Stormy Weather

Stormy Weather is a larger than life collection of an all-singing, all-dancing biographical showcase of the very best of black entertainment in 1943- promoting music & dance & how the related importance & contribution is significant to the American Culture at large. It is classified as a historical treasure, & undeniable agreed to be within the top 5 of all-time best Black Films. Filmed & produced during World War II when segregation was pretty much legal in most cases- the movie represents a "time capsule", emblematic as a historical archetype with its problematic stereotypical racism indicative of the society of the time with its dehumanizing representation of Black People as an accepted tradition. The comical representation (of people) , conniving personalities, minstrel entertainment "Miller & Lyles (i.e.-"Amos 'n' Andy type mentality), hyper obese (jolly) individuals, "forced Africanism", & vaudeville entertainment, were strictly addressed (& denoted) only to Black Folks.Stormy Weather is an All Star Cast showcasing quality black performers. The narrative of the film is to set up the performances of the stars. The scene set-up is only secondary to the performance showcases themselves, so instead of only snippets of great Black music & dance- the movie offers a plethora of excellent Black art. It may be understood that Stormy Weather perhaps may be viewed as a "music video within a video", thus the narrative is the vehicle to aid in the music videos only, & thus the plot is essentially unimportant. Accordingly then, the story is a bit illogical whereas the film set-up is from the perspective of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson looking back & sharing his life, career & accolades on his porch with the neighbor children, or perhaps (it might be) a love story between the characters on screen played by actors Bojangles & Lena Horne.There were more than 20 musical numbers in the film, undoubtedly a "gem of a musical" offering such a wonderful range of performers of different genre. Notably- the divine Lena Horne, Mr. Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (Fred Astaire called Mr. Robinson the greatest dancer of all time {additionally in four minutes eight seconds Robinson tapped 1,984 taps- that's eight per second a noted record breaker}), Cab Calloway & his Band is a major contributor to the quality of this movie (Mr. Calloway {IMHO} has more charisma than Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, & Armando Desante TOGETHER {some of Cab's most brilliant archival footage is right in this film!!!!!}), The Nicholas Brothers did an incomparable stereo & synchronized tap dance # to Cab's "The Jumpin; Jive" including "leap-frog" full splits (almost raggedy-Ann like) & returns (across dining tables, throughout the bands tables, down a staircase) in a brilliant artistic fashion (smiling nonstop), right into a chorus finale of 55 men & women dancers/singers doing "My My, Ain't that Somethin'" (Reprise). Other notables are Thomas "fats" Waller "Ain't Misbehavin'," (he's got real cool {and exaggerated} facial expressions on film), Ada Brown singing "That Ain't Right" to Fats Waller Bluesy Piano Band. Katherine Dunham's dance troupe of 10 doing "Stormy Weather Ballet" (Katherine Dunham led a world-famous dance troupe) was graceful & spectacular. Of Course Lena Horne doing "Stormy Weather", is a hit, but she did 3 other numbers that included some smooth & beautiful dance steps.Stormy Weather is just what it was intended to be- diverting entertainment in a wartime world. Perhaps the stereotypes are bothersome, the story a bit illogical, but the talent and passion of the performers and the caliber of the music make it all worthwhile- then & now. So much of quality is lost in today's world. It was a pleasure to view this movie 10 times this week. :-)

I first saw "Stormy Weather" in the early 70's in a weekly program of "Race Movies". I used to get my kids on weekends back then and I took them to lots of events like this.The film is loaded with great music and dancing and manages to hang a slim plot in there somewhere. Don't watch it for the story, just the music. There is music from Lena Horne, Cab Callaway and the great Fats Waller, and possibly the greatest dance performance ever filmed. I had never seen an early Lena Horne film and when she first came on screen I almost hyperventilated. "Extraordinary beauty" falls very short of what I saw. Whew! She delivers a fine rendition of "Stormy Weather"Fats Waller co-king of stride piano along with the venerable James P Johnson, just tears up the screen. He was one of the truly great performers of the 20th century. I just sit in awe whenever I get to see him on film. Cab Calloway seemed to have more energy than the rest of his band and everyone in the room. Harnessing his energy might have lit an entire city. His band really puts out the sound.The biggest treat of the film comes when the Nicholas Brothers do a dance performance that is simply unbelievable. And when you think it might be over it just keeps going. They were light on their feet and beautifully physical. It was as if each brother possessed the talent of both Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. At the end of the routine there was a lot of spontaneous applause, something I had never witnessed in a theater.Fayard and Harold Nicholas appeared in many "Race Films" and finally made it to the "big Screen" in a Gene Kelly film, "The Pirate". They were good, but deferred to Kelly. They were not going to get a shot at the mainstream because the movie industry already had its' stars and knew the brothers might well show them up. They went to Europe for many years, where the public flocked to see them. I think they returned to the States because of Harold's health problems.The dedication of the National WWII Memorial in April, 2004 included a WWII reunion. People who had proudly served the USA came by the thousands. That also included USO performers. As you might suspect, blacks entertained only blacks and whites only whites. At the entertainment stage there were many USO films, which often included the Nicholas Brothers. AS I was watching, a Smithsonian escort was helping a small black man to a seat and somehow I recognized him as Fayard Nicholas. I went over and chatted with him for a while. It was one of the great moments in my life. I can now point to my right hand and say, "Shook hands with both Fayard Nicholas and Ted Williams"(note the order).Go watch "Stormy Weather" and other films with the Nicholas Brothers and celebrate seeing two American Masters -- and Treasures.

My granddaughter's dance class did a jazz performance. I wanted to show her this movie so she could learn about the greats of jazz.

What a musical treat Stormy Weather is! One of several "race films" produced by the major studios in the early 1940s (this one by 20th Century Fox), Stormy Weather offers a showcase of black entertainers. It features the incomparable Leana Horne, Fats Waller, Cab Calloway, Ada Brown, and Emmet 'Babe' Wallace singing. The dancing is also a treat, with headliner Bill Robinson (Mr. Bojangles), the Nicholas Brothers, and the Katherine Dunham Dance Troupe. My favorite song is actually sung by the uncredited Babe Wallace--his creamy baritone rendition of "African Dance", a song with lyrics by Langston Hughes (!), is offered as a front for Robinson's wonderful dance across the tom-tom drums, but what a front it is. The stairs dance by the Nicholas Brothers is a marvel--Fred Astaire called it the single best dance routine ever captured on film. The plot is quite thin, even in a day when musical films typically had thin plots, but at least by setting Stormy Weather smack in the middle of the entertainment business, it provided ample opportunity for superb music and dancing. Production values are solid. The DVD offers an excellent version of the film, although the DVD commentary loses sight of the magic of the film and its performers with misplaced social commentary. Story Weather offers top flight entertainers in top flight club settings. If you love music and dance, you owe it to yourself to give it a whirl. (Note that while the thumbnail for the cover notes that the film included Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, it does not; his scenes were left on the cutting room floor. For Anderson along with Ethel Waters and Lena Horne, take a look at the 1943 Cabin in the Sky.)

After seeing the movie on TCM, I decided I just had to own it. But amazon was the only place I found it. This rare, incredible masterpiece is a must have if you're a jazz fan - especially of the music in the 1940s. The amazing Lena Horne is at her very best in the title song "Stormy Weather" towards the end of the film. Superior to most other musicals - this high-energy production is sure to put you in a good mood. Yes, there are a few dated scenes which today would be totally unacceptable. But they are very few and far between, so ignore them and enjoy the show.

Si vous aimez le bon vieux Jazz et les films américains d'époque aux bons relents de cotton club. Si vous aimez les numéros de danse et de claquettes à couper le souffle et le charme désuet d'antan...ce film est à la fois un must et un classique. On y voit Cab Calloway au mieux de sa forme. Un régal!Deux points d'attention toutefois: l'histoire (ou les histoires puisque le film s'accompagne de deux bonus) est simplissime (voire simpliste), mais ce n'est pas le sujet mais bien le prétexte. Il n'y a ni bande son ni sous titres en FR (comme c'est bien stipulé dans l'offre), mais bien une BO en Anglais et des sous-titres en Espagnol

Qué pena que casi nadie escuche Jazz hoy en día ... Claro, habiendo reguetón ... No me puedo imaginar qué se escuchará a finales de siglo.

I have been in thrall to Lena Horne since 1960 when my mates and I used to listen to the LP of her cabaret performance at The Sands Hotel, so for me watching this was a love-fest. And where else could you get Lena Horne, Fats Waller, Cab Calloway, Bill Robinson and the Nicholas Brothers all on one ticket; it’s the Cotton Club without the white audience.However, you need to brace yourself for the shocking reminder that this was apartheid America. It is one of the only Hollywood productions with an entirely black cast, possibly made to encourage African American support for the war effort as it featured black soldiers going off to war, but in the Hollywood fashion that prevailed at the time all the characters, except Lena, are portrayed as irresponsible, though loveable, clowns. Strangely, Lena, who takes the female lead is no blacker than my cousin Clara back from two weeks on the Costas, but at the time of the film release in 1943 many of the Southern States had strict segregation laws and Lena was deemed to be legally black. She committed the ultimate sin in 1947 of getting married, in Paris, to a white man, Lennie Hayton (a number of Southern States did not recognise inter-racial marriages) and for that, together with her active support of the Civil Rights Movement, Hollywood dropped her like a hot potato. That was very sad because, for me, she ranks with Ella as one of the greatest female ballad singers of all time, with range, pitch and expression that few could match; and she could dance and act as well.

bel film, basato prevalentemente su flash-back.una trama carina ma non troppo impegnativa fa da filo narrativo alle esibizioni dei grandi dell'epoca, sia ballerini che musicisti.per chi ama lo swing è imperdibile.