Musical Documentaries - No Maps On My Taps

Direct Cinema Limited, 1978

Starring Chuck Green, Howard Sims, Bunny Briggs, and Lionel Hampton

Directed by George T. Nierenberg

Music and Lyrics by various

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day yesterday, I thought I'd try something a little different. By the late 70's, tap dancing was considered to be all but dead outside of a few older dancers who continued to carry on the tradition. Three of these men came together at the Harlem club Smalls Paradise for one last dance-off in 1978. This is their story, and the story of tap as it developed from it's emergence on the streets in the 30's to the heyday of dancers like Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and John W. "Bubbles" Sublett. How does their story look now? Let's start backstage at Smalls and find out...

The Story: We follow the story of tap dancing in America via footage of black dancers going as far back as a 1933 short, Slow Poke, that featured Briggs. The three men show off what they can still do in and around their native Harlem. The film concludes with the trio competing in a dance-off in front of a packed crowd.

The Song and Dance: Short but fascinating if you love dance, tap, or know anything about the careers of these men or Robinson and Sublett. The men considered this to be an elegy, a look at a lost art form and a time gone by. Ironically, it ended up contributing to a revival of tap dancing in the 80's as the trio traveled with the documentary and danced wherever it was shown. And no wonder. This is genuine history, both in the vintage footage from the 30's and the concert shots of the equally delightful moves the men could do in the late 70's. 

The Song and Dance: The movie's worth seeing just for the sequences on stage, especially in the beginning, when we're introduced to each man and what they can do, and that dance-off in the finale as they give their all for the crowd. We also get that brief sequence of Briggs doing a nice number from the rare all-black short Slow Poke and Bubbles and his partner Buck performing "You've Got Something There" from the 1937 Warner Bros musical Varsity Show. We also get to see the famous staircase dance from The Little Colonel with Robinson and Shirley Temple. 

What I Don't Like: Boy, do I wish this movie was longer. I'd love to learn more about these gentlemen and other black tap pioneers. It's just too short to do it's subject matter real justice and should probably be used as a jumping-off point if you're really interested in dance.

The Big Finale: I'm so glad I ran into this on TCM. I'll be honest, while I heard of John W. Bubbles and Bill Robinson, I never heard of the three gentlemen in question. I'm glad I got to know them and their craft. Definitely worth a watch if you have any interest in the history of tap or black dancers. 

Home Media: The DVD can be found from Milestone Films, the company that restored it in 2017, but it's expensive. You may be better off looking for it online or occasionally catching it on TCM. 

DVD - Milestone Films

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