Week-End in Havana
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Movie Reviews of Week-End in Havana
Movie Review: Are we there yet ??? Two and 1/2 stars
Summary: 3 Stars
Week-End In Havana can at the very, very best be described as a "fun" film--because the truth is that the film never goes very far and the plot is remarkably contrived. What a shame! The film sports a great cast with Alice Faye, John Payne, Cesar Romero and Carmen Miranda; and they try to do the best they can do with a somewhat flawed plot and poorly written lines.
The action begins when a cruise ship to Havana, Cuba hits the rocks near Cuba and is disabled. All the passengers sign waivers and get arrangements for other trips--all, that is, except one Nan Spencer (Alice Faye). Nan saved like a fiend for this trip and she won't take no for an answer--she wants her vacation NOW! The cruise ship execs panic and even postpone a wedding so that one of their vice presidents, Jay Williams (John Payne), can fly down to Cuba. Jay eventually winds up giving Nan the vacation in Cuba she wanted to avoid her suing the steamship company.
And then the plot thins. Somehow the script works in Cesar Romero as a gambler who romances Nan to get money he thinks she has so he can pay off his gambling debts; Carmen Miranda fits in better as the passionate, flighty nightclub singer who performs some solid numbers in this movie. Of course, you may well be able to predict what happens between Jay Williams, Nan Spencer and Jay's fiancée Terry; but I'll leave that part out so you have some reason to watch this movie--just as long as nothing more exciting is on television tonight.
I can't quite put my finger on it; but those musical numbers and the fast paced slapstick high jinks and all too quickly concocted romances just don't do it for me. I'm spoiled--MGM musicals did it better. Sigh.
The choreography works well throughout the picture; all you have to do is watch those dance numbers with many dancers dancing simultaneously to know that they did work hard to stage those dance numbers. The cinematography reflects good judgment. The choreography and the cinematography work better than the plot!
The DVD features some optional commentary which is rare given the fact that movies from this era don't often offer this; and there is a small stills gallery as well.
Overall, Week-End In Havana works well for a day when the weather is crummy and there's nothing else on television. At times the plot takes a twist that is so contrived I would rather watch cow manure exploding in a field somewhere out in farm country. My sympathy to the stars of this film who offered great talent but had it wasted by a plot with lines so simple a fifth grader could have written most if not all of them.
Two and ½ stars.
Movie Review: Rhumba, romance, and chintzy painted backdrops
Summary: 3 Stars
All Alice Faye has to do is sing in her gorgeous full contralto (that is almost a baritone) and you immediately can see why she was 20th-Century Fox's biggest star during the war years: here she transforms a dull song like "Rhumba and Romance" into a little masterpiece while dancing with Cesar Romero and really kicking back. While skimpy, the plot of this very typical Fox musical is fairly efficient: Faye, a Macy's shop-girl, is the last holdout to sign off for liability when her cruise ship runs aground on a sand bar, so an executive of the cruise line (John Payne) has to squire her around Havana to make sure she has a good time. Along the way they run into an incompetent gigolo (Romero) and his spitfire girlfriend (Carmen Miranda, of course, since Brazil and Cuba were considered pretty interchangeable in the minds of 40s America). The costumes by Gwen Wakeling are quite eye-catching, and the lovely and unusual model Cobana Wright, Jr., plays Faye's rival, and John Payne is at least very handsome; unfortunately the sets and backdrops are pretty chintzy, as was often per usual with Fox, and the songs by Mack Gordon are instantly forgettable. The only thing to really lift this above mediocrity is Faye, who is not much of an actress (though she does have fun with a New York accent), but who sings like a dream.Movie Review: First Rate Factory Musical! Fantastic Music! Carmen Miranda!
Summary: 3 Stars
Sequels? Prequels? In the old days, Hollywood just changed a few actors, re-wrote a few lines, changed the setting and added a few new dance numbers and Voila! New Film! This is factory film at its best! Most of the crew from "Song Of The Islands" is here, but Grable has been ditched for Alice Faye (Yahoo!) and Hilo Hattie for Carmen Miranda (Yahoo!)(and I love Hilo Hattie). Instead of two yachtsmen drifting ashore in Hawaii, Faye's cruise ship runs aground off Cuba. She saw the Captain where he shouldn't have been, and won't give in, so John Payne, agent for the shipping company (and soon to wed the boss's daughter) flies her to Havana, and escorts her the best he can. Carmen Miranda shows up and wiggles and jiggles her way in and amongst the english language and big hats; and way too quick, you're at the big musical finale, which these films did so well. One point here, look towards the lower center right screen for the male dancer who gets hopelessly lost. All of his embarrassment shows up on VHS, only part of it on DVD. Once again, this ain't high cinematic art, but man o man, it's a highly watchable film, with great music and likeable characters. This is the stuff that made Hollywood famous.Movie Review: WEAK PLOTS. WEAKER SCORES. WHEN'S THE NEXT SHIP OUT?
Summary: 2 Stars
In the Golden Age of Hollywood, each studio usually took a stab all various genres, but excelled in only one. Warner Brothers cornered gangster films, with forays into musicals (Busby Berkeley) and noir (Bogart). Universal dabbled in lots of B-films, but succeeded big-time with horror. MGM, of course, produced the best musicals. Fox did melodramas --- especially noir --- with an occasional romp on MGM's musical turf. And usually those romps hit some really bad notes. Witness the first three flicks in their Marquee Musicals series. Daddy Long Legs has Astaire and Caron, Pin-Up Girl has Betty Grable, Week-End in Havana has Alice Faye and Carmen Miranda, The memory of these films, for the most part, is a lot better than the films themselves. The pleasant but fairly pedestrian scores, thin plots and busy character actors scurrying around propping up the story make for rough going. And make one yearn for Mickey and Judy.Movie Review: barely enjoyable
Summary: 2 Stars
This is another silly sub-par musical from Twentieth Century Fox, restored in gorgeous color to DVD. The plot is on a high school level, the acting is little better, the comedy is virtually non-existent, and the music is entirely forgettable. Still, two stars for Carmen Miranda and Alice Faye's rhumba. John Payne belonged at Monogram.