Justin here with a movie that is sure to chase away your winter blues - Stormy Weather (1943).
I’m not sure if Seasonally Affective Disorder is real or if I could rightly be diagnosed with it. I know that around this time of year (especially in the Colorado high country) it seems like winter will never end and it tends to get me a little down. This winter has been particularly snowy, complicating nearly every facet of life up here. If you’re like me and need a little celluloid pick-me-up, you can’t do better than Stormy Weather.
Stormy Weather follows a very loose plot. A black soldier returns from WWI to his blossoming career in show business and his unrequited love. That’s it. There’s a little conflict, but honestly it doesn’t matter much. The performances make this required viewing.
The soldier I talked about a second ago is played by Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, one of the greatest tap dancers of all time. If you’ve seen any of the Shirley Temple musicals, he’s the man from those. His love interest is played by the beautiful and incredibly talented Lena Horne. Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, Ada Brown, and Kathleen Dunham also perform.
I criminally forgot to include Stormy Weather on my list of favorite musicals. . Stormy Weather is bursting with life. The performances are all incredibly fun to watch. Interestingly, this is one of only two all black productions from the 1940's that I know of. The other, Cabin in the Sky is a melodrama morality tale – decent, but no Stormy Weather. For many of the performers here, this was the first time (and in some cases the only time) that they would be on film or visual media in general. These are true showmen and women who have sharpened their acts to razor-like precision. I think they were aware at how important it was at the time. The power and polish of the performances shows that. Words can’t do justice to the magic of the Nicholas Brothers whose one-take dance sequence is one of the best ever put to film. This was Fats Waller’s only film appearance, as he died shortly after the movie was made. As his performance of “Ain’t Misbehavin’” shows that he had the charisma to make him a superstar in the TV age. Knowing that, his work here is a little bittersweet.
Stormy Weather covers a wide range of early twentieth century black music from big bands, to ragtime, to swing, and the blues. It’s all here, even somewhat satirical nods to the dressed- up minstrel shows that were popular in the 1930’s like the “jungle” shows. The center piece of the movie is of course Lena Horne’s heart breaking rendition of the song, “Stormy Weather” with accompanying dance number. Horne was an amazing talent. Cab Calloway and his orchestra appear towards the end of the movie performing Jumpin' Jive. This is one of Calloway's first appearances on film after 1933’s International House where he led his band through a maniacal rendition of “Reefer Man.”
Stormy Weather is short, running only 78 minutes. There’s a lot of value here: both historically and in terms of pure entertainment. It’s a time capsule. It’s a gift. It’s magic.