Favourite Drumming Scenes in Film

Welcome to my favourite drumming scenes in film. This list is inspired by some of my other shorter blog posts and most recently by the new film Whiplash, which doesn't make my list only because I haven't seen it yet.

[I have now seen Whiplash since writing this. And although the entire film was ostensibly about playing drums, there wasn't a single scene I'd include in my list. See review blog here and amendment below in comments].  

My list focuses on kit playing rather than marching band films like Drumline and is restricted to human players only (so no Animal from the Muppet films, no rabbit from Hop), and no documentaries or films that contain concert footage. Many of my choices feature tap dancing. A good deal of the old jazz drummers were also hoofers!

Without further ado:

The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). If I had to pick a favourite, this would be it, having the most pathos. Frank Sinatra plays Frankie Machine (what a name!), a heroin addict, reluctant card dealer, and wanna be big band drummer. The theme music is perfectly scored by Elmer Bernstein and a soundtrack worthy of any collection. There's a lovely clip of Frankie practising in an apartment. But I'm choosing the audition scene. Shelly Manne is the drummer, not only on the soundtrack, but in this clip as well (one of my favourite scenes in all of celluloid history). Poor Frankie is strung out, can't concentrate, and loses all control of the hi hat. The scene begins at 1:38, but I recommend the whole clip for exposition:

Ship Ahoy (1942).  Buddy Rich and Eleanor Powell provide pure unadulterated joy:

Easter Parade (1948). Fred Astaire sings, dances, and drums to 'Drum Crazy'. Not traditional playing as he's standing up, but you cannot deny Astaire's percussive abilities when combined with dance. His body is a drum kit:

Damsel In Distress (1937). Astaire's second appearance. And again, although he plays standing up, it is with great and joyous aplomb:

Small Town Girl (1953). Ann Miller's opening lyric 'I like the sound of a tom tom' from the tune "I Gotta Hear that Beat" merely scratches the surface of what we're about to see here. If you've never seen this production number, you're in for a real treat. It's percussion heavy, complete with Miller's incredibly fast taps, and includes a bizarre array of disembodied musicians -- a kind of headless orchestra. The giant silhouetted kit player is the cherry on top:

The Gene Krupa Story (1959). Although Krupa does the actual playing on the soundtrack and during Sal Mineo's performances on screen, Mineo worked hard learning the drums for the film and mimicking Krupa's playing mannerisms. Four years on from The Man with the Golden Arm, Shelly Manne makes another appearance, this time playing Tommy Dorsey's drummer Dave Tough. The entire film is chock full of drums and fantastic scenes:

All Night Long (1962). A loose adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello set in London's 1960s jazz scene. A great tension weighs on Patrick McGoohan's face (indeed his whole body) as he plays with a perplexity of expression. Using a drum solo to move the plot forward is a delightful device. I understand McGoohan learned to play the drums for the part, but I'm still trying to find out whether he actually played on screen / for the soundtrack. Allan Ganley perhaps? In any case, here's a corker:

Great movie posters too:

Harlem-Mania (1929). A Vitaphone short rather than feature length film, this was 1929, and I've still never seen anything quite like Freddie Crump's outstanding, idiosyncratic performance. Accompanied by a satisfying soft shoe, Crump's playing is as precise as it is unorthodox. He comes to view at 2:13. Remain with the clip after the spirited piano solo for more of Crump's entertaining and percussive gymnastics!

As we jump from golden eras of the 1920s, 30s, 40s, 50s & 60s, we now find ourselves in more modern times. Step Brothers (2008). Because we all fear Will Ferrell's gentlemen parts sullying our instrument. Warning: very colourful language here:

Wayne's World (1992). A sweet Garth (Dana Carvey) has a wonderful fantasy:

Mentions go out to Some Kind of Wonderful (1987) and That Thing You Do (1996).  

And a very large and curious mention goes to the soundtrack of Birdman (2014). I don't believe there has ever been a soundtrack using improvised drum solos to score a film.  Jazz drummer Antonio Sanchez provides the playing which represents the psychosis of the main character. The drums are used to destabilising effect, at times simultaneously cacophonous, jazzy and grooving. The main character walks past the drummer we're hearing in one scene outside, which could have been plausible as he appears to be a busker. But the second time this happens, the drummer is in a tightly closed interior shot. We hear what the character hears (we were hearing it all along anyway) and the play (or film), becomes an unsettling play of a play. At times using two, three and four kit overdubs (rarely done), the drums were the character's unravelling mind.

Here is some fascinating information on the making of the Birdman soundtrack.

Signing off with a sweet little clip from the television series Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000):