Product: Stormy Weather [VHS] (1980)
Rating: 4.0
This Is Entertainment!!!
The connecting thread to this review of African-American entertainment spanning the World Wars is the reminisces of hoofer Bill Williamson(Bill Robinson). This is just a light-hearted pretense to show the rich tapestry that was the African-American contribution to our collective culture. And what a great gathering of contributors here! Robinson, Lena Horne, Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, the Nicholas Brothers, etc. Everybody's at the top of their game in full knowledge that the opportunity to strut their stuff in a major Hollywood production wouldn't be afforded very often. The performances are infectuously joyful betraying the pain many probably felt at being discriminated against. I approached this film initially as a sociological experience and at some point I was sucked into the fun of it all.