Stompin’ at the Savoy Review

Follows the lives of four women who travel from South Carolina to New York at the end of the 1930s, exploring their friendships, relationships and their gradual moving apart.

by empire |
Published on
Release Date:

01 Jan 1992

Running Time:

95 minutes

Certificate:

NO CERT

Original Title:

Stompin’ at the Savoy

Set in Harlem at the tail-end of the 1930s, this charming period tale revolves around the changing fortunes of four young black women as they move up from South Carolina seeking fame and fortune in the Big Apple. Prissy Pauline (cute-as-pie chanteuse Vanessa Williams) dreams of making it big as a singer, agonised Alice (Jasmine Guy from TV's Different World) wants a quiet life with her unemployed beau, disadvantaged Dorothy dates a movie star, while eager-to-succeed Esther hopes to realise her dreams of opening a beauty parlour with a little help from influential local bigwig Walter (Mario Van Peebles). Set against the authentic backdrop of New York's all-black Savoy dancehall with Ella Fitzgerald on the bill, the film charts the young women's changing lives as time, relationships and social attitudes shape them

This is a fresh, sure-footed ensemble piece that rarely misses a beat.
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