Rhythm in a Riff

{{Infobox film

| name = Rhythm in a Riff

| image = Rhythm in a Riff lobby card 1.jpg

| caption = Lobby card from the 1947 Astor Pictures musical film Rhythm in a Riff.

| director = Leonard Anderson

| producer = William D. Alexander

| writer =

| starring = Billy Eckstine

| music = Billy Eckstine

| cinematography =

| editing =

| distributor = Astor Pictures

| released = {{Film date|1947}}

| runtime =

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget =

}}

Rhythm in a Riff is a 1947 medium-length musical film produced by William D. Alexander and directed by Leonard Anderson. The film stars Billy Eckstine and his band performing, as well as Ann Baker, Hortense Allen Jordan, Sarah Harris, and Emmett "Babe" Wallace.{{Cite web|url=https://www.jazz-on-film.com/videovarieties.html|title=Celluloid Improvisations ♫ LEARN|website=www.jazz-on-film.com}}{{Cite book|last=Pitts|first=Michael R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gaOTDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA136|title=Astor Pictures: A Filmography and History of the Reissue King, 1933–1965|date=2019-04-25|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1-4766-7649-4|pages=136|via=Google Books}} The film is extant. Made in New York City,{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rCY5AQAAIAAJ|title=Negro Bands on Film: Big bands, 1928–1950|first=Klaus|last=Stratemann|date=November 29, 1981|publisher=Verlag Uhle & Kleimann|isbn=978-3-922657-18-7 |via=Google Books}} it was released by Astor Pictures. Targeted to an African American audience, the film features an African American cast and was produced and directed by African Americans. The film is also known as Flicker Up.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0YQvCbc5pBcC&pg=PA5|title=Reel Black Talk: A Sourcebook of 50 American Filmmakers|first1=Spencer|last1=Moon|first2=Linda|last2=Allen|date=November 29, 1997|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-29830-1 |via=Google Books}}

The film features various songs performed by Eckstine,{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/jots.200018821/|title=RHYTHM IN A RIFF|website=Library of Congress}} who served as the film's hero.{{Cite magazine|date=July 27, 1946|title=Eckstine, Millinder Make Pix to Hypo Tour Grosses|magazine=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7BkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT24|via=Google Books}} He sings, conducts, and performs solo in the film.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FVUYAAAAIAAJ|title=The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives: 1991–1993. Vol. 3|first1=Kenneth T.|last1=Jackson|first2=Karen|last2=Markoe|first3=Arnie|last3=Markoe|first4=Arnold|last4=Markoe|date=November 29, 2001|publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons|isbn=978-0-684-80492-7 |via=Google Books}} Several soundies were made from excerpts of the film.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h3UKAQAAMAAJ|title=Big Ears: Listening for Gender in Jazz Studies|first1=Nichole T.|last1=Rustin|first2=Sherrie|last2=Tucker|date=November 7, 2008|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=978-0-8223-4320-2 |via=Google Books}} "Lonesome Lover Blues" is one of the songs Eckstine performs in the film.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NpQVuUAc1y8C&pg=PA87|title=Jazz on Film and Video in the Library of Congress|first=Rebecca D.|last=Clear|date=November 29, 1993|publisher=DIANE Publishing|isbn=978-0-7881-1436-6 |via=Google Books}}

A September 1949 review in the Indianapolis Recorder described the film as "jampacked full of music, pep, and vitality" and praised Eckstine's acting performance as a bandleader in search of a gig.{{Cite web|url=https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INR19490903-01.1.12&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------|title=Indianapolis Recorder 3 September 1949 — Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana's Digital Historic Newspaper Program|via=newspapers.library.in.gov}}

Hortense Allen dances in the film. She was shown footage of her performance in the film 50 years after it was made. The dancer, choreographer, costume designer, and producer said it was the first time she ever saw herself dance.{{Cite web|url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/obituaries/20080323_Ex-dancer_Hortense_Allen_Jordan_dies_at_88.html|title=Ex-dancer Hortense Allen Jordan dies at 88|first=Gayle Ronan|last=Sims|work=Inquirer|date=23 March 2008 }}

Oakton Community College has a poster for the film.{{Cite web|url=https://www.oakton.edu/about/thearts/museum/permanent_collection/index.php?CType=43|title=Permanent Collection|publisher=Oakton Community College}} The film was rereleased on video in 1993 along with some footage of Dizzy Gillespie under the title Dizzy Gillespie/Billy Eckstine: Things To Come (Vintage Jazz Classics Video VJC-2006).{{Cite web|url=http://campber.people.clemson.edu/kolax.html|title=King Kolax Discography|website=campber.people.clemson.edu}} Clips from the film were used in the 2004 Storyville Films release The Black Big Bands.