Tre settimane d'amore

As a kid growing up in the late '70s, I used to watch quite a lot of Technicolor musicals from M-G-M and 20th Century-Fox on my local public TV station. But this particular one was not one of them so when I saw this was in my local library, I had to get it! Having just watched this with Mom right now, it's quite a delight seeing the full spectrum of colors especially when Carmen Miranda is on the screen doing her numbers! There's also Alice Faye, John Payne, Cesar Romero along with nice support from the likes of Sheldon Leonard (another player from my favorite movie It's a Wonderful Life I like to cite when I see them in another picture) and Billy Gilbert (as a waiter who's not above tripping someone if they don't pay!). The songs are pretty enjoyable and the comedy is pretty hilarious part of the time. So on that note, Mom and I recommend Week-End in Havana.

The production team behind this film would have benefited if they had done research for the movie by taking a real weekend in Havana. It appears the studio executives flew down to Rio instead. How else did they come up with music and costumes that are more Brazilian than Cuban?

Maybe the studio thought of this as a vehicle for Carmen Miranda, the charismatic Brazilian star. Otherwise, it doesn't make sense at all to have turned everything into a samba flavored musical that is completely out of character with its setting of the romantic allure Havana of the 40s.

The music is mildly entertaining. We know what will happen and how it will end, yet, we stay with a movie that has been done better before. Walter Lang directed on auto pilot because there is nothing in the film that shows anything new that we haven't seen before.

Alice Faye plays a Macy's sales lady on a Caribbean cruise. Ms. Faye is a charming presence in the film. John Payne is the man who is sent to deal with the possible problem caused by the accident of the ship and ends up falling madly in love with the sales woman. Cesar Romero is suave as the gambler that tries to endear himself to the woman he thinks is an heiress. Carmen Miranda is the singing sensation at the Casino Madrileno.

"Weekend in Havana" is an inoffensive way to spend a little more than an hour and a half with these characters.

Alice Faye, John Payne, Carmen Miranda and Cesar Romero all fair better in this lively and funny musical romp, directed by Walter Lang and enlivened by Fox's shimmering Technicolor, gorgeous costumes, and some nice rollicking musical numbers.

Although "Week-End in Havana" is not as totally rapturous and frivolous as "Down Argentine Way" & "That Night in Rio", I was thoroughly entertained. The plot is kind of unremarkable but it offers subtantial showcase for its stars. Faye is the showgirl and tourist named Nan who gets a taste of Havana after her ship wrecks off the coast of Florida. Payne is Jay, the ship company representative who guides Nan in Havana and persuades the gambler Monte Blanca (Romero) to romance her in order to avoid legal battles. The gambler's girlfriend is the feisty Rosita Rivas (Miranda) who gets jealous of her man's coy romancing with the American tourist. Ultimately a romance blooms between Nan and Jay and the rest is history.

All of this romantic nonsense is enlivened by the some catchy, entertaining musical numbers and dances, including "Romance and Rhumba", "Tropical Magic", "The Man with the Lollypop", and "Week End in Havana".

Worth catching if you love this sort of fluff.

Fox makes ample use of their stock company players--ALICE FAYE, JOHN PAYNE, CARMEN MIRANDA, CESAR ROMERO, as well as a bevy of dependable supporting actors to make sure that their technicolor investment in WEEKEND IN HAVANA pays off. Unfortunately, it's a routine assignment for all concerned. The script is light, even for a Fox musical.

Faye had better musicals at the studio and is saddled with playing a rather pushy department store clerk who expects to get the royal treatment in Havana after her cruise is interrupted by a shipwreck. Naturally, a handsome corporate man (Payne) is assigned to take care of her "vacation" in Havana, and therein lies the nub of the plot. Everything that follows is quite predictable, including misunderstood romantic complications, but the end result is nevertheless entertaining.

Both Alice and Carmen Miranda have opportunities to demonstrate their prowess with a song and John Payne makes an attractive partner for Faye. Cesar Romero plays a Latin charmer with his usual confident air. It's all very pretty in Fox's typically garish technicolor but fails to stay in the memory as some of Faye's other films do since there's nothing especially memorable about either the plot or the music.

The film begins with a cruise ship getting stuck on a reef. The cruise line sends one of its execs (John Payne) to meet the passengers in order to placate them and get each one to sign a release. However, one (Alice Faye) is not so easily satisfied and refuses to sign. After all, she cannot afford to take another trip a couple weeks later and she insists that the cruise line owes her a vacation and NOW! So, to avoid a lawsuit, he arranges for the woman to be flown to Havana to be wined and dined in style. She is happy but won't sign the release until AFTER the trip is over--as it COULD still be a lousy vacation. So, to be sure the vacation is great, he arranges for a local ne'er-do-well (Cesar Romero) to romance her. The problem is that he already has a girlfriend (Carmen Miranda)--and she's one jealous lady! What's next? Well, it's pretty predictable but quite entertaining.

This picture is pretty much what you'd expect from a film from this studio--some very nice Technicolor, a few songs and a lot of fun. While none of "Week-End in Havana" is certainly NOT a great film, it is a decent little time-passer and is worth seeing. It's also one of Miranda's best films, as she's used more effectively than in many of her Fox movies.

By the way, at the 73 minute mark, you can catch a brief glimpse of Hugh Beaumont--but look fast or you'll miss him.