Reviews of Stormy Weather (1943)

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Vaguely based on the life of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson himself, STORMY WEATHER offers the story of a WWI vet who falls in love with a singer--and under her influence goes into show business, only to find that their careers draw them in different directions. As a story, it is pretty slim stuff... but as a collection of musical turns by some of the early 1940s best black talent, it simply can't be beat.

Robinson was, of course, one of the truly great dancers of his era. Made late in his career, this film doesn't really manage to capture the scope of his talents, but he remains a constant joy to watch. A very young and remarkably beautiful Lena Horne also offers several enjoyable songs, including one that she would go on to perform with increasing sophistocation and ultimately make entirely her own: the title tune "Stormy Weather." In addition to Calloway and Horne, STORMY WEATHER offers great performances by such under-filmed artists as Cab Calloway, Katherine Dunham, Fats Waller (performing his signature tune, "Ain't Misbehaving"), the brillant Nicholas Brothers, and Ada Brown, as well as the popular comic actor Dooley Wilson. Expect nothing from the story, but you won't be disappointed by this rare glimpse at some truly remarkable talents.

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First thing...If this is what Harlem was like in the 40's it was jammin. First of all Lena Horne has to be the classiest woman alive (then and now). Bill "Bojangles" Robinson is great, giving just the right amount of humor and entertainment. And of course, nobody I mean NOBODY, was as bad as Cab Calloway and the Nicholas Brothers (who Fred Astaire by the way fancied some of his tap dancing moves from I saw it on numerous PBS specials that he was a major fan of theirs). Although it may have some stereotypical parts in it, it is wonderful to see a movie where black people were respectful to one another, classy dressers and had good times with one another.

The best part of this film? In a way it is very hard for me to pinpoint...I love when Fats Waller and Ida Wells start signing "Having yourself a Ball". My grandparents used to sing it and lord knows Fats and Ida are singing the hell out if it! But the absolute BEST part has to be the finale when Cab is signing "Jumpin Jive" and the Nicholas Brothers dance on that staircase. This was a fantastic all-black hollywood musical. Thank God for video and DVD!

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Directed by Andrew Stone, this 1943 musical is one of the few musicals by a major studio to feature an all-black cast. The storyline is merely an excuse for all the musical numbers (and there are a LOT of them). Bill "Bojangles" Robinson plays Bill Williamson who meets lovely Selina Rogers, played by Lena Horne, just after he gets back from the First World War. Unfortunately their careers get in the way of their ever settling down together. "Stormy Weather" ends with a big all-star show hosted by Cab Calloway. Along the way Bill Robinson dances to "Rang Tang Tang" and several other songs, while Lena Horne sings "There's No Two Ways About Love," "Diga Diga Do" and the show piece title song, "Stormy Weather." Bill and Lena also do "I Can't Give you Anything But Love, Baby." Fats Waller does "Ain't Misbehavin'" and sings "That Ain't Right" (a Nat "King" Cole song) with Ada Brown. Cab Colloway conducts his "Rhythm Cocktail" and "Geechy Joe" and there is also the incredible Nichols Brothers (Fayard and Harold) dancing to "The Jumpin' Jive." "Stormy Weather" is a wonderful compilation of song and dance.

Honest reviews on Stormy Weather (1943)

This delightful film is like a revue of song and dance numbers, held together by a thin plot, which is there simply as a frame for the wonderful music and fabulous talent, notably of Lena Horne, Fats Waller, Cab Calloway, and the protagonist who has the most screen time, Bill Robinson.

Among the others that are remarkable are The Nicholas Brothers and Ada Brown. There are several styles of music represented, from blues, the sultry ballads sung by Lena Horne, to scat singing and big band dance numbers. There's a priceless comedy routine where two men finish each other's sentences, and another treat is to see Katherine Dunham dance in two pieces along with her troupe; she was very popular decades ago, but sadly, not many remember her now.

The dances are staged by Clarence Robinson, and they are numerous, some corny, but all entertaining. Of the singers, Lena Horne is extraordinary. She could make a lame line of dialog sound convincing, make any song worth listening to with her mellow, lovely voice, dance with the best of them, and her sensual beauty has rarely been equaled. The songs she sings are:

"There's No Two Ways About Love, Baby"

"Digga Digga Doo"

"I Can't Give You Anything But Love"

"Stormy Weather".

The legendary Fats Waller sings his "Ain't Misbehavin'", and other songs include "Rhythm Cocktail", "That Ain't Right", and "Rang Tang Tang".

Directed by Andrew Stone, it has marvelous cinematography Leon Shamroy, and though not great in every aspect, it's a historical film that showcases the fantastic black talent of the mid 20th century, and as such it gets my highest rating. Total running time is 78 minutes.

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There is so much good stuff in this movie! In addition to enjoying the stunning performances, you can see actual live footage of Jim Europe's 369th "Hell Fighters" Infantry Band in their triumphal march in New York after World War I interspersed with the movie's footage. Jim Europe, one of the founding fathers of jazz, was killed in 1919, so they had to use an actor to portray him in Stormy Weather. Much of the music featured at the beginning of the movie was material performed by Jim Europe. Another fun detail is that the middle sequence of the movie, in which Gabe (the bootblack) arrives as an angel to save the show from the balkiness of the chorus girls, is based on an incident that actually happened to Eubie Blake. And notice how the sequence with Cab Calloway starts out: Cab invites Bill "Bojangles" Robinson to participate in a benefit for the soldiers. When Cab and Bojangles first met in real life, Bo was trying to get Cab to participate in a benefit performance. Cab didn't want to do it, and they got into a fight. Cab finally did go along with it, and he and Bo became friends after that. The scene where Bojangles punches Chick Bailey is right in character, too. Bojangles loved to fight. Fats Waller's parting line, "One never knows, do one," was unscripted. It was one of his favorite lines, and he ended his recordings with it frequently, squeezing it in at the last second. Now, this isn't exactly a movie review, but these are details that have added enormously to my enjoyment of this movie.