This is an excerpt of a film available from British Pathé (free in this resolution; for a fee in higher resolution). I’ve cut out the extended intro, so go to www.britishpathe.com for the full-length video. This is from 1931, featuring Edgar Fairchild (born Milton Suskind) on the left with Robert Lindholm on the right, playing Zez Confrey’s famous “Kitten on the Keys” from 1921. Fairchild & Lindholm’s performances were called “four-handed vulgarities” by The Musical Times in 1930. Even by that time, ragtime, novelty and jazz music was struggling for acceptance! Fairchild worked for the Ampico piano roll company. This video is an example of the amazing piano skills that existed in those days, and an example of what “fast” actually meant in the oft-quoted line, “It is never right to play ragtime fast.” (There are earlier examples of very fast ragtime playing, but of course they’re audio only, since sound film didn’t exist much earlier than this.) HOWEVER, this film was mastered slightly fast. See the video response to hear it (with the extended intro) at the corrected speed. (Hint It’s still plenty quick!)