Fred Astaire said it was ‘the greatest dancing he had ever seen on film’. In a dance performance for the ages, the Nicholas Brothers, Fayard (1914–2006) and Harold (1921–2000), dazzled audiences with their acrobatic routine to Cab Calloway’s hit song, Jumpin’ Jive. Not only that, but the routine was unrehearsed and what you see was the first take!

The performance was from the 1943 musical film, Stormy Weather. In 2001, Stormy Weather was selected for the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”