Lionel Hampton

A music-filled extravaganza, featuring performances by a plethora of legendary artists of the 1950s, from the worlds of jazz, swing, pop, and more.

The golden age of tap dancing spanned the first half of the twentieth century, but by the 1950s, the form fell to the likes of rock 'n' roll and modern dance. Featuring performances by Lionel Hampton, Bunny Briggs, and Howard "Sandman" Sims, director Nierenberg's love for the dancers and their art elevated his film above your run-of-the-mill documentary and into the ranks of dance canon.

With her gangster boyfriend under investigation by the police, a nightclub singer hides out in a musical research institution staffed by bachelor professors - one of whom begins to fall for her.