Stormy Weather (1943)

Lena Horne plays a rising club singer in this jazzy musical. Cab Calloway, Fats Waller and Dooley Wilson co-star.

How could this video description omit Lena Horne?

How on earth can this movie be listed without Lena Horne as the star!!! Her face is the most prominent on the cover you show! She is what makes the movie the classic that it has become! June 3, 2008

A must see

How could you not love this movie? It has Lena Horne, and Cab Calloway just to name a few amazing artists. The music numbers blend seamlessly with the story line. This is a star studded cast of anyone that was anyone back in the day. Incredible, I still love it to this day. I have seen it more times than I can count. It is neat to see all of my favorite people back when they were young. Way cool. May 7, 2008

One of the Best Dance Scene of all Times

I love this movie mostly for Cab Calloway and The Nicholas Brothers. The Nicholas Brothers created (what I think) is the best dance scene of all times. They make tap seem very easy, but most people do not realize the level of athleticism involved in getting those moves so fluid. Cab Calloway was always VERY entertaining with his band; you can't help but to tap your foot to the beat of his band when he performs. Overall this movie shows a great deal of history for anyone who has an interest in dance, black entertainment, or just entertainment in general. This was produced about 30 years before I was even thought of and I love that it's on DVD now so that I can teach/share with my future children this piece of history. January 20, 2008

This movie is great!

The movie is a classic work of performing arts, with great performances by "Bojangles", Lena Horne, and Cab Calloway. It is entertaining, funny, strokes the right emotions, and an excellent portrayal of jazz music, dancing, and acting. December 1, 2007

Great entertainment

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.

November 24, 2007

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