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Do you even live in Indiana if you don’t know the Hoosier Hop? That was a question recently posed on social media. I didn’t know it, until now. If you’re unfamiliar with the Hoosier Hop…let’s review.
What Is The Hoosier Hop?
The Hoosier Hop is a song taken from the movie It’s a Great Life.
It’s a Great Life is a 1929 American comedy film directed by Sam Wood and written by Al Boasberg and Willard Mack. The film stars Rosetta Duncan, Vivian Duncan, Lawrence Gray, Jed Prouty and Benny Rubin. The film was released on December 6, 1929, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The motion picture came out less than six weeks after the Wall Street stock market crash of 1929. Otherwise, the title, “It’s a Great Life,” is meaningless with the story.
This is one of the first MGM sound pictures, and it even has a couple of short scenes at the end that are in color.
Source: Hulton Deutsch / Getty
Here is the movie synopsis
Sisters Casey and Babe work in a department store that puts on a show every year. As expected, things are going wrong with every act until Casey comes out to help Babe with her song. They are a hit, but in the final act, Casey again comes out and this time the president sees her act and fires both her and Babe on the spot. Benny is able to book Casey, Babe, and Dean into Vaudeville and their act is popular. However, before they have their shot at stardom, Dean and Babe leave Casey and the act.
This clip showcases vaudevillians Vivian and Rosetta Duncan, aka the Duncan Sisters. Apparently, Ann Dvorak who is just to the left of Vivian (the Duncan sister on the left) and takes center stage with another gal when the sisters exit was responsible for coming up with these dance steps, called the “Hoosier Hop”.
