Havana Widows

So who's right, Variety ("rapid fire laughs, all legitimately gained and inescapable") or Hirschhorn's Warner Brothers book ("a computerized comedy... formula film-making at its manufactured worst")? The opening shot of a burlesque marquee featuring "Iwanna Shakitoff, direct from Russia" might portend well, but shouldn't that be Ivanna? The scene where the burlesque manager tells Joan Blondell to do a stag show in Passaic, "and give 'em something to stare at" has a certain realism, but that's the last you see of anything that could go by that name. Even as the chorus girls swap wisecracks while they're dancing, one can tell there's a problem. The lines are flat and aren't delivered off-the-cuff, but more like a series of Laugh-In blackouts. Soon, the Warner regulars are walking through scenes that somehow arrive at the denouement by way of an obvious structure that reminds one of a matinée-western, and with clever or perceptive dialogue notably absent. It is from Warners, and before the Code, but there's not a moment that could be called "legitimately gained," nor is there an unexpected one. Very disappointing, especially considering the cast.

...from First National and director Ray Enright. Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell star as a couple of show girls who decide to head for Havana to try and put some unsuspecting rich guys into compromising positions which will result in a big payday for them. They hone in on befuddled older man Guy Kibbee, but Blondell falls for his handsome (but poor) son Lyle Talbot. Also featuring Frank McHugh, Allen Jenkins, Ruth Donnelly, Hobart Cavanaugh, Ralph Ince, Luis Alberni, J. Carrol Naish, and Paul Porcasi.

Blondell and Farrell are two of my favorite ladies from this period of film, and I loved seeing them together. McHugh does his perpetual drunk shtick but I still found it funny. The gleefully amoral plot is a definitive example of pre-code inhibition.

What is odd here is that this seems to be a remake of sorts of 1930's The Life of the Party. Both were made in the precode era. The only thing I can figure is that the two female leads of that earlier film - Winnie Lightner and Irene Delroy were no longer headliners, and the new Warner Brothers stars were hardly even on the lot if at all just three years earlier. Thus the attempt at another bawdy version of the story, just with better sound technology and more current stars.

If the Carry On films of the 60s and 70s were made in America and were made in the early 30s they wouldn't be that different from this. It's got that same feel of amiable silliness with absurd characters whom you know exactly how they're going to behave - because they do the same role in each film. It's sort of rubbish but actually really fun and entertaining to watch. Being from the early 30s however there's more of a 'cheer up everybody' theme going on which of course would have gone down well back then.

The plot is a little lame but that doesn't matter. What you're watching isn't to tax your brain or reveal any great secret of life - it's just an hour of fun. The story, about a couple of burlesque girls trying to chisel money out of rich men would be outrageous these days but back then when opportunities for girls like this to get a bit of money and in many ways, simply to survive in the Great Depression were incredibly hard, it was seen as quite acceptable. Indeed these girls are the heroes, the ones we're rooting for. That's made easier by them being Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell. That they find it so easy to lure these men from their wives is made unquestionably believable by the outfits Joan Blondell is just about wearing!

If you don't expect a memorable or deep film but just want a taste of early 30s fast-talking, frothy light entertainment with Joan Blondell looking amazing, this will definitely tickle your fancy.

The intended humor is broad, rather than clever; familiar, rather than original; flat, rather than funny. All the ingredients of classic farce are here, except the wit that makes such farce classic. Allen Jenkins offers his usual dumb-dumb character. Frank McHugh does the supposedly comical screen drunkard - swaying, staggering, falling. Guy Kibbee...well. suffice to say that he plays the same role he did in practically every other picture. That leaves our leading ladies: chorus girls on the make Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell. A promising duo, but comedy teams work best when the performers are opposites, and here the girls play virtually identical characters. Their wisecracks don't have much snap, but then neither does the picture overall. Joan radiates her cheerful charm, as usual, despite being called upon to chew gum throughout. I think she removed it to eat, and during her wedding scene.

SO many fun things going on here... Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell had already made Three on a Match together, so they already had the gal-pal chemistry. Guy Kibbee is the fall guy in this one, the rich old guy they try to take to the cleaners. co-stars Allen Jenkins (the mug) and Frank McHugh (the drunk). The story itself is ALMOST a bit convoluted, with insurance fraud, forgery, "breach of promise", when women could sue if the groom backed out. or at least make some easy money if they could trick the guy into hushing up any scandal. So they are all off to Havana, where this all takes place. It's a ton of fun, and is directed by Ray Enright, who had made EIGHT films with Joan. almost like watching Lucy and Ethel get in and out of jams. good stuff.