Moon Over Burma

...with Preston Foster and Robert Preston as a pair of Americans running a teak plantation in Burma. Preston is a devil-may-care type with an eye out for the ladies while Foster is the serious one trying to make a go of the plantation. Feminine interest is provided in the form of Dorothy Lamour as a stranded American showgirl (ever heard that one before?) in Rangoon, who will soon become a source of conflict (surprise, surprise) between the two men.

A minor film of this type is easy to dismiss but since so many of the smaller productions produced by Paramount Studios can be difficult to find, it's always interesting to at least have the opportunity to view one, even if, as in this case, a one time viewing will be sufficient.

For "excitement" the story throws in a (dull) forest fire and a log jam in a river, the latter having okay special effects for its time, I suppose, though nothing to compare to those at the end of Typhoon, which was another Paramount production of 1940 also co-starring Lamour with Preston. By the way, Preston and Foster were also to be seen sharing the screen together in one of Paramount's A list production of that same year, North West Mounted Police.

One of the more interesting scenes in Moon Over Burma occurs when Lamour is having a conversation with the teak plantation's blind owner (played by Albert Basserman). At one point the audience sees a cobra slide down the wall and onto the floor as the two are talking. Lamour sees nothing but Basserman suddenly turns rigid and warns her very softly that there is a cobra nearby.

I know that the other senses of the blind are supposed to be heightened but to hear a snake sliding across a hard floor (while another person is talking near you yet!) was, I must say, a pretty impressive feat, not to mention the fact that he was able to identify the exact kind of snake, as well.

Robert Preston and Preston Foster run a teak plantation guess where. On a trip to the city to raise a loan, they meet saloon singer Dorothy Lamour, and take her back to camp for Preston to romance. However Foster, who is engaged to Doris Nolan, realizes he wants his hat in the ring.

In other words, it's one of those movies about two brawling partners who compete over a woman. Here the movie's emphasis is on Miss Lamour, who is from Brooklyn, and ready to pitch in whenever there's an opportunity or cobra, despite the big strong mans warning her off. You don't mess with women from Brooklyn.

It's a programmer at best, with Miss Lamour singing the title song (lyrics by Frank Loesser), and blind Albert Basserman beating the villain with a whip. Louis King directs efficiently as always, and Stuart Gilmore's editing keeps things chugging along.

A hidden gem inexplicably never released in dvd. Entertaining story with a solid script, nice performances, touches of humour and two enhancing songs beautifully sang by miss Lamour: Mexican magic and the one that lends its title from the movie: Moon over Burma. Although not appearing wrapped in a sarong here, miss Lamour is as beautiful as talented and she is given her usual not-a-bit-of-a-dumb girl character type that clearly benefits the film. In her memories she recalls how happy she was not having to wear more sarongs and having a new haircut much more comfortable than the long hair she wore in her usual native girl role. Both Robert Preston (who had just teamed with Lamour in the same year production Typhoon) and Preston Foster do a good job and act nice together as a pair of pals who manage a Burma lumber camp but this is definitely a Lamour movie and she shines in it as the night club singer and pretended bride of Robert Preston's crackpot character, who brings them to the jungle camp. A real snake that terrified miss Lamour, a water jar incidented bath, an indecent sunsuit and sabotage in the form of elephants' illness, a phantom tiger, a jungle fire and a trunk jam add emotion and action to this nice adventure movie seasoned with beautiful songs and good performances. Recommended to enjoy a nice and entertaining time.