Cab Calloway Home Movie #2: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A compilation reel of silent, black-and-white home movies featuring Cab Calloway and his family at their home in Long Island, NY and at the beach. (N.B. Original footage has exposure irregularities). It consists of 16mm film (2015.273.2.2.1a), an original 400-foot film reel (2015.273.2.2.1b), and original 400-foot film can (2015.273.2.2.1c).

The first two shots of the film were captured in front of the Calloway home. The first depicts Zulme "Nuffie" Calloway, Cab Calloway's wife, holding one of their children, and the second shows the local milkman dropping off milk. This is followed by shots of Mrs. Calloway and an unidentified woman exiting an unidentified building. The next shot captures an unidentified woman showing off one of Calloway's children for the camera. An overexposed section follows. The subsequent series of shots depict Calloway napping with one of his children in a hammock as an unidentified older woman sits next to them. This is followed by a sequence focused on Calloway's children, a toddler and an elementary-school-aged boy, and the unidentified older woman. The three individuals pose for the camera in different positions. Mrs. Calloway also appears in several shots. The next series again focuses on the toddler at a gathering of family and friends in the front yard. Lena Horne can be seen in many of the shots playing with the toddler. Horne interacts with various unidentified individuals and poses for the camera in front of Calloway's home in the following series of shots. The film concludes with a sequence filmed during a family trip to the beach. The Calloway's toddler-age child appears most prominently. There are also shots of Mrs. Calloway and an unidentified older child, as well as a shot of Calloway carrying the toddler on his shoulders.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: early 1950s
• Created by: Cab Calloway, American, 1907 - 1994
• Created by: Nuffie Calloway, American, 1915 - 2008
• Subject of: Cab Calloway, American, 1907 - 1994
• Subject of: Nuffie Calloway, American, 1915 - 2008
• Subject of: Lena Horne, American, 1917 - 2010
• Type: silent films
• Type: home movies
• Type: 16mm (photographic film size)
• Medium: acetate film on metal
• Dimensions: Length (film strip): 350 Feet
• Dimensions: Duration: 00:12:38
• Place filmed: Long Beach, Nassau County, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Children
• Topic: Composers (Musicians)
• Topic: Conductors (Musicians)
• Topic: Domestic life
• Topic: Entertainers
• Topic: Families
• Object number: A2015.273.2.2.1abc
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Cabella Calloway Langsam
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Creative Arts By Calloway, LLC Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.