1h 18min | Musical | 21 July 1943
Director: Andrew L. Stone (as Andrew Stone)
Stars: Lena Horne, Bill Robinson, Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra, Katherine Dunham and Her Troupe, Fats Waller, The Nicholas Brothers, Dooley Wilson.
Clarence Robinson ... dances staged by: musical sequences
Nick Castle ... dance director (uncredited)
Ruth Fanchon ... musical sequences supervised by (as Fanchon)
In the Tap! Appendix for NB, BR.
Songs performed:
- ch2. Rang Tang Tang, Danced by Bill Robinson and children
- ch5. There's No Two Ways About Love (1943), Performed by Lena Horne, Reprised by Horne, Bill Robinson and Cab Calloway
- ch6. At a Georgia Camp Meeting (1897), Played by the orchestra at the ball and danced by Bill Robinson, Lena Horne and chorus
- ch6. De Camptown Races (1849), Played by the orchestra at the ball and danced by Bill Robinson, Lena Horne and chorus
- ch7. Linda Brown (1937), Performed by Bill Robinson with The Tramp Band
- ch8. That Ain't Right (1941), Performed on piano by Fats Waller and sung by Ada Brown
- ch9. Ain't Misbehavin' (1929), Performed by Fats Waller
- ch10. Diga Diga Doo (1928), Sung by Lena Horne and danced with chorus
- ch11. African Dance (1939), Sung by Emmett 'Babe' Wallace and danced by Bill Robinson
- ch13. I Lost My Sugar in Salt Lake City (1942), Sung by Mae E. Johnson
- ch14. Nobody's Sweetheart (dvd chapter menu title). In rehearsal, male dancer solos tappish.
- ?? Rhythm Cocktail, Played by Cab Calloway and His Band (Soundtracks item, and they've been in sequence)
- ch17. I Can't Give You Anything But Love (1928), Sung and danced by Lena Horne and Bill Robinson with chorus
- ch19. Geechy Joe (1940), Performed by Cab Calloway and His Band
- ch20. Stormy Weather (1933), Sung by Lena Horne,
- ch21. Stormy Weather Ballet, Danced by Katherine Dunham and her Troupe
- ch22. My, My, Ain't That Somethin' (1933), Performed by Bill Robinson, Cab Calloway and His Band
- ch23. The Jumpin' Jive (1939), Danced by The Nicholas Brothers
- ch24. My, My, Ain't That Somethin' reprise, CC and danced by The Nicholas Brothers
The Africa Dance (ch11) fascinates me. I wonder what the drum heads are made of that he can dance on them; surely not the usual leather that's suggested by the decoration along the side; sounds like wood. When Eleanor Powell danced on drum-looking platforms (much larger), she must have been doing a tribute to BR, but that was back in Rosalie ('37). It wouldn't surprise me if BR had done this sort of dance in live performance before 1937. After all, he was born in 1878, and started dancing professionally at age 8.
Commentary track by Dr. Todd Boyd, who was the primary commentator on Cabin in the Sky ('43). His focus is political/ the history of race relations. He is vague about which NB was married to Dorothy Dandridge (it was Harold, the younger shorter one), and he mistakenly identified (at least twice) the Cousin Jake character as played by Willie Best. (When I first saw him, I thought that, but on closer examination I ruled it out; IMDb credits Nick Stewart with the role, and he has 47 film credits and quite a bit of info in his IMDb bio.)
At the end, I said to myself that I wish Jeni Le Gon had appeared, only to find her name in the cast list as 'Dancer' (same designation as the NB.) It just may be sadder if she's a non-featured chorine than if she'd been omitted from the project. (JL was BR's dance partner in Hooray For Love ('35), and has appeared in several films since.)
It feels like BR does more dancing in this film than in all the other films combined, including the cut scenes from Cafe Metropole ('37). LH is luminous, plays a professional singer, and behaves as regally/elegantly as my image of her; it's strange when she sings "ain't" during the title song. Dooley Wilson acts, but doesn't sing.
As the commentator says, this is a film showcasing performances. The story is thin, but that's good: more time for songs! And with these performers, you want it to go on forever.
It feels like BR does more dancing in this film than in all the other films combined, including the cut scenes from Cafe Metropole ('37). LH is luminous, plays a professional singer, and behaves as regally/elegantly as my image of her; it's strange when she sings "ain't" during the title song. Dooley Wilson acts, but doesn't sing.
As the commentator says, this is a film showcasing performances. The story is thin, but that's good: more time for songs! And with these performers, you want it to go on forever.
Fox, dir. Stone; 8
