Harlem-Mania (1929) is nine minutes of pure, unhinged energy

Is it worth your time?

If you have ten minutes and a pulse, yes. You should watch this just to see Freddie Crump do his thing.

If you need a plot, a character arc, or even a basic conversation, you are going to hate this. It is literally just a stage act caught on a very old camera.

It starts out almost too normal. A guy stands there and sings a song, and honestly, I sort of tuned out for a second because it felt like every other early talkie short.

But then the Norman Thomas Trio gets going and the whole energy of the room shifts. It feels like the movie suddenly remembered it’s supposed to be entertaining.

The two tap dancers are good, sure, they have that fast, crisp style you see in stuff like Heebee Jeebees. But the piano player? Man.

He hits those keys like they owe him money. His fingers are just a blur, and he has this look on his face like he is barely keeping up with his own hands.

I’ve seen a lot of these musical shorts, like The Humdinger, but the piano work here feels much more aggressive. It is wonderful.

Then we get to Freddie Crump. I am not even sure how to describe what he is doing with the drums.

He isn't just keeping time. He is fighting the drum kit. He’s doing these wild comic faces, rolling his eyes back, and throwing his sticks around like they are on fire.

There is this one moment where he starts hitting the cymbals and he looks genuinely possessed. It’s slightly scary but you can’t look away.

He’s got this weird rhythm where he hits things you wouldn’t expect, like the edges of the drums or maybe even the floor, I couldn't tell. The sound is a bit tinny because it's 1929, but you can still feel the thump of it.

The camera just sits there and watches them. There are no fancy cuts or close-ups, which actually makes it feel more real, like you are sitting in a smoky theater in Harlem nearly a hundred years ago.

It’s much more lively than something like At the Ringside, which feels a bit more staged and stiff. This feels like they just let the guys loose.

I noticed the dancers almost collide at one point because they are moving so fast in such a small space. It’s those little imperfections that make these old Vitaphone shorts so much better than the polished stuff.

The drummer eventually goes into this full-body solo where he’s using his feet and his hands and probably his teeth for all I know. It’s absolute chaos in the best way possible.

You can tell the performers are having a blast, even if they are probably exhausted. The sweat on their faces is real, and the way they grin at each other feels authentic, not like they are following a script.

I wonder what it was like to see this live. If it’s this intense on a grainy black-and-white film, it must have been deafening in person.

It’s a bit like That's My Wife in terms of that specific era’s energy, but way more focused on the music. It doesn't waste time with jokes that don't land.

One weird thing—the way the keyboard player keeps looking at the camera. He has this wide-eyed stare that makes you feel like he’s daring you to look away.

The whole thing is over before you know it. It doesn't overstay its welcome, which is a lesson a lot of modern movies could learn.

It’s just a blast of noise and motion. Pure entertainment without any of the fluff.

I’m probably gonna go watch that drum solo again right now. It’s better than most music videos I’ve seen lately.

Go find it. It’s a nice reminder that people in the 20s knew how to party way harder than we do now.

"The person playing the keyboards may not ever be outperformed."

That quote from the notes is 100% right. He’s a beast. 🥁

Anyway, that's it. It's short, it's loud, and it's great.