Boy! What a Girl! is a 1947 African American film directed by Arthur H. Leonard and starring Tim Moore, with guest appearances by the Brown Dots, Slam Stewart, Sid Catlett and Gene Krupa.
Would-be theatrical producer Jim Walton is planning a new show that will feature bandleader Slam Stewart and the comic female impersonator Bumpsie (Tim Moore). Mr. Cummings, the wealthy father of Jim’s girlfriend Cristola, has agreed to finance half of the show if the famous Parisian impresario Madame Deborah will provide the second half of the funding. When word arrives that Madame Deborah’s arrival from France has been delayed, Bumpsie is brought in to keep Mr. Cummings occupied. Mr. Cummings, however, is unaware that Bumpsie is a man in drag and he falls in love with him. The real Madame Deborah unexpectedly arrives early and passes herself off as Mrs. Martin. Two other would-be suitors, impressed with Madame Deborah’s wealth, begin to pursue Bumpsie. A fundraising party for the show is held, where several musical acts arrive to perform. A pair of thugs attempt to kidnap Bumpsie, believing he is Madame Deborah, but he manages to escape. The real Madame Deborah identifies herself and agrees to finance Jim’s show, enabling him to achieve his professional goals and to marry Cristola.
Boy! What a Girl! was the only starring film role for Tim Moore, an African American vaudeville comedy star who later became famous as the Kingfish in the television series Amos n Andy.
Kev
Another “GEM” from your site – Truly a wonderful Classic – keep ‘em coming – still trying to catch up on all the latest movies you’ve posted – can’t thank you enough !!
Rich
Well over 200 channels on cable TV with millions of dollars worth of entertainment on at any hour, and I sit at my computer watching old movies, serials and shorts from the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s…. and loving every minute of it! I offer a sincere “Thank you” to the people who make this site possible. I’m sure it takes a lot of time and effort. And I, for one, appreciate the work involved. Thank you again, and keep up the good work; This is one of the finest sites on the internet.
Who was the black drummer from whom Gene Krupa took the drum sticks….anybody know??
The flat, straight hair-do’s on the actors must have been a laborious, painful, chemical-filled
trail to endure! At first i thought the frenchman character was white, but once i thought about it I realized that there was NO WAY in 1946 america a bi-racial thing was gonna go up on the big screen!! Have naive can I get to have even thought that for a moment! This movie is a treasure. I wonder what became of the performers? What a shame Tim Morre never got more chances like this.
The drummer’s name is Sid Catlett. The character who plays the Frenchman appears at the beginning of the movie without “whiteface”. It was funny when Gene Krupa said he hoped Sid Catlett would return the favor and appear in his next movie.