Tap (1989), 8+

PG-13 | 1h 51min | Comedy , Drama , Music | 10 February 1989
Just released from prison, Max Washington must decide which of his previous professions to return to: burglar or tap dancer.
Director: Nick Castle
Stars: Gregory Hines, Suzzanne Douglas, Sammy Davis Jr., Savion Glover, and the senior dancers:
Dick Anthony Williams ... Francis
Bunny Briggs ... Bunny
Steve Condos ... Steve
Arthur Duncan ... Arthur
Howard 'Sandman' Sims ... Sandman
Jimmy Slyde ... Slim
Harold Nicholas ... Harold

Alfred De Sio ... tap dance consultant

Gregory Hines ... improvographer

Henry LeTang ... choreographer

Ellie LeTang ... assistant choreographer (uncredited)

This writer/director is son of Nick Castle, the choreographer with 88 film credits although he died at 58. I watched 47 of his films and never felt the urge to add him to my list of "Dance directors/choreographers who made their films worthwhile". However, I remember an interview somewhere of the Nicholas Brothers who said it was NC (sr.) who suggested their most spectacular segment: the splits over each other down the big staircase in Stormy Weather ('43). I think when the dancing was really good, I mentally gave credit to the dancers. I was never dazzled by what the chorus/ensemble did in his films. Next round I should re-evaluate that.

The c.track was NC (jr) only, recorded in '04 (a year after GH died) and he talked about how much GH contributed to the story (yet does not have credit beyond acting/dance direction). NC explains the smoky nature of the scenes was his cinematographer's doing, and even NC admits it was too much. It really obscures the seniors dancing scene so you can't see faces very well. But you can still see the dancing.

Steve Condos doesn't look anything like he did 50 years earlier (his 1st film was '37), or even 35 years earlier (his prior film was '53). He looks shorter (but no objective evidence for that), and his dancing had already changed when his brother quit ('46 was their last film together), but at one moment in his brief routine SC does that hand thing which always let me confirm that was him and not his brother. Made me smile. SC dies in '90.

Harold Nicholas (actually 3 yrs younger than SC despite starting in films 4 yrs earlier) still did the splits thing in this film. He even did a split after jumping over 2 guys crouched down, and slid right back up to standing. HN dies in '00. (Brother Fayard, 7 yrs older, not in this film, dies in '06.)

GH does a lot of great dancing, and all dancing is filmed pretty well. It's shot head to toe, and not pasted together at the whim of an editor, but they do cut sometimes to insert reaction shots. Wish they'd staged the observer to be in the same shot with the dancer to prevent cutting away from the dance, or done a split screen/pwp thing.

We also get a brief dance from SG (b. '73), which is excellent. We get to see him and GH again in Bojangles ('01).

The crime plot is off-putting, but GH's dance in his prison cell was awesome.

This is worth frequent revisiting.

TriStar & more, dir. Castle; 8+