Mexican Spitfire Out West

For no good reason at all, Carmelita (Lupe Velez) runs off to Reno to divorce husband Dennis (Donald Woods). Actually, she just wants to threaten the divorce so Dennis will beg her to come back. At the same time, Dennis is once again trying to get a contract with Lord Epping (Leon Errol) and this time he's got competition. So needless to say Uncle Matt (also Errol) will be impersonating Lord Epping again.

Another Leon Errol starring vehicle. Oh, this is a Mexican Spitfire movie supposedly starring Lupe Velez? Well, it's easy enough to make that mistake seeing as how Leon Errol plays more than one role in the movie, gets all the funny bits, and has the lion's share of the screen time. I'm not the biggest fan of Lupe Velez but there are plenty who like her shtick and watch her movies for HER, not an old (albeit amusing at times) vaudevillian.

The biggest flaw with this movie is that it is pretty much just a retread of the last movie, with a virtually identical plot. The only big changes are that Dennis has competition for Lord Epping this time, Carmelita goes to Reno instead of Mexico for a divorce, and Lord Epping's wife shows up. Dennis' aunt is still trying to break up his marriage and his ex is still interested in him, despite her humiliation at the end of the last movie. Most of the gags in this one fall flat if you have seen the last film. If this is your first Mexican Spitfire movie, it might play better.

This third film is virtually a re-make of MEXICAN SPITFIRE paraphrasing many of the original gags (of Hayes "Elizabeth should have married him in the first place" "Well she didn't pick up the first place. She ran out of the money.") and orchestrating more bogus Feydeau entrances and exits by hard working Errol in his dual characters.

Woods tries hard to convince us he's a light comedian and Velez is not attractively filmed. Talented people like Elizabeth Risdon and Cecil Kellaway are wasted.

The production is smooth though the lack of exteriors makes it a little odd. It's not even particularly amusing as it's predecessor had been

In this Mexican Spitfire movie Lupe Velez is unhappy that her husband Donald Woods has his mind on business more than her. We're never sure exactly why Woods wants to land an account from Lord Epping or what the deal is all about. But that's not central to the proceedings.

Leon Errol is the indulgent Uncle Matt and Lord Epping and in the fast moving plot Uncle Errol has to pretend he's Lord Errol which causes all kinds of confusion. The whole cast winds up in Reno where Lupe because Woods has been preoccupied has gone to pretend to file for divorce. Things get fast and furious as they always do in the Mexican Spitfire movies.

I'm agreeing with the other reviewer in that Errol's dual role got more attention than Lupe. But that's not a bad thing for me.

Lupe's and Leon's fans will be pleased.

I'll keep this very brief, as previous reviewers have covered it well. The same basic plot as "Mexican Spitfire" - man needs to secure a business contract while aunt tries to sabotage his marriage. The problem facing this movie is that the title character - Carmelita - is practically a supporting role. The main focus is on the dual performance of Leon Errol as Uncle Matt and Lord Epping. It was a tired joke in the first film, yet now becomes even more prominent. Lupe Velez was the main attraction in "The Girl From Mexico", which is why it was spun off into a series in the first place. Why ignore Carmelita now? I'm hopeful that future films in the series return to Velez as the primary figure.

This is the first Mexican Spitfire movie I've seen, and I found it great fun. Lord Epping is a howl--yes, probably a vaudeville standard for Leon Errol, but a very good one. The sputtering, the exaggerated English accent, the little comments made under his breath, the funny walk (Monty Python was right about how far a funny walk can take you in getting laughs), what's not to like? As for Lupe Velez, this is the first time I've seen her, and I understand completely why her first appearance in an earlier movie led to a series of follow-ups. She's pretty, and with all her comedic turns you can hardly take your eyes off her. She definitely left me wanting to see more of her. People are right her to say that she plays a secondary role to the Errol characters in this movie, but if you haven't seen her before, it just may leave you looking for more. I'll certainly tune in any time I see another Mexican Spitfire movie playing. I'm glad I discovered this one. Simple, farcical comedy, but an amusing way to spend an hour or so.

What a terrible shame success didn't bring Lupe Velez happiness.