MY VIEWING DIARY: PART FOUR

"Stormy Weather" (1943)

Two of the earliest and most significant Hollywood films to feature an all-African-American cast were both released in 1943. One was Vincente Minnelli's musical, "Cabin in the Sky" and the other was "Stormy Weather" from director, Andrew Stone. This glossy musical is held together by a story very loosely based on the life of tap dancer, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, who spent years performing on the stage and screen, most notably with Shirley Temple in several movies. 

He plays Bill Williamson, a talented aspiring dancer returning home after serving in WW I. At a New York nightclub, he falls for the beautiful singer, Selina Rogers (Lena Horne) and they begin a romance but their lives as performers create obstacles in their relationship. 

There's no need to dwell on the obvious racism and stereotypes that can be found throughout the film (with it thankfully being minor) and let's focus on how "Stormy Weather" was an excellent showcase for African-American talent of the day. There's jazz bandleader, Cab Calloway, blues vocalist, Ada Brown; choreographer, Katherine Dunham and her dance troupe who perform with Horne on the title song number; Fats Waller singing "Ain't Misbehavin'" and the astounding footwork of the Nicholas Brothers. This wonderful musical was so good that I watched it twice. Robinson was sixty-five and in poor health when he shot this movie but you would never know it as he moves on screen with his reliable skill and grace. As this would be his first starring role and final feature film, "Stormy Weather" serves as a tribute to the long career of this legendary entertainer.

 

"The Scarlet Empress" (1934)

"The Scarlet Empress" was the sixth of the seven cinematic collaboration between director, Josef von Sternberg and actress, Marlene Dietrich which is their take on the story of the 18th Century Russian Empress, Catherine the Great. 

Sophia Frederica (Dietrich), a young Princess of Prussia, is sent off to Moscow in an arranged marriage to the Grand Duke, Peter (Sam Jaffe), the nephew of Elizabeth (Louise Dresser), the Empress of Russia. When Sophia asks her escort, Count Alexei (John Lodge) what the Duke is like, she is assured that he's handsome and wise. However, when she arrives, Peter is far from this description with even the Empress referring to her nephew as a dimwit. And Sophia has to deal with the overbearing Elizabeth who forces her to change her name to "Catherine" and demands that she produce a male heir immediately. But since the Duke will not share her bed, this proves a bit challenging. Alexei pursues Catherine relentlessly and she largely resists while being very attracted to him. After the disturbing discovery that she's not been the only one in the Royal court he's been romancing, Catherine finds comfort in the arms of a random Lieutenant and months later, a heir to the throne is produced. 

While this drama is hardly historically accurate, "The Scarlet Empress" should be enjoyed for it's grand visual spectacle and the captivating performance by Dietrich who convincingly takes Catherine from a naive teenage girl to confident seductress. The only clunker here is Ms Dresser's portrayal of Empress Elizabeth, coming across more like some insufferable owner of a rundown saloon than a royal subject.

"Sweet Bird of Youth" (1962)

I don't understand why Hollywood had insisted on trying to make movies out of the provocative and controversial plays of Tennessee Williams. While the theme of homosexuality may have been tolerated (within reason) on the stage at the time, the movie industry was still under strict control by the Production Code and the original intentions of the work by this gay playwright would never make it on to the screen. 

Richard Brooks had previously directed a 1959 film adaption of Williams' play, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (which starred two of the most stunning people to ever appear before the movie cameras; Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor, both at the height of their beauty) and while it was a box-office smash, the story was altered considerably. Brooks would return to direct another big-screen adaption of a Williams play, "Sweet Bird of Youth" in 1962 with this film also falling victim to some serious revisions. Mr. Newman appears here as Chance Wayne, a handsome aspiring actor who has latched on to an older film star, Alexandra Del Lago (Geraldine Page), a difficult woman and raging alcoholic. He has returned to his small hometown of St. Cloud, FL. with a passed-out Del Lago in her fancy car to reconnect with the love he had left behind, Heavenly (Shirley Knight). But her father, Tom "Boss" Finley (Ed Begley, who won an Oscar for this role), a loathsome political heavyweight in the town, is determined to make sure that this couple are not reunited with the help of his equally despicable son, Tom, Jr. (Rip Torn). 

Considering how much had to be changed from the play with even a hopeful ending tacked on, this "Sweet Bird of Youth" remains an entertaining, Southern-fried melodrama with some outstanding performances. Mr. Newman, full of swagger and burning sensuality, holds his own against the exuberant Ms Page with her epic scene-devouring and magnificently untamed hair.