Date with Dizzy (1958) User Reviews

Jamming With Rope Ladders And Dizzy Gillepie

[boblipton · 7/10 · 29 October 2020]

Don Keefer comes to Dizzy Gillespie and his sidemen to have him provide the score for a new product to be advertised on TV. Tkere seems to be a lack of meeting of minds, however.

It's half live-action and half animated, as John and Faith Hubley use their connections in tho the musical scene to get this short out. It's very funny to watch zGillespie and the other musicians stare blankly, improvise something brilliant, only to be told it's too long or way to short

A Date with Dizzy is interesting short for Dizzy Gillespie/John Hubley fans

[tavm · 9/10 · 16 October 2006]

I found out about this rare John Hubley/Dizzy Gillespie short from Cartoon Brew and viewed it on YouTube. In it, a commercial director is trying to get Gillespie and his band to score music for an animated spot for "Instant Rope Ladder". Also present is the product's ad representative. The band plays their first music submission which the director says is too long. The next one is then considered too short. Gillespie then plays one that has nothing to do with rope ladder so the filmmaker shows three commercials that Hubley had actually filmed for his Storyboard Studio in Los Angeles. The first is for E-Z Pop, a popcorn product for stove heating with some of the most entertaining jazz riffs I've ever heard in a TV spot. Then there's Heinz Worcestershire, which the animated spokesperson has trouble pronouncing at first that's quite hilarious. Finally, there's one for Speedway "79", a gas company spot with some of the most entertaining abstract animation I've ever seen. At this point, Gillespie gets it and plays one that gets the ad representative singing along! The end. Well worth seeing for Hubley/Gillespie fans, A Date with Dizzy is also a wonderful satiric look at the advertising industry. Don't miss it!

Entertaining

[gbill-74877 · 8/10 · 3 May 2024]

Fascinating and fun for a couple of reasons: (1) seeing Dizzy Gillespie and his quintet riffing to create music that might dub a commercial for an "Instant Rope Ladder" (the animation of which includes the ashes for one poor soul who's doom came from not having this wonderful product), and (2) the (real) old commercials that Hubley had actually created for E-Z Pop Popcorn, Heinz Worcestershire Sauce, and Speedway "79" gas, the first and last of which include jazzy horns and the hip lingo of the era. Dizzy and his band can't seem to be contained to this medium, leading to a delightful ending. Wish it could have gone on longer.