First, she sings: a boogie-woogie dance instruction number called “Chicken Shack Shuffle.” And then, because this is a soundie — one of the many short musical films made in the 1940s to be played on ...

Mable Lee was born in Atlanta on Aug. 2, 1921, to Rosella Moore and Alton Lee. In elementary school she choreographed, directed and starred in shows at recess, charging a quarter. As she told The ...