Cabin In The Sky and Stormy Weather

HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano devote this podcast episode to a couple of Hollywood musicals from 1943, "Cabin in the Sky" and "Stormy Weather," that showcase Black musical theater talent. The famous performers here include Lena Horne, Ethel Waters, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Cab Calloway, Fats Waller and the Nicholas Brothers. There are some amazing production numbers in "Stormy Weather." Marie and Mike discuss these films within the cultural context of how Black characters typically were presented in Hollywood movies at the time. They go on to mention a socially progressive Hollywood film from 1949, "Pinky," about a light-complected Black woman who "passes" for white. However, the title role was played by a white actress, Jeanne Crain. It's a movie that in its own way says a lot about Hollywood in that era.