Sob o Céu dos Trópicos

Clark Gable is a newsreel photographer doing stories on the China-Japan war in Shanghai, Walter Pidgeon is his rival, and Myrna Loy an aviatrix in "Too Hot to Handle," a 1938 film from MGM. Gable and Pidgeon know each other well and besides stealing each other's film, they fake stories so they can scoop one another and satisfy their bosses. They were way ahead of their time there. The funniest scene is Gable staging an airplane dropping a bomb over the house of a family. It's a toy airplane. Hilarious! Loy plays Alma Harding, trying to break air travel records so she can get money for an expedition to the Amazon to find her brother, who is presumed dead. When Pidgeon fakes a delivery of serum by Alma, a childhood friend, it goes wrong when the plane catches on fire after crashing. Gable saves her life and gains her trust. Whether or not it's justified is another matter.

Everyone is great in this movie, including Walter Connolly, who plays Gable's frustrated boss, Pidgeon, Loy and Gable. Gable is irresistible with that smile of his, and Loy is excellent as a determined woman who nevertheless succumbs to Gable's charms. Pidgeon plays a more boisterous part rather than his usual gentlemanly ones, and he comes off very well.

This is a fast-talking film where the action moves along at a rapid pace. A great example of a '30s comedy, tinged with romance, that you won't want to miss.

The epitome of the madcap comedy/adventure genre! From the Japanese invasion of China to the bustle of midtown Manhatten to the Amazon jungle, never a dull moment. This could have served as the prototype for the "Indiana Jones" films or "Romancing the Stone".

War correspondent Gable is not beyond inventing a scoop if none is readily available. Myrna Loy, playing a sort of Amelia Earhart role, is duped by a rival news organization into a ploy to beat Gable at his own game. How the action moves from China to New York to a burning ship off the east coast to South America is....too complicated to describe in a short review. This may not be the best Gable film or the most convincing role ever played by Myrna Loy (although it's quite similar to her "Thin Man" roles), but it is highly entertaining. Both the filming and the story may be a little simplistic for today's taste and is certainly a far fetched plot but it's a good rip-roaring yarn nevertheless. I'll downgrade it to a 9 out of 10 only because the transfer that I saw wasn't up to the highest standards.

The reviews on this board caused me to give this old one a look this time around, having skipped it before. I didn't like the venue - all that native stuff, etc. But were they ever right about this being a great movie, actually one of the best for the interaction of these stars. Clark Gable just had the quality that always provided interest. He seemed to go into overdrive when playing a hustler type. Same for Myrna Loy about being interesting particularly in comedy. I like Walter Pidgeon differently, appreciating him in his active roles like this one and also for his gentlemanly portrayals. Very durable and reliable stars working well together in this. And funny and wild and fast. They really cranked them out back then; and sometimes they really cranked it up!!! Do see.

I happen to be a big fan of old newsreels. From the dawn of sound films until around the mid-60s the newsreel was the source for visual news coverage. After that television and then cable television took over. I look at the educational channels when they have old 30s and 40s newsreels running.

The cameramen played by Clark Gable and Walter Pidgeon are not too different from the print reporter characters that are a staple character in Hollywood films. These two have a friendly rivalry trying to scoop each other for news. The rivalry gets a little intense when aviatrix Alma Harding (Amelia Earhart) played by Myrna Loy gets ensnared in the rivalry and becomes the focus of their hormones.

The writing is sparkling with zingers and the direction is crisp. The plot moves from one madcap situation to the next. Among the supporting cast I should single out Walter Connolly and Henry Kolker as the rival bosses of Gable and Pidgeon who are driven to their respective wits end by the antics of their cameramen.

I defy anyone to watch this film and not split a gut laughing.

I first saw this movie when I was in my 20's, and thought it was incredibly funny, exciting, and totally out of the realm of believability. But in addition to all that, it was the magic between the characters that made it so much fun. Gable and Loy, A list stars who could carry any picture on their own, seemed to let their status go by the wayside as they just jelled on screen. Walter Pigeon was great as always, and every great character actor in the world was on board somewhere, it seemed, during it's 86 minutes or so... I loved it then, still do, and watch it once a year just because it makes me feel so good.