Stormy Weather (1943)
Directed by Andrew L. Stone

Film Review

Wow, here's a treat for all lovers of early American jazz, a film that showcases some of the greatest African-American entertainers of the 1940s - all at the top of their game in a revue-style extravaganza that is cooler than an Antarctic iceberg in Nike trainers.  Stormy Weather was one of two lavish Hollywood musicals with a predominantly black cast made in 1943, the other being MGM's Cabin in the Sky.  At a time when African-Americans rarely appeared in American films, and virtually never in leading roles, it was extremely daring and forward-thinking for the two major Hollywood studios to make a film of this kind.  The film is confidently directed by Andrew Stone, who would become well-known for his hard-hitting thrillers of the 1950s, such as Highway 301 (1950), The Steel Trap (1952) and A Blueprint for Murder (1953).

Stormy Weather may have one or two shortcomings (a plot that is conspicuous by its absence and some wooden performances being its biggest weaknesses), but who cares when it delivers such a glorious celebration of African-American song and dance talent from the golden age of jazz.  Legendary tap dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and singer Lena Horne head a cast of jazz monoliths that includes Cab Calloway, Fats Waller and Dooley Wilson (who famously played it again for Bogart in Casablanca).  The film has great historical significance since this was the last time that Robinson and Waller appeared on screen (the former died in virtual poverty six years later, the latter died from pneumonia just a few months after the film was released).

With twenty meaty musical numbers somehow squeezed into the film's slender 78 minute runtime, there isn't so much as a dull nanosecond.  The alluring Horne may get to sing the title number Stormy Weather (in one of the most imaginatively staged numbers of any Hollywood musical), but it is Waller who steals the show with his most soulful rendition of Ain't Mishavin'.  The visual highpoint of this veritable feast of entertainment is a stunning dance routine performed by the Nicholas Brothers, which Fred Astaire described as the finest piece of tap dancing ever filmed.  If this film doesn't get you tapping your feet, nothing will.  This is jazz heaven, folks.

Film Synopsis

On his return to America after serving in the First World War, Bill Williamson sets his sights on becoming a dancer but has difficulty finding work of any kind.  With the help of a beautiful singer named Selina Rogers, he gets his first spot, but loses his job soon afterwards when he out-stages the star of the show.  Bill's shoeshine buddy Gabe Tucker comes to his rescue when he tries to mount his own show without funds and in no time Bill is a dancing sensation.  But by now he has a new passion in his life, Selina.  Alas, she is more interested in her career than in settling down with him...