Thursday, October 17, 2013

HOT PEPPER

Lowe and McLaglen
HOT PEPPER (1933). Director: John G. Blystone.

In this sequel to the silent What Price, Glory?, friendly enemies Harry Quirt (Edmund Lowe) and Jim Flagg (Victor McLaglen) are out of the Army and still maintaining their rivalry over women and everything else. Harry uses phony badges to get money from Jim and other victims. Jim, who's in the nightclub business during prohibition, discovers that one of his ships has a stowaway, Pepper (Lupe Velez), who has come from South America to be a star in New York. Harry opens his own club and makes Pepper the starring attraction. and the pursuit for her is on. [Alas, the spirited Velez offers energy and little else in her number, and her legs and especially knees are nothing to crow about.] You want to like Hot Pepper, for the performers if nothing else, but it just isn't that funny, even though the trio of lead actors give their all. Velez also arrived from a boat to be a performer in Manhattan in Redhead from Manhattan ten years later. Lowe was also in Honeymoon Deferred, while McLaglen was in The Quiet Man. Blystone also directed the vastly superior Swiss Miss with Laurel and Hardy. Some funny moments, but not enough.

Verdict: Disappointing. comedy with leads who deserve a better script. **.

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