Panama Hattie

Ann Sothern is "Panama Hattie" in this 1942 film based on the Broadway musical starring Ethel Merman. Also starring are Dan Dailey, Red Skelton, Rags Ragland, Ben Blue, Virginia O'Brien (as Flo, originated on Broadway by Betty Hutton), Marsha Hunt, Lena Horne and the Berry Brothers. The story concerns a vivacious nightclub singer (Sothern) who falls in love with a man (Dailey) who has a young daughter, but she has competition from a socially prominent woman who warns Hattie that she's not of his class and won't make a good wife. There is a subplot concerning spies who are uncovered by three sailors (Skelton, Ragland and Blue).

This a very old-fashioned musical comedy plot with pleasant music, the highlight being "Just One of Those Things" as sung by the beautiful Lena Horne. The singing from Sothern and O'Brien is very good, and Sothern does well as the insecure, vulnerable and sometimes overdressed singer. The problem for me are the Three Stooges-like sailors - a little bit of that goes a long way.

Watch it for the singing and the patriotic "Good Neighbors" finale - it was wartime.

I felt it my patriotic duty to write a comment, since this movie was commentless. So... A little background: I'm a big fan of Cole Porter, Ann Sothern, musicals, and 40's movies, and had been wanting to see this film for a while before I actually saw it this afternoon. Coming into it, though, I had my qualms. I saw another 30's Cole Porter musical turned into 40's movie, Dubarry Was a Lady. It was so horrible that I almost cried. Most of Porter's original songs had been scrapped for non-Porter crap songs. Lucille Ball's voice was dubbed. Red Skelton was an idiot. But... this is not a forum for how horrible Dubarry Was a Lady was. So, I entered with trepidation the world of Panama Hattie to realise that the script was quite witty, full of sight gags, yes, but tasteful sight gags, the non-Porter songs were not crap, Ann Sothern is a competent vocalist(Nothing compared to Merman, who originated the part, but really, who is anything compared to Merman?), and Lena Horne's in it. Any movie with two Lena Horne numbers is worth watching simply for Lena Horne. But, I suggest watching this movie for more than just Lena Horne. While she is the best songstress of the bunch, Virginia O'Brian is rather fun to watch with her deadpan singing. She was quite famous for that, as I vaguely recall watching a short of her doing a lavish production number with Jimmy Durante or someone similar. I found Red Skelton, whom I so loathed in Dubarry Was a Lady, to be extremely likeable, along with his sailor buddies. Rags Ragland was the funniest of the three, but I came away wanting to marry Ben Blue. Dan Dailey was also fun to see, but I thought it was very odd that he didn't get a musical number. Anyway, the plot is slim to none, but the movie really wasn't about plot, it was about fun and peddling war bonds.

It's a war-time propaganda film, so allowances will be made! In lieu of a clear, solid story, we see huge star after star sing or dance, or do a standup bit. My personal favorite is the amazing miss virginia obrien; she only did about twenty films, but every one is a hilarious gem. I won't list the cast list, but check it out.. it's just incredible. With all those directors and writers, it's no wonder it's kind of a big mish-mash of a story... from the filming dates, it looks like it was re-hashed after pearl harbor, with scenes added, and removed. Ann sothern is hattie, who runs the joint where the story takes place. And some nonsense about getting upset at something the little girl says. Sothern was maisie in films for years, before and after panama hattie. Watch this one just for the parade of stars that come strolling by. Mostly good stuff. Shows on turner classic now and then. I'm surprised at the low-ish rating, but to be fair, the story is a little wacky, and it's based on only 480 votes so far.

Okay, taken as a whole, the movie is pretty much a mess, particularly the storyline, which even by generous standards of the Hollywood musical is pretty much impossible. But then, the screenplay involves eight writers, eight, so no wonder the elements don't gel. Then too, I gather from TCM that portions were either added or re-shot after disastrous previews. That too is not surprising given the large number of featured players, with some like Dailey and Esmond left to drift around the edges. Add the undistinguished musical numbers, except of course for Horne's eye-catching and tuneful Just One of Those Things, and the 80- minutes amounts to a disappointment.

However, there are compensations. The first half is lively, featuring two amusing encounters —an irrepressible little Gerry versus an over-dressed Hattie; and a fiercely snooty Jenkins versus everyone else. These are energetic and colorful little comedy segments—too bad the rest doesn't reach this level, especially the under-inspired and over-long mansion knock- about sequence. Nonetheless, Ragland and Skelton are a natural team and would go on to bigger and better routines.

There's also a subtext typical of the times. Note how much of the comedic effort involves puncturing the pretensions of the stuffy Leila and Jenkins. It's really an effort to make "regular guys" out of the elite. After all, winning the war requires submerging social distinctions into the one-for-all and all-for-one democratic spirit, as symbolized in the everyone-on-stage finale. Anyway, the movie looks to me like a good example of a cast being a lot better than the material. .

PANAMA HATTIE (1942) is two different movies, plotwise. One movie is about nightclub singer Hattie Maloney and her romance with a young soldier from a well-to-do Philadelphia family. The other film is a slapstick comedy about a trio of sailors on shore leave, with a penchant for catching spies. Juggling both, only tenuously connected plots in a 79-minute time frame means that neither story is properly developed. Conflicts are resolved easily and off-screen. And both stories give way to extended musical numbers, particularly at the end.

Despite its obvious weaknesses, PANAMA HATTIE is a very entertaining collection of parts. Red Skelton, Rags Ragland, and Ben Blue make a fine comedic team. The slapstick is pulled off well and the script is witty. Skelton's clowning shtick isn't too overbearing, as he is part of a trio (and the brains, no less). Ann Sothern impresses with her singing and Lena Horne is showcased in a couple of musical numbers with the dancing Berry Brothers.

Two favorites of mine, the offbeat "deadpan" singer Virginia O'Brien and the lovely Marsha Hunt, are welcome presences in the congenial ensemble. O'Brien shines in fun numbers like "Fresh as a Daisy" and "(Did I Get Stinkin') At the Savoy". Hunt's mildly antagonistic Philadelphia snob is a bit of a change of pace for her, and she has some great comedic moments opposite Skelton.

The film's finale becomes an interesting showcase of wartime patriotism, capped by the entire cast singing "The Son of a Gun Who Picks on Uncle Sam" about bombing the Japs and Heinies right off their Axis and whatnot. There's a great line near the end. After convincing her to join the war effort, Skelton tells Hunt that he'll take her around the world after the war is over: "I'll even show you where Japan used to be."

6.5/10