One Night in the Tropics

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.

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!!

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.

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.

"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.