Runtime: 78 minutes
Directed by: Andrew L. Stone
Starring: Lena Horne, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, Dooley Wilson
From: 20th Century Fox
This was the perfect movie to watch during the conclusion of Black History Month. This was made by 20th Century Fox during WWII as frothy entertainment; both white and Black films (of course this is the latter) during the war presented musicals that had threadbare plots which tied together various musical numbers. With what's going on in the world now... it was also the time for frothy entertainment.
This is rather loosely based on star Bill “Bojangles” Robinson's life. From World War I to present time the career of Bill Williamson is presented-from his time as a soldier to joining a big production to Hollywood success to performing at a benefit for WWII soldiers about to disembark. The plot isn't that important although at least it provided some laughs & clever wordplay alongside the numerous routines presented-yes, one of them was of the classic 1930's tune Stormy Weather. There is a romance between Bojangles and Lena Horne... sure, there's quite the age gap between the two yet Robinson looked far younger than in his 60's here so it wasn't creepy, at least when you were watching.
Personally, it was a delight to see such talents as Robinson, Horne, Cab Calloway (I rarely use the term “swag” but he had it), Fats Waller, Katherine Dunham and Ada Brown all perform their song & dance act. No matter your race/ethnicity the movie is worth watching to see such great performers do their thing when it wasn't common for their thing to be captured forever. Of course there's the awkwardness of a blackface routine (yes, Black people even did the act of portraying stereotypical characters) along with images of a Golliwog doll and that's an regrettable reminder of the past. Even with that, this is worth seeing; various clips of the performances are on YouTube but everyone's highlight is the number that dancers The Nicholas Brothers did. It was so jaw-dropping that even Fred Astaire was astounded... as was I.
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