Stormy Weather (1943)

The relationship between an aspiring dancer and a popular songstress provides a retrospective of the great African American entertainers of the early 1900s.

Director:

Andrew L. Stone (as Andrew Stone)

Writers:

Frederick J. Jackson (screen play) (as Frederick Jackson), Ted Koehler (screen play)

Stars:

Lena Horne, Bill Robinson, Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Lena Horne	...	Selina Rogers
Bill Robinson	...	Bill Williamson
Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra	...	Cab Calloway Orchestra (as Cab Calloway and His Band)
Katherine Dunham and Her Troupe	...	Dance Troupe
Fats Waller	...	'Fats' Waller
The Nicholas Brothers	...	Dancers (as Nicholas Brothers)
Ada Brown	...	Singer
Dooley Wilson	...	Gabe Tucker
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Cab Calloway	...	Cab Calloway
Katherine Dunham	...	Katherine Dunham
The Tramp Band	...	The Tramp Band

Storyline

Dancing great Bill 'Williamson' sees his face on the cover of Theatre World magazine and reminisces: just back from World War I, he meets lovely singer Selina Rogers at a soldiers' ball and promises to come back to her when he "gets to be somebody." Years go by, and Bill and Selina's rising careers intersect only briefly, since Selina is unwilling to "settle down." Will she ever change her mind? Concludes with a big all-star show hosted by Cab Calloway.

---

Plot Keywords:

national film registry | singer | dancer | african american | tap dancing | 

---

Genres:

Musical

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 November 1943 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Der Tänzer auf den Stufen

Filming Locations:

Stage 14, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When the film was made Bill Robinson was 39 years older than Lena Horne.

---

Goofs

The first time Selena says "Bill Williamson" (in the first scene, before her character has met him) her mouth quite clearly says "Bill Robinson. Bill Robinson played Bill Williamson.

---

Quotes

Bill Williamson: Clem never told me you could sing like that, Selina.
Selina Rogers: I couldn't when Clem went away... but I practiced, and I studied. I've always been ambitious. Haven't you, Bill?
Bill Williamson: Never have been, except to get three square meals a day, regular. But I'm beginning to see things different now.

---

Connections

Featured in The Nicholas Brothers: We Sing and We Dance (1992)

---

Soundtracks

Walkin' the Dog
(1916) (uncredited)
Music by Shelton Brooks
Played briefly by the orchestra at the ball in a medley with "The Darktown Strutters' Ball"

User Reviews

Lena and Bojangles shine in Stormy Weather

Well, here's another review of a Lena Horne picture after I just commented on Cabin in the Sky. She's quite luminous throughout the movie especially during the "Digga Digga Doo" number. The man she's falling for, however, is a bit old for her. He's Bill 'Bogangles' Robinson, basically playing himself as the famous tap-dancer who made it to the movies. Despite that, they looked good dancing together. Dooley Wilson, who was just gaining fame as Sam in Casablanca, has some funny scenes as Bill's old Army buddy, Gabe. Also appearing are Cab Calloway, Fats Waller (in his last film appearance before his untimely death), singer Ada Brown, dancer Katherine Dunham, and The Nicholas Brothers who are way awesome jumping on those steps. In fact, they're all good. I didn't like that comedy team that had to black up their faces but other than that, Stormy Weather was musically excellent from beginning to end. P.S. It wasn't until I looked at the cast list here that I found out Matthew 'Stymie' Beard had a part as a stage hand. Thanks for one of the commentators for identifying him as the one who says "Half-hour" to distract the chorus girls. And that the guy who played Chick Bailey was Emmett 'Babe' Wallace who I last saw with Nina Mae McKinney in The Black Network (which also had The Nicholas Brothers when they were much younger).