Coming up next we have 1942's "Springtime In The Rockies", a story about a dancing duo that splits up. When the man chases the woman to the Canadian Rockies, he must break up her engagement to another man and convince her to return to work with him before he loses backers for his new show.
The film's cast includes Betty Grable, Carmen Miranda, John Payne, Cesar Romero, Charlotte Greenwood, Edward Everett Horton, Harry James, Jackie Gleason, Bess Flowers, Patrick O'Moore, and Helen Forrest.
Broadway star Vicky Lane gets a surprise visit in the middle of a show from her former dance partner Victor Prince.
He wants to get their act back together. Knowing she has other commitments, Vicky puts him off.
Dan Christy is also starring in Vicky's show, and he's very late. The two are romantically involved, though Vicky can't help but be suspicious about his alleged womanizing and reluctance to form any kind of commitment.
After the show, Vicky decides she's had enough. She quits and agrees to join Victor again, leaving Dan on his own.
With Vicky gone, Dan takes to drinking. He's also informed that unless he can get Vicky back, there will be no financial backing for his new show.
He tracks her down to Chateau Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies, where she and Victor are a very big draw to the hotel guests. Dan also finds out that the dancing pair are engaged to be married.
Arriving in Canada in a drunken stupor, Dan is very surprised to find out that he's acquired a valet named McTavish. McTavish comes with a wealth of knowledge of everything except romance. "Though I am a master of romance languages, I’m scarcely
a master of romance.Bachelor of Arts, yes, but awfully tired of
being a bachelor," he says.
And he's even more surprised when he finds out that he's arrived with a spicy South American secretary named Rosita Murphy.
Once he's recovered enough from his hangover, Dan gets to work on finding a way to get Vicky to come back to work with him.
She's very dubious about Dan's supposed "changed" behavior when she meets his secretary Rosita. Thinking that he's the same old Dan, she dismisses his offers to work together and walks away. "Nice for you to make my acquaintance, Miss Lane," Rosita calls after her.
It turns out that Rosita is much more than a secretary. She wants to break into show business. When she turns up in Dan's room with her brothers, she gives him a performance of the "Chattanooga Choo Choo".
At dinner that evening, Vicky and Victor continue to delight guests with their moves on the dance floor.
Dan has dinner at their table, and he brings Rosita along to make Vicky jealous. When Vicky says she needs to go to the powder room, Rosita says, "I'll go with you. My face is a mess, too." That does not endear her to Vicky at all.
However, once in the powder room, the two ladies dish on Dan and become fast friends.
Finding herself alone at table, a tipsy Phoebe (Vicky's friend and dresser) makes her way to the dance floor and delights onlookers with a little performance of her own.
Later, Rosita gives a spirited performance with her brothers which is very well received.
And the two ladies humorously fight over McTavish later in the evening.
Dan and Vicky eventually reunite and decide to get married. However, the backers of Dan's show have decided to pull out, leaving them in the lurch when it comes to funding.
An unexpected source of revenue comes from McTavish, who is on the wealthy side. "Rich? Why, I'm only worth in the neighborhood of, say, six hundred thousand dollars," he tells them when they enquire about his financial means. Rosita smiles and says, "That's a good enough neighborhood for me."
The show opens on Broadway and is a smashing success. Everybody, including the jilted Victor Prince, gets a part.
Cast rundown:
Betty Grable.....................................Vicky Lane
Carmen Miranda................................Rosita Murphy
John Payne.......................................Dan Christy
Cesar Romero...................................Victor Prince
Charlotte Greenwood.........................Phoebe Gray
Edward Everett Horton.......................McTavish
Harry James.....................................Himself
Patrick O'Moore................................Travel Clerk
Helen Forrest....................................Herself
And that's it for Springtime In The Rockies. Alice Faye had originally been cast in the role of Vicky Lane. She had to drop out when she found she was expecting her first daughter. The film pairs Betty Grable with her future husband Harry James. They were married eight months after the film appeared in theaters. The song "I Had The Craziest Dream" that is featured in the film, played by Harry James and sung by Helen Forrest, was played at Betty Grable's funeral in 1973.
As this film is in the public domain, you can watch it here in its entirety.
Let's take a trip to Cuba, shall we? 1941's "Week-End In Havana" is the perfect getaway. When a young lady on a cruise is given the royal treatment, she must make the most of the opportunity before she heads back to her mundane existence. Can she find love in Havana? The film's cast includes Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda, John Payne, Cesar Romero, George Barbier, Sheldon Leonard, and Leonid Kinskey.
Right away Carmen Miranda and her band delight us with the lively title song, "Week-End In Havana".
And we get into the story. When her cruise ships runs aground on its way to Havana, Cuba, working girl Nan Spencer is asked to sign a waiver releasing the cruise company from any liability. She doesn't want to sign it, because she's being cheated out of the good time she was going to have. The company representative tells her that if she'll sign the waiver, the company will pay her way to Havana, including all of her expenses. Nan agrees.
And so we arrive in Havana. Once again this film showcases some lovely scenes of the city and its surrounding area. My only complaint is that many of the images were superimposed over each other, which makes for not very clear pictures.
Nan is taken to the very best hotel and given the Presidential Suite. She's thrilled with the treatment she's getting from the cruise line. The cruise representative, Jay Williams, volunteers to take her sightseeing, but what Nan really wants to do is hit the local nightclubs.
They head to a nightclub, where the headliner is the spicy Rosita Rivas, who entertains to the guests' delight.
Nan is looking for more than just a good time, though. She wants a little romance thrown into the mix as well. Jay is being very professional, so Nan decides to see if there are any guys who want what she wants.
She heads outside and sings the lovely "Tropical Magic." Unbeknownst to Nan, she's being watched as she sings the song.
Watching her is the dashing Monte Blanca, who sweeps her off her feet. Her escorts her back into the nightclub.
Seeing the two of them together worries Jay, who is a bit disconcerted that Nan found someone so quickly.
And he's right to be worried. Monte is heavily in debt, and we learn that he's only paying attention to Nan because he thinks that she's rich. Monte makes plans to spend more time with Nan the next evening.
They head to the casino, where Monte has made a deal with the casino boss that will help clear his debt. The more Nan loses, the more Monte's debt is canceled.
Sadly for him, Nan just keeps on raking in the money. She's thrilled, but Monte isn't exactly excited.
He's also got a jealous girlfriend. We find out that he and Rosita are involved, and she is being ever watchful.
Rosita even comes to Nan's hotel so that she can confront Nan and "rip her hair out". Jay is quick to defuse the situation and puts Rosita off.
Jay even offers to become Rosita's manager, and she's quick to accept. She likes him, and he demands less in percentage than her previous manager, Monte.
Things fall apart, though, when they are out for the evening and run into Monte and Nan. While Rosita has it out with Monte, Nan storms off. Jay follows her.
The two bond on a moonlit walk to the hotel, and they fall in love. Nan sings "Tropical Magic" all night long.
Of course, before everything can work out, there is one more complication. I won't spoil that surprise for you.
A humorous moment comes at the end of the film. Monte finally wins a lot of money (thanks to Nan) and he and Rosita make all sorts of plans. "Maybe I could own all of Cuba!" he thinks. "I could have two suits!"
All's well that ends well, and our cast sings about how wonderful it is to spend a "Week-End In Havana". Cast rundown:
Alice Faye...........................Nan Spencer
Carmen Miranda..................Rosita Rivas
John Payne.........................Jay Williams
Cesar Romero......................Monte Blanca
George Barbier.....................Walter McCracken
Sheldon Leonard..................Boris
Leonid Kinskey.....................Rafael And that's all for Week-End In Havana. Betty Grable was originally supposed to play Nan Spencer, but was replaced by Alice Faye, who was expecting a child throughout the duration of the filming. As always, if you wish to leave a comment, please remember our posting rules.
