One Night in the Tropics

My first viewing of this movie left me surprised. Why? For years I'd read that the only plus was the first screen appearance of Lou and Bud. Instead I found the story fun and the cast fine, especially Bob Cummings as a kind of good-looking Woody Allen-type character. Bob in fact takes the limelight whenever he's on the screen.

When the boys did appear, it was if they'd walked in off the lot next door with no idea of what was going on. Their routines were pure music hall. There seemed to be no effort to work them into the story. Perhaps the point that neither were sympathetic characters didn't help. So anyone with expectations of this movie should be prepared for something different.

"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!!

"Lucky" Moore, Allan Jones, an insurance salesmen, sells his friend, Steve, Robert Cummings, a million dollar love insurance policy after his fiancee, Cynthia, Nancy Kelly, calls off their wedding. Complications arise from the presence of Steve's persistent ex-girlfriend Mickey, Peggy Moran, and Lucky's growing love for Cynthia. Add a gangster whose backing the policy and his two henchmen, and you have all the ingredients of a classic screwball comedy. However, it isn't quite a classic. Why? The story is sufficient. The leads are pleasant enough, but none of them quite have the star power to push it to the next level. (The comic lead, Allan Jones, is most famous for playing the straight romantic lead in two Marx Brothers movies. Imagine this film done at the same time at MGM with William Powell in the lead backed up by Myrna Loy. Then we'd have a film that could stand on its own.) This film would be consigned to the mildly-diverting late night cable bin if it weren't for the gangster's two henchmen, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, in their film debut. Bud and Lou give the film energy every time they appear on screen. Unfortunately, it is a different energy than the rest of the film. It's like the plot lurches to a stop to let them do some routines - like the abbreviated version of the "Who's on First" routine. Not that I am complaining. Their material was better than the rest of the movie. It is a good debut, and easy to see why they would be quickly given their own film. Abbott and Costello would not prove to be my favorite comedy team, but they had many highlights ahead of them.

This is my fourth comment of a series of them in which I attempt to connect two legendary comedy teams-Laurel & Hardy and Abbott & Costello-with films of theirs that have something in common. For this one, there are three links. First, as A & C are making their very first movie in 1940 for what would be their home studio, Universal, L & H have released their final one for their about-to-be-former home studio of Hal Roach that same year. Second, the director is A. Edward Sutherland who the year before helmed L & H in The Flying Deuces. Third, and I wasn't aware of this until I looked up the cast list on IMDb, longtime L & H regular Charlie Hall-who made his last appearance with them in Saps at Sea, their final Hal Roach picture-made his first, of only a few, A & C appearance here as Second S. S. Atlantica Steward. I think he's the one who tells Mary Boland, "Your nuts, madam?" (He's asking if she wants them.) Boland exclaims, "I certainly am!" Okay, the plot concerns a quadrangle of Allan Jones, Nancy Kelly, Robert Cummings, and Peggy Moran. It involves love insurance and marriage. Bud and Lou play henchmen of William Frawley who are supposed to make sure a certain wedding takes place. Occasionally, the plot stops for some A & C routines, most of which you've seen or heard on various other of their movies, TV, or radio shows. One that's only in this movie is called "Paid in Full" where Abbott deducts much of Costello's salary after briefly firing him to just...well, watch the movie. Others include "Money Changing", "Jonah and the Whale", "Mustard", and an abridged version of "Who's on First?" which, according to Lou's brother Pat, was the first scene Lou and Bud ever shot. Before any of this was filmed, however, according to the picture's producer Leonard Spigelgass, Costello came to him and said, "What are we supposed to do? I don't know how to work without an audience." Spigelgass told him there was an audience-his crew. And sure enough, they laughed, so much so that either the producer or director had to yell "Cut!" and tell them to stop laughing! And it's largely because of Bud and Lou that this movie is still in circulation today. And they steal the show every time they're on screen. The rest of the cast are pretty funny by themselves and the songs by Jerome Kern, Dorothy Fields, and, for one romantic number involving the four leads, Oscar Hammerstein II are pretty entertaining. But if you're an A & C fan, you'll be disappointed at the few scenes-compared to the others-they have here. And the picture didn't do well enough at the box office for the Universal brass to exhibit confidence in them yet. But when executive Matty Fox asked them what their plans were, Lou bluffed about a Paramount meeting for an Army picture and he and Bud then performed some routines that impressed Fox so much, he gave them a two-picture contract with options and had them cast in what would become Universal's biggest blockbuster at the time: Buck Privates. So while Laurel & Hardy moved to 20th Century-Fox and saw their creative control decline, Abbott & Costello would get expanded screen time at Universal and become one of the top box office stars during this time. P. S. I first watched this as a kid on late night Saturday on a local station at midnight in a 69 minute version that cut the first 13 minutes. So when I found out the complete 83 minute version was on VHS in the early '90s, I snapped it up!