Coming up next is 1945's "Doll Face", starring Vivian Blaine, Dennis O'Keefe, Perry Como, and Carmen Miranda. A burlesque star wants to break into Broadway, but her beginnings in burlesque ensure that the doors are slammed in her face. She writes a book in the hopes that a little culture will pry those doors open again. The film's supporting cast includes Martha Stewart, Stephen Dunne, Reed Hadley, and Donald MacBride.
The film opens as "Doll Face" Carroll is auditioning for a Broadway producer. She does a beautiful rendition of "Somebody's Walking In My Dreams". Unfortunately for her, someone recognizes her as Doll Face Carroll, the Queen of Burlesque, and the object of New York men's desires. She stars in a show on the other side of town. The producer says he doesn't want her because she has no class.
In order to get her some class, Doll Face's manager (and boyfriend) arranges for her to "write" a book. He gets a ghostwriter to come down to the theater for an interview. At first, the writer, Frederick Manly Gerard, wants nothing to do with this aspect of the theater. One look at Doll Face changes his mind. When he leaves, Mike shows Doll Face some engagement rings he picked up at the jeweler. They're not engaged yet, but are waiting for the right time.
While talking with Gerard the next day, Mike gets an idea. He wants to take his whole show to Broadway. Mike says why should the big, fancy Broadway producer get all the publicity? The only problem is they don't have enough money to put on the show. Gerard saves the day and says he'll invest whatever sum they need. Doll Face gives him a big hug in gratitude and Mike gets jealous.
Mike watches as the two discuss the book and get along well. Gerard says the book is nearly finished and rehearsal starts on the show soon. He's a bit sad that their relationship will be over. Mike walks away just before Gerard tells Doll Face how he feels about her. She tells him not to talk that way. She loves Mike and no other guy will do. Mike comes back and tells her she doesn't need to write the book anymore. The show will do fine because of all the publicity the news of the book generated. Just gets angry when he tries to call it off. She tells him she's going through with the book being published, and she and Gerard storm off.
Right after this, Nicky (Perry Como) sings "Here Comes Heaven Again", something he's written for the new show.
It's a beautiful ballad that he sings to his love interest, another star of the burlesque show.
The next day, Gerard and Doll Face have to go to the publisher's weekend house on an island in Jamaica Bay. They rent a boat so they can be back for Doll Face's night performance. She's been distracted that day, because of her quarrel with Mike. Gerard tells her he'll get over it. While they're on their way to the publisher's house, the motor conks out on the boat. With no way to solve their problem, the two have to swim to the nearest shore and spend the night. Mike frantically searches for them.
Doll Face is horribly worried about what he'll think when she's not back. Unfortunately, Mike calls out the Coast Guard and arrives with them after they spot the boat stranded on a beach. Mike walks up and sees the two sleeping side by side. He thinks the worst, no matter what Gerard and Doll Face tell him. Despite their protestations, he refuses to believe that things happened like they said. He leaves them on the beach, and Doll Face leaves his burlesque show.
When Doll Face leaves the show, so do the customers, and Mike is forced to close it. Chita (Carmen Miranda) sets Mike straight about Doll Face, and tells him to apologize. He tells her he's tried, but she doesn't answer his phone calls and all his letters come back unopened. Chita also gives Mike the engagement rings back, saying Doll Face told her to send them to him.
Hurt by Mike's actions, Doll Face has started a relationship with Gerard, and he's given her a ring...no strings attached. If at any time she feels it's not right for her, she can give it back. Just after he gives it, the big Broadway producer shows up and wants Doll Face for a show. She suggests using her autobiography as source material for the show. She says they can also use the cast from her old burlesque troupe, and he's all for it.
The show goes into rehearsal. A few weeks before opening, Gerard tells Chita that Doll Face has been very short with him lately. During a rehearsal of "Somebody's Walking In My Dreams", Doll Face gets emotional and wants to cut the song. She says they should cut out the part of Mike Hannegan altogether. When Gerard goes after her, Doll Face sends him away. Chita uses the opportunity to call Mike and tell him to come and see Doll Face right away. However, Doll Face doesn't want to see him after the things he said that day on the beach. Mike tells Chita he's got an idea and Doll Face will talk to him if it's the last thing he ever does.
The opening night of the show comes, and Chita opens things with the fast-paced "Chico Chico".
Carmen Miranda's band, Bando da Lua, accompanies her in the number. It's quite humorous and full of fun.
When it's Doll Face's turn to come on, she finds she can't. Mike has slapped an injunction on the show. Since he has a personal contract with Doll Face, she can't appear unless he says so. And all he wants is to talk. Doll Face is still furious about the scene he made on the beach.
While Mike talks, Doll Face falls in love with him all over again. He agrees to let Doll Face go on. Before she does, she goes to the Broadway producer and gets Mike a twenty-five percent interest in the show, plus a producer's credit and top billing. She and Nicky sing the final number of the show, a medley of "Somebody's Walking In My Dreams" and "Here Comes Heaven Again". Cast rundown:
Vivian Blaine.....................................Doll Face Carroll
Dennis O'Keefe..................................Mike Hannegan
Perry Como.......................................Nicky Ricci
Carmen Miranda.................................Chita Chula
Donald MacBride................................Lawyer Ferguson And that's a wrap on Doll Face. The film was based on a book by legendary burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee. Originally, Carole Landis had been slated to play Doll Face, but was unhappy with the script. Vivian Blaine stepped in.
One scene from the original script never made it into the movie. The film was advertised heavily using Carmen Miranda in a nautical outfit with a lighthouse headdress. The script called for her to sing the song "True To The Navy". Paramount Pictures, who owned the rights to the song, refused to let Fox use it. Although the scene was filmed, it was never used. It can be seen on the DVD release. The headdress Carmen wears can still be seen in the film, as a prop on her dressing table. As always, if you wish to leave a comment, please remember our posting rules.
Our next film is 1942's "Cairo", a comedy spy film starring Jeanette MacDonald and Robert Young. A newspaperman is sent to Cairo to get a story, and comes to believe an actress is a Nazi agent. Once he realizes she isn't a spy, they must work together to uncover the real enemy. The film's supporting players include Ethel Waters, Reginald Owen, Lionel Atwill, Eduardo Ciannelli, Dooley Wilson, and Mona Barrie.
The film opens in a movie theater, where newspaperman Homer Smith (Young) is watching a Marcia Warren (MacDonald) movie. It's the last film she made in America, and it's three years old. Homer beams as he watches Ms. Warren's movements. He's interrupted and told the newspaper office wants to see him right away. Once he gets there, he discovers that he has been selected to go overseas to be small town (Cavity Rock, CA) newspaper correspondent for the war.
On his way over, Homer's convoy goes down in the Mediterranean. He survives and gets on a raft. He meets a fellow castaway, Mr. Cobson, and the two strike up a conversation. They figure out that they're not too far from the Libyan coast. Homer uses his jacket as a sail and the two men make landfall.
On land, the presence of German soldiers in the area necessitates that the two men split up. Cobson gives Homer a message to carry to Cairo in the event he doesn't make it there. He must meet a woman, Mrs. Morrison, at a certain time at a hotel who is drinking a rainbow cocktail, and give her secret message. Cobson reveals he is a member of British intelligence who is trying to ascertain the identity of the Big Six, an German espionage group. No one knows who they are, only that their leader is a woman. As they part ways (Homer along the shore and Cobson in the direction of the German soldiers), Homer picks up Cobson's pipe that he left behind.
Homer arrives in Cairo, finds Mrs. Morrison, and passes on Cobson's message. Mrs. Morrison thanks him for the message and asks if there's anything she can do for him. He tells her he wants to know the identity of the woman who's the leader of the Big Six. She points him in the direction of Marcia Warren, who's singing at the hotel. Mrs. Morrison puts doubt in Homer's mind about why she's been absent from the United States for so long.
Homer goes to the bar where Marcia is singing. He hilariously tries to decode the various trills and pauses in her song, thinking it might be a secret enemy code. He finds out that Marcia is looking for a new butler, and has scheduled interviews for the next day. Figuring this might be a good way to gain information, he decides to apply for the job.
Homer introduces himself as Juniper Jones, a broke American in need of a job. Marcia hires him, though she's suspicious of his story and name, and the two have a very humorous conversation about the merits of living in Northern California versus Southern California. "Have you ever been in San Francisco?" asks Homer. "Yes, once, with Gable and Tracy," says Marcia, "and the joint fell apart!"
Later, while shopping in Cairo, Homer wanders into a shop to avoid being seen by Marcia. She walks in and sees a mouse and screams. As she does, a secret panel (butterfly door) opens, though Homer and Marcia don't know the cause. The shop owner asks Marcia if she is in the habit of screaming a perfect High C. After they leave, we find out that the door is opened by sound, and the High C note is the access key.
Who should emerge from behind the secret door, but Mrs. Morrison. The door is normally opened with a tuning fork, which emits the same High C sound.
On the other side of the secret door, we find a secret room. We also find out that Mrs. Morrison is the head of the Big Six, and she's sent Homer on a wild goose chase. Another thing we discover is that the Big Six is planning an attack on an American troop transport ship on the Suez Canal by a radio-controlled airplane crashing into it and destroying it with highly explosive material.
Back at Marcia's house, Homer is getting refreshments ready for six. He thinks the Big Six. What is really happening is a rehearsal for a show Marcia is getting ready to take part in. They do a really beautiful medley of patriotic songs that confuses Homer. How can a Nazi secret agent sing so beautifully about America?
Among the songs she sings is "Keep The Light Burning Bright", which speaks about the marching men coming home again. It's a beautiful, patriotic song, and Jeanette does it very well.
Later that evening, Homer tries to get Marcia out of the house so he can do a little investigating. He tells her she should go out and get some air so she can be in good voice for the next night's concert.
During the course of the evening, a British military officer comes to call on Marcia. After Homer leaves the room, he confides to Marcia that he believes Homer (whom he has had followed) to be Philo Cobson, a dangerous Nazi agent. He advises Marcia to get him out of the house so she can search his room. Do to him what he was planning to do to her.
Later that night, Marcia, Cleona, and Homer go out, and Marcia suggests they see a show. Homer insists on paying, but has to come back because the clerk won't take his money. All he has are hundred-dollar bills. "Imagine, nothin' to your name but a belt full of C notes", says Cleona. Once inside, all three disappear into their respective lounges, and disappear, hoping to get back to the house without the other knowing where they are.
After hilariously going through each other's things (including Homer starting a fire, getting soaking wet under the shower, spilling a bottle of Marcia's perfume on himself, and finally conking himself on the head under a piano), the two sort things out. "Have you a woman accomplice with you?" Marcia asks. "This room positively reeks of cheap, vulgar perfume." "Well, it's yours," says Homer. The two talk things out. "I'm not a spy. Believe me," says Marcia. "In the first place, the Screen Actors Guild wouldn't stand for it." Everything out in the open, the two resolve to help try to find who really is the Nazi spy. They also fall in love.
The next night at the concert, among some beautiful Egyptian ruins, Cleona sings "Buds Won't Bud", and gets caught up in a little romance of her own.
And Marcia sings the the title song "Cairo". During her performance she smiles at Homer who is watching from a distance.
It's a beautiful song, and brilliantly shot, the scenery lending a wonderful atmosphere to the musical number.
After her number, Marcia can't find Homer. She searches all over for him, but all she can find is the pipe he had that formerly belonged to Cobson. She puts it in her purse. Later, she smashes her purse down on a table, forgetting the pipe is inside. The pipe breaks into pieces, and Marcia finds a drawing, some kind of map, that had been concealed inside the pipe. She alerts British Intelligence and they figure out it is a map of the pyramids. But where is Homer?
What they don't know is that Homer saw Mrs. Morrison and some of the Big Six at the concert and hitched a ride on the back of their car. He arrives at the pyramids before Marcia. He watches Mrs. Morrison and company open the side of the pyramid by using the tuning fork playing High C. Homer drops several hundred-dollar bills "C-notes" as clues for Marcia and the others follow, before dashing quickly to an airplane to escape (earlier in the film we found out that Homer is an amateur pilot). Unfortunately for Homer, it is the radio controlled plane the Nazis plan on crashing into the American troop transport ship.
Marcia and the others arrive at the pyramids and decipher some clues Homer left. Marcia tries singing a regular C with no luck. She later moves on to High C, and the pyramid opens. They manage to catch Mrs. Morrison and the Big Six, but still can't get any help to Homer.
Luckily, Homer finds a way to alter the plane's course. He has to work fast because Allied planes are trying to shoot him down. He finds a parachute on board and bails out at the last moment, and lands on the ship, saving all on board.
The next scene shows that Homer and Marcia are married and giving a party for the boys from the ship. Homer reads a telegram saying that Hollywood wants him to co-star with his wife for a movie. He says he doesn't know the first thing about what to do in front of a camera. It's fun to watch them as they practice how to stay out of each other's close-ups.
The film ends with a reprise of "Keep The Light Burning Bright" as Homer and Marcia embrace. Cast rundown:
Mona Barrie................................................Mrs. Morrison And that's all for Cairo. It's a wonderfully entertaining film that's full of patriotic flavor. I'm very surprised it wasn't more popular when it was released. It's one of my favorites. As always, if you wish to comment, please remember our posting rules.
