi-De-Ho" for the great big band numbers played as cool and hot as you could ask.

psteier The plot is thin and the acting is mostly wooden, but the real point of the movie is Cab Calloway's wonderful band and some specialty numbers, especially the finale that is the last third of the film.The best additional act is high powered tap dancing by Miller Bros. and Lois. Dusty Fletcher does his famous "Open the Door Richard" sketch in blackface. The Peters Sisters are curious but didn't do anything for me.

ippon-2 The best part of this movie were the dynamic tap dancing Millers. Unfortunately, they received very little credit.What was best about this film, were the early direction, acting and cinematography. The camera shots were amateurish, and crude. However, this added to the excitement of early black film genera. The acting was contrived, the plot line weak, and the characters one dimensional. If you like early black film, this one's a must see.If you are a film instructor this is a good example of the early attempt at story telling.