Stormy Weather

Stormy Weather follows Bill Williamson, a celebrated tap dancer who, after returning from the First World War, meets the singer Selina Rogers at a dance for soldiers. He promises to come back to her once he has made something of himself. Over the years their paths cross only briefly, since Selina is unwilling to settle down, while Bill builds a career in entertainment. The story unfolds as a retrospective, framed by Bill recalling his rise for the children of his neighbors. Lena Horne plays Selina and Bill Robinson plays Bill, with Cab Calloway, Katherine Dunham, Fats Waller and Fayard Nicholas appearing as themselves, and a large credited cast of 54.

The film was directed by Andrew L. Stone, who had made no features before it, and written by Ted Koehler and Frederick J. Jackson, with William LeBaron producing for 20th Century Fox. It runs 78 minutes and mixes comedy, drama, music and romance, releasing on July 21, 1943 to a worldwide box office of about 2 million dollars. On IMDb it holds 7.3 out of 10 from roughly 3,100 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.8 from a much smaller base of 52 votes, so the broader audience score is the stronger signal.