Südsee-Nächte

MGM musical with several unusual assets: For one thing, it's unpretentious, and for another, it has a genuinely diverting screenplay, co-written by Herb Fields, an old hand at musical comedy librettos (he wrote a number of Rodgers and Hart hits). The unremarkable but serviceable plot has Robert Young double-cast as a fan-harassed movie star and a pineapple farmer who trade places, and movie-star-posing-as-farmer falls for Eleanor Powell, who's starring in a Honolulu floor show and accompanied by sidekick Gracie Allen. Gracie's material isn't up to standard, and George has practically nothing to do, and Powell's charms seldom went far beyond the Terpsichorean. But she does have a couple of fine solos, and the Harry Warren-Gus Kahn songs are agreeable. It's typically racially insensitive, with Eleanor doing a blackface salute to Bill Robinson not unlike Astaire's in "Swing Time," and the standard giggling-Asian-servant thing going on. Nevertheless, it's so modest and entertaining, I was surprised how much I enjoyed it.

While Burns and Allen only appear together briefly in one scene, Gracie Allen holds her own quite well playing the "dumb dora" that Burns and Allen fans know and love. The most memorable scene is a musical number with Marx Brothers impersonators (with TWO Grouchos!)

"Honolulu" is a good-natured comedy-musical that is great fun without being a great picture. The tempo is good, the cast is very good and the story is also, before becoming somewhat far-fetched towards the end. The music is not memorable but it is tuneful, and the song-and-dance numbers are lively.

You don't normally think of Robert Young as a funny guy, just a pleasant, presentable leading man, but here he pulls off comedy in fine style. He plays a movie idol and a look-alike business man who switch places as both are looking for a break from their respective routines. Of course, there are the usual comical mistaken identity situations to get through, some with a Hawaiian flavor, as the business man resides in Honolulu.

While Young is fine, Eleanor Powell is more problematic. She joins actor Young on the way to Honolulu, and has several dance numbers in the process. She was a terrific dancer and had a great smile, but her on-screen persona lacked warmth and never seemed to connect with the audience unless she was dancing. Maybe that was why MGM couldn't figure out what to do with her. She gets some help from Gracie Allen as her sidekick, but it was passing strange she and George Burns did not appear in a scene together.

This is a better-than-average 30's musical, a crowd-pleaser that could have used a better musical score. Everything else is there, and I rated it a 7, even though it's hard to tell if it's an A or a B picture. I guess with Eleanor Powell in it, it must be an A.

It's the kind of fluffy production big-budget MGM excelled at. Actor Young gets dual parts, one as a heart-throb celebrity, the other as an average Smith living in Hawaii. To escape pressures, each is anxious to trade places with his look-alike twin. So heart-throb Mason goes to Honolulu while Smith goes to New York. Trouble is this reciprocal move pairs each with his look-alike's girl, so complications ensue.

Actually, the plot line is heavier than usual for a musical. Nonetheless, director Buzzell keeps things moving. As expected, Powell shows off her flying feet, while I especially like that first number on shipboard that's quite beguiling. However, it's Gracie Allen who steals the show with her shrill comic antics. However, she's got only one skit with under-used husband George Burns that comes at movie's end almost like it's an add-on for George's sake. Also. don't look for popular tunes among the musical selections, after all it's the dancing feet here that's central. There's some flavor of tropical Hawaii with two hula-type dance numbers, otherwise there's not much location scenery. Typical of the time period is the racially stereotyped humor from Willie Fung and Rochchester Anderson, who, whatever else, are adept comedians. All in all, the movie's a crisply done, well-mounted showcase for Powell, Allen, and Young, but nothing special.

(In passing- for old movie fans, especially of the noir classic Detour {1947}, look for notorious Hollywood bad boy Tom Neal as an ambulance attendant with one brief line.)

I've read film buffs quoted as saying that Eleanor Powell's Hawaiian dance number in the movie "Honolulu" was the sexist dance ever filmed. Well, I've watched many musicals over the years, and I can't think of one that smoked like that one did. To the driving beat of drums, Miss Powell, barefoot and wearing a grass skirt, overpowered the stage with her athleticism and seductive movements. You gotta see it -- I can't describe it and do it justice!

All and all, it was an enjoyable film simply because of a good cast that was able to overcome a rather threadbare script. Robert Young delivered his usual fine performance playing two characters impersonating one another. The radio comedians George Burns and Gracie Allen were along for the ride: with Geacie fairly enjoyable in her usual role of the slightly daffy friend to Miss. Powell. As another poster here said, Eleanor Powell was best when dancing alone; however, that was enough.