Rumba d'amour

A very interesting and quite fun little film featuring Lawrence Tibbett. Yes the story is creaky, the film is too short and some of the dialogue is pretty routine. But against all that in the film's favour we have nice production values, wonderful music full of zest and authentic flavour, a fiery Lupe Velez, a zany Jimmy Durante and Ernest Torrence who provide the amusing comedy nicely and a truly terrific turn from the master baritone himself Lawrence Tibbett both in presence and particularly in singing. The direction is also pretty good, The Cuban Love Song goes at a snappy pace while not slowing down too much in the slower interludes and the stars seem to be having fun. All in all, interesting and worth seeing for Tibbett. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Precode musical. Some big names -- J Durante and Lawrence Tibbett are Jones and Terry, service men, in cuba. Tibbetts was a professional singer, and breaks into song every couple of minutes. According to wikipedia, he was an opera singer, so every time he sings, he shows off by holding out the last note of each line, which gets annoying after a while. And apparently, he really did serve as a merchant marine during WW one, so that was good research for his part in this film. Lupe Velez is the stereo typical foreigner, usually yelling at the top of her longs in a long rant, when she knows they can't understand her. She's a peanut vendor, who falls for Terry, after a while. And because its pre code, they can talk about these very adult subjects. Karen Morley is Crystal, the girlfriend back home, who isn't too worried about what he does while he's in the service. Or even when he comes home and tells her he wishes he could go back right now. Most of us would have told him off, but i guess times were different then. Some interesting stock footage of the Panama Canal from 1931. Directed by Woody Van Dyke; both of his nominations would come in the 1930s, after this film. He died quite young, at 53.

The Cuban Love Song is an early talkie with soaring tunes and a touching performance by Lupe Velez, who struggles, mightily, however, to sing the Herbert Stothart music. Most of the vocal duties are carried by Tibbett, whose excellent voice makes up for somewhat wooden acting that was unfortunately typical of the era. As a plot, the film depends on the old Madame Butterfly story (also used in Miss Saigon) of a military man stationed in the developing world (in this case, Cuba) who falls in love with, then loses, a local girl. Viewed today, the story seems tainted with racism, and Velez does occasionally overdo the cuchi-cuchi stuff. But the scene where Tibbett is called away to fight in WWI, and the Velez character tries to put up a bold front, has true emotional impact. Incidentally, the score contains "The Peanut Song," sung in Spanish, later used as a rousing number in the Judy Garland version of "A Star is Born."

A fabulous pre-code film with the incandescent and beautiful Lupe Velez. The film meanders a bit, but Jimmy Durante is wonderful in comic relief. A few lewd jokes help liven things up: When a baby cries incessantly, fellow marine Ernest Torrence suggests Jimmy Durante quiet the infant by nursing him. So Jimmy obliges by unbuttoning his blouse...and pulls out a pocket watch to distract the wailing youngster. Blooper Mention: Jimmy Durante is accidentally slipped a castor oil filled lemonade by the bartender. He drinks it all, despite wincing at the taste...but we never see what happens afterwards. Did he get violently ill? Wander Havana with brown-stained pants? Find the toilet in the nick of time? Guess the scene was left on the cutting room floor...

This film reminds me of the odd song "Perhaps Love" which inexplicably paired John Denver with Placido Domingo the opera singer! Yes, "The Cuban Love Song" features an on-screen pairing that just defies common sense--with the classically trained opera singer, Lawrence Tibbett, playing opposite his on-screen pal, Jimmy Durante!! And, to make things even more bizarre, the love interest was the Mexican bombshell, Lupe Valez!! Talk about a strange melange of actors!

The film casts Tibbett as a singing Marine, Terry. While I am sure Tibbett was a lovely person in real life, he sure didn't look like a Marine...more like a society boy with his cute little mustache and prep school manners. I honestly think Hollywood just didn't know what to do with the guy...all they knew was that he had a great voice. Heck, in another film they paired him with Laurel & Hardy, though the film, "The Rogue Song", has been lost. These odd pairings might help explain why Tibbett only appeared in six films and soon returned to the opera stage...only returning for a few television appearances later in life.

As for the film, it's mostly an excuse to hear Tibbett as well as Valez sing...and their voices don't exactly complement each other. Tibbet's voice, even with the primitive sound used in this film, is incredible...and Valez's lacks the power and style of his. They are mismatched when it comes to singing...and their falling in love is equally strange and mismatched. Worth seeing mostly because of its curiosity value. Fortunately, if you need to see it, the print on YouTube is amazingly crisp. Too bad there are no subtitles, however, as sometimes it would have helped in understanding Valez.