Cab Calloway Home Movie #5

Compilation reel of 16mm color home movies of Cab Calloway and his family in Long Island, New York at Easter. The film also has footage of Calloway's tour of South America in 1951 including carnival and beach scenes in Montevideo, la Plaza Independencia, a horse racing track in Rio de Janeiro, and an airport in Puerto Rico.

The film begins with wide shots of a mostly empty room with a child standing in the foreground. The camera pans around the room, placing particular emphasis on the drapes over the windows. In the next series of shots, two of Calloway's children play in front of their home and pose for the camera along with their dog. At different points, each child is shown in extreme close-up. Two of Calloway's children then appear in the backyard posing for the camera with two older, unidentified women and alone. Later, a younger, unidentified woman poses for the camera alone and with Calloway's children. This is followed by a series of shots taken at Piarco International Airport on the island of Trinidad. Included is a shot of a rainbow and longer shot of Calloway's band boarding a Pan American flight to an unidentified destination. Zulme "Nuffie" Calloway, Cab Calloway's wife, is briefly seen among the band members.

The next series of shots depict the area around Playa Ramirez in Montevideo, Uruguay. There are wide shots of the beach itself, as well as closer shots of floats and spectators in a passing parade. A subsequent group of shots depict the Montevideo skyline. These shots are followed by footage captured at a horse racing track. Several races and individual horses are documented. A long series of wide shots from a high vantage point depict central Montevideo and its harbor. The next few shots appear to depict Maracanã Stadium in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. This is followed by a variety of street scenes and shots of buildings in an unidentified city. Mrs. Calloway can be seen running across a busy street in one shot and another depicts a street performer eating glass. Several shots depict Calloway and the band mugging for the camera after exiting an airplane at an unidentified location, possibly Puerto Rico. The film concludes with a series of shots of the Calloway family dressed in winter coats while posing for the camera in front of their home. Both of their daughters hold bunny dolls in their hands.