Duke Ellington

Semi-retired Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler takes the case of Army Lt. Manion, who murdered a local innkeeper after his wife claimed that he raped her....

Shortly before the curtain goes up the first time at the latest performance of Earl Carroll's Vanities, someone is attempting to injure the leading...

Nightclub entertainer Ruby Carter moves from St. Louis to New Orleans to escape Tiger Kid. At Ace Lamont's club, she gains fame but faces drama with...

Jeff grows up near Basin Street in New Orleans, playing his clarinet with the dock workers. He puts together a band, the Basin Street Hot-Shots,...

Duke Ellington & His Orchestra plus Sarah Vaughan & Her Trio live in Berlin. Featuring: Duke Ellington (piano), Sarah Vaughan (vocals), Harold Ashby...

Jazz Icons: Duke Ellington features the earliest-known filmed full-length concert by one of the 20th Century's greatest songwriters and bandleaders....

Duke Ellington plays hot jazz in a fictional story that finds him down on his luck; he tries in vain to dissuade his friend, dancer Fredi Washington,...

This short documentary by writer and archivist Ehsan Khoshbakht tells the story of Duke Ellington's concert tour of the Middle East in 1963 and the...

Documentary portrait of the legendary jazz bandleader. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation in 2000.

Duke Ellington and his orchestra play two jazz compositions plus 'Stormy Weather' (sung by Ivy Anderson).

A rising nineteen-year-old singer by the name of Billie Holiday made her screen debut in this musical landmark, which features Duke Ellington and his...

Agent Pete Garland is fired by society singer Monica Barrett after he got her a new radio contract, because she thinks her lawyer friend Teddy Leeds...

Duke Ellington at the piano conducts a group of puppet perfume bottles playing his "Perfume Suite."

With a unique style that encompassed soul, jazz and pop, Lou Rawls established himself as one of the premier voices of the modern musical age. This...

Duke Ellington and Orchestra perform 'C Jam Blues'.

Beverly Ross, the switchboard operator at a local radio station, jumps at the chance to be the DJ for an early morning show before the soldiers at a...

Duke Ellington and His Orchestra perform "Bli-Blip" with Marie Bryant and Paul White

Duke Ellington Orchestra performs "Mood Indigo" for Snader Telescriptions.

Duke Ellington Orchestra performing "Sophisticated Lady" for Snader Telescriptions film.

This remarkable DVD includes rare TV and film performances, an especially rare radio interview with Mike Wallace, an audio-only rehearsal session...

The story of The Blues traces the four main traditions of blues music: Form Blues, Blues, Urban Blues and Blues Electric. The blues has evolved and...

In 1999, on the occasion of the centenary of Ellington's birth, Franco Maresco commissioned Steve Lacy to perform ten songs by the Duke, which were...

This documentary film features plenty of archival material, also showing Alice Babs from her private side: as a vivacious lady who has held on to her...

Chronicling the Harlem Renaissance era, this retrospective documentary tracks the origins of the soulful music of the period, along with the...

Restored film directed by Josef Berne, released in 1942

1942 Short restored in true form

Restored film directed by Will Cowan in 1943

Short directed by Will Cowan as tribute to Duke Ellington

Restored Film released in 1943, directed by Jay Bonafield

Improvisational jazz performance filmed in 1950 by Gjon Mili plus Duke Ellington Trio filmed in July 1966, Count Basie at the Montreux Jazz Festival...

Whitey's Lindy Hoppers at their best along with Duke Ellington and his Orchestra performing for this "Hot Chocolate" musical short.

Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier travel down memory lane to see what life was like back in the 1920s. Harry Belafonte introduces this musical,...

Joined by the likes of saxophonist Ben Webster and trumpeter Cootie Williams, jazz giant Duke Ellington demonstrates in this collection of...

The Cold War and Civil Rights collide in this remarkable story of music, diplomacy and race. Beginning in 1955, when America asked its greatest jazz...

A made-for-TV musical revue, compiled from soundies and film and TV performances by jazz greats from the 1930s to the 1950s.

When compulsive gambler Little Joe Jackson dies in a drunken fight, he awakens in purgatory, where he learns that he will be sent back to Earth for...

Call him the Duke of Denmark, as this is the second superb Ellington performance recorded in that country to be released in 2003 alone. It's also an...

Director — and piano player — Clint Eastwood explores his life-long passion for piano blues, using a treasure trove of rare historical footage in...

Duke Ellington's fifty year career was full of accomplishments as a highly original pianist, arranger, prolific composer and leader of a timeless...

A star-studded tribute (from the creators of That's Entertainment) to the contributions of Afro-Americans in film over the last century. Vanessa...

Ossie Davis narrates a history of "race films," films made before 1950 which catered to a primarily black audience.

The history of New York City's Apollo Theater in Harlem is given the full treatment.

Amos and Andy trying to make a go of their "open-air" taxi business while they get caught up in a society hassle, involving driving musicians to a...

This 1952 recording includes 2 performances of Duke and his Orchestra, one on Jan. 7, 1952 and one on Aug. 12, 1952. 12 of his signature pieces are...

Gracie Allen assumes the "management" of the shop owned by her papa Horatio Allen, turning it into a radio station and then an aviary---with the...

In 1936, Victor H. Green (1892-1960) published The Negro Motorist Green Book, a book that was both a travel guide and a survival manual, to help...

In 1955, on his report, a medical examiner wrote in the box: age, “about 53 years”. Charlie Parker nicknamed Bird just died, at 34. His death...

Jazz and decolonization are intertwined in a powerful narrative that recounts one of the tensest episodes of the Cold War.

Profile of Duke Ellington featuring performances and interviews with the legendary bandleader. The performance footage was recorded in a number of...

A journey into the BBC archives unearthing glorious performances and candid interviews from the golden age of jazz. Featuring some of the greatest...

An aspiring singer is tasked with promoting the music catalogue of his great-grandfather, the famous songwriter Jimmy McHugh, recorded by everyone...

In this concert from his great European tour Duke gives a big band concert to be remembered in Brussel’s Marni Theatre. Featuring star soloists...

The rather dusty black-and-white footage, dating from the summer of 1966, opens with bikinis, beach umbrellas and Foster Grant-shaded sophisticates...

"This documentary film covers a 24-day arts festival in Dakar, Senegal that highlighted Black contributions to the cultural heritage of mankind and...

Founded in 1964 under the name Berliner Jazztage, Jazzfest Berlin is one of Europe's oldest and most renowned jazz festivals. In 1969, on the...

Parks makes himself the subject, tracing his development as a person and an artist through a non-narrative abstract self-portrait that combines his...

Carol Burnett hosts a look back at the storied Ed Sullivan Show, featuring reminiscences and legendary performances by stars from music and comedy.

Essentially an advertisement for Murder at the Vanities (1934). Features Chico Marx, W.C. Fields, Duke Ellington and many others.