The Call of the Jitterbug (1988)

Documentary 1988 Jesper Sorensen, Vibeke Winding, and Tana Ross. Produced by Green Room Productions.

35 min. sd. color with black and white sequences.

The Call of the Jitterbug, which takes its name from the Cab Calloway song, is one the best documentaries of Lindy Hop produced so far. It includes oral history interviews with Norma Miller, Frankie Manning, and other dancers and musicians including Dizzy Gillespie. It contains excellent old footage, including most of the clips listed in this archive. It has more clips from Mura Dehn’s The Spirit Moves than any other documentary. The Call of the Jitterbug is available through the Filmakers Library and costs a lot– around $200! Try to interest your local library or your swing society in ordering it or look into renting it for a group event.

Cast:

Margaret Batiuchok David Thorton Carnes-Butts Darlene Chandler Congaroo Dancers Bill Dillard Sandra Gibson Richard Harris Delilah Jackson Roe Edward Johonson George Lloyd The Mama Lu Parks Dancers Frankie Manning Norma Miller Mama Lu Parks Sugar Sullivan-Niles Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers Deborah Youngblood

This content was originally written by Judy Pritchett with Frankie Manning. Copyright, 1995, 1996, 1997 for savoystyle.com. It may not be reproduced without written permission. Please use the contact form on this website to get in touch. This was originally part of the World Lindy Hop Federation Archives of biographies and films created by Keith Hughes.