PANAMA HATTIE

Ann Sothern

PANAMA HATTIE (1942). Director: Norman Z. McLeod.

Down in Panama a singing dancer named Hattie (Ann Sothern of Fast and Furious) has fallen for a wealthy Army man named Dick (Dan Dailey of It's Always Fair Weather), This is bad news for three sailors -- Red (Red Skelton), Rags (Rags Ragland) and Rowdy (Ben Blue) -- who are smitten with the gal and whom she relies on for emotional support. Hattie has some problems with her man when she meets his eight-year-old daughter and a woman named Leila Tree (Marsha Hunt of Smash Up), who is convinced she is more suitable for Dick. Reluctantly, Hattie agrees, at least for awhile ...

Virginia O'Brien with Skelton, Ragland and Blue

Based on an old Broadway show, Panama Hattie is as insubstantial as lint. The only real thing is has going for it, aside from some spirited performers, is the music, which consists of such Cole Porter tunes as "Just One of Those Things: (sung by Lena Horne) and other songs by Edens and Harburg ("Let's Be Buddies"). Sothern at least appears to be dubbed (although she could sing), but we hear the real voice of snappy Virginia O'Brien, who employs her deadpan style in some numbers ("Boy, Did I Get Stinkin' at the Club Savoy") and actually smiles during others ("I'm in Love"). Another highlight is a great dance number by a trio of talented black guys

Virginia O'Brien and Alan Mowbray

In the "slob vs snob" sub-plot, Leila is made as affected and unpleasant as possible, but Hattie really doesn't have much class. When Dick's little girl laughs, not unkindly, at Hattie's over- elaborate outfit, the adult practically calls the child a bitch! More fun is provided by O'Brien, whose character unaccountably develops a hankering for Dick's disdainful butler, amusingly played by Alan Mowbray. There is some tiresome, mildly comical business at the end when the three sailors make like lesser case Stooges, go into a haunted house, and uncover a nest of dangerous spies. Skelton delivers a tasteless gag about having his legs shot off. Ragland was in the Broadway show, wherein Ethel Merman played Hattie. Ben Blue was a comic who started in silent pictures.

Verdict: Easy to forget but with likable players and some good numbers. **1/2. 

BROADWAY RHYTHM

George Murphy and Ginny Simms

BROADWAY RHYTHM (1944). Director: Roy Del Ruth.

John Demming (George Murphy) is a Broadway producer and dancer who is planning a new show and hoping to get film star Helen Hoyt (Ginny Simms) for the lead. For her part, Helen thinks John's script is too "arty" and she can't afford a flop, but she is importuned by John's father Sam (Charles Winninger), to appear in his production, a show about the illustrious Demming family itself. John's sister, Patsy, (Gloria DeHaven) also gets into the act. Broadway Rhythm is a sort of oddity, a backstage musical with a creaky "let's put-on-a-show" plot that is filmed in startling Technicolor. The songs feature the work of a number of composers, but except for a couple of old standards, they are mostly forgettable. The film's musical highlights include Lena Horne (playing a character instead of herself but getting little dialogue) singing "Somebody Loves Me," and Charles Winninger and Tommy Dorsey teaming for "I Love Corny Music." Murphy [No Questions Asked] is smooth and pleasant, as is Simms [Night and Day] in one of her infrequent film appearances; DeHaven is also notable. Charles Winninger [Destry Rides Again] is as winning as ever, and whether singing or clowning Nancy Walker is delightfully deadpan throughout. Others in the cast include perky singer Kenny Bowers; Eddie "Rochester" Anderson; the excellent dancer Walter B. Long (his only film appearance); Sara Haden (in an unbilled bit as a school headmistress); and Ben Blue as Felix. Dean Murphy certainly makes an "impression" as a farmhand who is also an expert impressionist, imitating everyone from Mortimer Snerd to Jimmy Stewart to Cary Grant to (hilariously) Bette Davis! The Ross Sisters do an awful number called "Potato Salad," but they are certainly skilled contortionists if nothing else. Tommy Dorsey proves as personable as rival band leader Kay Kyser in this.

Verdict: Oddball but entertaining musical. **1/2.