| Stormy Weather | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Andrew L. Stone |
| Written by | Jerry Horwin, Seymour B. Robinson (story) Frederick J. Jackson,H.S. Kraft (adaptation) |
| Produced by | William LeBaron |
| Starring | Lena Horne Bill Robinson Cab Calloway Katherine Dunham Fats Waller Nicholas Brothers Ada Brown Dooley Wilson |
| Cinematography | Leon Shamroy |
| Edited by | James B. Clark |
| Music by | Harold Arlen Fats Waller Shelton Brooks Cab Calloway Jimmy Hughes Dorothy Fields Bill Robinson Alfred Newman |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
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Running time | 78 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1.6 million (US rentals)[1] |
Stormy Weather is a 1943 Americanmusical film produced and released by20th Century Fox, adapted byFrederick J. Jackson,Ted Koehler andH.S. Kraft from the story by Jerry Horwin and Seymour B. Robinson, directed byAndrew L. Stone, produced byWilliam LeBaron and starringLena Horne,Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, andCab Calloway. The film is one of twoHollywood musicals with anAfrican American cast released in 1943, both starring Lena Horne, the other beingMGM'sCabin in the Sky.Stormy Weather is a primary showcase of some of the leading African American performers of the day, during an era when African American actors and singers rarely appeared in lead roles in mainstream Hollywood productions. The supporting cast features theNicholas Brothers in arguably the screen's most bravura dance sequence,Fats Waller,Katherine Dunham and her dancers, andDooley Wilson.Stormy Weather takes its title from the 1933song of the same title, which is performed almost an hour into the film. It is loosely based upon the life and times of its star, dancerBill "Bojangles" Robinson.
The character of Selina was invented for the film; Robinson did not have such a romance in real life.Dooley Wilson (the singer/pianist inCasablanca the previous year) co-stars as Bill's perpetually broke but boldly imaginative friend, Gabe, andEmmett "Babe" Wallace appears as Chick Bailey.
Other performers in the movie areCab Calloway andFats Waller (both appearing as themselves), theNicholas Brothers dancing duo, comedianF. E. Miller, singerAda Brown, andKatherine Dunham with her dance troupe. Despite a running time of only 77 minutes, the film features some 20 musical numbers. This was Robinson's final film (he died in 1949); Waller died only a few months after its release.
"Mr. Bill" Williamson, a naturally talented dancer, recounts his past to some neighborhood children in a series of flashbacks, which show his return home in 1918 after serving in World War I, meeting a beautiful singer/dancer named Selina Rogers, who is the sister of one of his war buddies, and his travels to New Orleans to become a performer. Along the way he is reunited with Selina, who persuades her manager, Chick Bailey, to hire him for their show, but the jealous Chick fires Bill for outshining him on stage. Bill stages his own show but runs out of money to pay his dancers up front and they refuse to take the stage. Eventually, they do, due to a stroke of luck. At this point in Bill's story to the children, Cab Calloway drives up to collect "Mr. Bill" to appear in his benefit show, where he is reunited with Selina for good.
The original release prints ofStormy Weather were processed in sepiatone.[2] In 2001,Stormy Weather was selected for the United StatesNational Film Registry by theLibrary of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."[3]
In 1991,Stormy Weather was released on home video by Fox Video as part of the "Great American Musical Collection".[citation needed]It was released on DVD in North America in 2005.[citation needed]
The film's musical highlights include Waller performing his composition "Ain't Misbehavin'", Cab Calloway leading his band in his composition "Jumpin' Jive" accompanied by aNicholas Brothers dance sequence, and a lengthy dance sequence built around the title song, featuring the vocals ofLena Horne and the dancing of Katherine Dunham. Horne also performs in several dance numbers with Robinson. It was one of her few non-MGM film appearances, and one of only two films from the 1930s-1940s in which Horne played a substantial role.Ford Dabney was a consultant on the music for the film.[4]
The soundtrack has been released on CD by 20th Century Fox references 7822–11007, though Sunbeam Records released the soundtrack on vinyl in 1976. The Soundtrack Factory CD includes Lena Horne singing "Good For Nothin' Joe", a song that did not appear in the movie. Other songs include:[5]
Shane Vogel suggests that Lena Horne and Katherine Dunham's performances of"Stormy Weather" in the film are, likeEthel Waters' performance of the song inThe Cotton Club Parade of 1933, African American modernist critiques of American culture.[6]
Fred Astaire told theNicholas Brothers that the "Jumpin' Jive" dance sequence was "the greatest movie musical number he had ever seen".[7]
OnRotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 95% approval rating from 41 reviews.[8]
AlthoughStormy Weather and other musicals of the 1940s opened new roles for African Americans in Hollywood, breaking through old stereotypes and far surpassing limited roles previously available inrace films produced for all-black audiences, it still perpetuates stereotypes.[9] Notably, the musical numbers in the movie contain elements ofminstrelsy. The performance of acakewalk, for example, features flower headdresses reminiscent of theLittle Black Sambo figures used in historical misrepresentations of Black American males.
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