One Night in the Tropics

"One Night in the Tropics" is the film debut of the great comedy team, Abbott and Costello. The story line is 1940s amusing: a rich guy is engaged to a beautiful woman but he's loudly and publicly pursued by another gorgeous gal who declares he'll be her husband - or else. The fellow's best friend winds up in love with his pal's fiancee. Guess who that fellow winds up with.

Throw in a silly plot about a newly hatched business scheme, a policy for "Love Insurance" and we're back in a simpler time for romantic comedy.

Very conventional stuff with scenes set in the tropics as not very well realized by the backlot crew.

What makes this film fun is Abbott and Costello who largely steal the show as employees of a less than scrupulous businessman (of sorts). This is the movie that introduced the most famous, probably, A & B skit, "Who's on First?" Terrific! But there's also a very funny dialogue about the properties of mustard and its crucial relationship to the enjoyment of a hot dog. These guys are still among the funniest ever in movies.

Jerome Kern composed the music and songs for "One Night in the Tropics." It's not his finest or most memorable work but ANYTHING by Kern is infinitely better than what most Hollywood film score composers and songwriters were doing in those days.

Earl Derr Biggers, creator of Charlie Chan, wrote the book on which the film is based. Many will be surprised to see this side of him. No murders, no brilliant detectives-just a bunch of fun characters lighting up the screen.

8/10.

Let me explain. This is the first film in which (what I consider to be) the greatest comedy team of all time appear. They are not the leads, but steal the show with every scene that they're in. The plot of the movie is interesting enough to hold one's attention. An insurance salesman sells his friend "Love Insurance" which insures his marriage to his fiancée. When Lucky (the salesman) falls in love with Steve's (his friend) fiancée, things get complicated. Throw in Steve's second love interest, a crooked nightclub owner and his two thugs (Bud and Lou), and a larger than life Aunt and you have yourself a twisted (but funny!) little feature. Each time Bud and Lou show up they give off a radiance and freshness that is truly a joy to watch. The gags include two tens for a five, mustard, Jonah and the Whale, an abbreviated "Who's on First?", and Lou's cut in pay. The last bit I mentioned is extremely funny and I'm not sure if it appears in any of their other films so watch for it! The rest of the cast is pretty decent and the music doesn't really help or hurt the film. It's a great way to introduce someone to the team. Recommended for A&C fans, fans of classic comedy and films, or simply someone who wants to smile a little! Just warning you though, this film will leave you craving more Bud and Lou, so have another of their films at hand. Enjoy!!

Abbott & Costello made their film debut in this otherwise forgettable and lightweight comedy as two "enforcers" for a nightclub owner(played by William Frawley) who has underwritten a "love insurance" policy to ensure that an engaged man(played by Robert Cummings) will marry his fiancée(played by Nancy Kelly) though his old girlfriend(played by Peggy Moran) tries to break it up, as does a disapproving aunt. Will true love prevail? Not that funny, though it is obvious why the team of Abbott & Costello took off; they provide the film's only bright spots, going on to star in many comedies for Universal Studios during the 1940's through the mid 1950's.

Allan Jones is an insurance salesman with a streak of the riverboat gambler in him. Not surprising since he played Gaylord Ravenal in Show Boat earlier for Universal. He sells Bob Cummings a policy that guarantees him marriage. Of course father Richard Carle hits the roof and sends Jones off to a tropical paradise with Cummings and intended bride Nancy Kelly to see the nuptials go off smoothly. Around to potentially gum up the works is Peggy Moran, Cummings former girl friend.

Of course in One Night in the Tropics in the Caribbean island of San Marcos all kinds of romantic complications ensue in a plot that's totally ripped off from A Midsummer Night's Dream. If you are familiar with that work of Shakespeare you know how the story comes out. The film is taken from Earl Derr Bigger's novel Love Insurance, but there's no doubt where it all comes from originally.

One Night in the Tropics marks the film debut of Abbott and Costello and it is the only time they were ever not billed first. Allan Jones and Nancy Kelly were above them. They got OK notices here and Universal decided to star them in one of their low budget musicals called Buck Privates. That had a success no one predicted and they were above the title forever after that.

Allan Jones and Peggy Moran as our resident musical performers got to sing some Jerome Kern songs. Even mediocre Kern is better than most and one I particularly liked was Your Dream is the Same as My Dream sung first by Moran and reprised by Jones. The song served as a plot device to make sure all the couples were matched up properly.

Allan Jones has always been a personal favorite of mine. He had wonderfully pleasant tenor voice, shown to good advantage here. His musicals with Universal got gradually lower in quality after this one though. They are rarely seen, this one is because of Abbott and Costello's presence.

And a good thing too.

I will go slightly against the grain of most reviewers here and say that the film is enjoyable enough without the addition of Abbott & Costello. This film will forever remain the debut of that wonderful pairing, but the film isn't reliant on their input to lift it above average. Sure they have great moments, the Who's On First and Salary Deconstruction {Dollar A Day} sequences are pure joy, but they are merely seasoning in a decent enough zany comedy stew.

Allan Jones, Nancy Kelly, and a delightful turn from Robert Cummings cement the fun to be had with this daft plot line of Love Insurance, the tunes are engaging enough and the ending is one of satisfaction that concludes nicely for the viewer. Bud & Lou started here, and would go on to much better movies, but saying this film is saved by them is a disservice to the others involved. 7/10