MEXICAN SPITFIRE'S BLESSED EVENT

Leon Errol, Lupe Velez, and Walter Reed

MEXICAN SPITFIRE'S BLESSED EVENT (1943). Director: Leslie Goodwins.

"First let me have some other particulars and then we'll discuss sex."

This is the eighth and final entry in the "Mexican Spitfire" films and Dennis (Walter Reed) is still  trying to get Lord Epping (Leon Errol) to sign that contract! It's amazing that while Blessed Event doesn't depart in many ways from the usual formula -- you know that at one point Uncle Matt (Leon Errol  again) will dress up like Lord Epping and confusion will run riot -- it still manages to be pretty hilarious in spite of it. In this installment Dennis and company get the mistaken notion that his wife, Carmelita (Lupe Velez), has somehow given birth to a baby -- without, so far as anybody knows, being pregnant --  but the "blessed event" she refers to is actually her cat having kittens. Since Lord Epping will not sign that ever-demanding contract until he sees the baby, this presents quite a problem for the Lindsays, including the always reliable Uncle Matt. Then there's Dennis' business rival, George Sharp (Hugh Beaumont), who does his level best to prove Carmelita is putting on a diabolical baby act. Velez and Errol are in their usual top form, as are Elisabeth Risdon as Dennis' formidable aunt; Lydia Bilbrook as the deadpan Lady Epping; and Reed as the charming if discombobulated "father," Dennis. Hugh Beaumont is also excellent as the conniving Sharp and has a great scene with Errol in the bar (where else?). There's some inventive business in this, a few risque lines, and amusingly bizarre situations, and the laughs keep coming at a rapid pace.These are fine comic actors at the top of their game.

Verdict: Arguably the best and funniest of the Mexican Spitfire films. ***.

MEXICAN SPITFIRE'S ELEPHANT

A typical day in the life of Lord Epping

MEXICAN SPITFIRE'S ELEPHANT (1942). Director: Leslie Goodwins.

This is the 7th out of 8 "Mexican Spitfire" movies starring Lupe Velez and Leon Errol. Diana (Marion Martin) and Reddy (Lyle Talbot) want to get an onyx figurine of an elephant with a valuable gem hidden inside it into the country, so they give it to the venerable Lord Epping (Errol), then have a hell of a time getting it back. Carmelita (Velez) fights with hubby Dennis (Walter Reed) and runs off to a restaurant to do a dance act with Jose (Arnold Kent); Lord Epping and the jewel thieves like the place, too. Lady Epping (Lydia Bilbrook) and Aunt Della (Elisabeth Risdon) do their bit for the war effort, while Uncle Matt (Errol again), as usual, winds up impersonating Lord Epping, even as Della thinks the real Epping is her husband in disguise and treats him accordingly [see photo]. What does it matter? -- the cast is game, there are some funny scenes, and it's all easy to take if formulaic to the extreme. A bit with a bartender consistently confusing Matt with Epping is quite funny. Reed later starred in Flying Disc Man from Mars.

Verdict: Amiable nonsense. **1/2.

MEXICAN SPITFIRE SEES A GHOST

Crazy crew: Mantan Moreland, Leon Errol, and Lupe Velez

MEXICAN SPITFIRE SEES A GHOST (1942). Director: Leslie Goodwins.

This is the sixth in the series of "Mexican Spitfire" films that began with The Girl from Mexico, and it follows the same pattern as most of the others. Lord Epping (Leon Errol) is supposed to meet with clients, Percy Fitzbadden (Donald MacBride) and his sister, Edith (Minna Gombell), who has a crush on Epping, at his American mansion but would rather go moose-hunting. His employee, Dennis Lindsay (Buddy Rogers), decides to play host for the Fitzbaddens at the mansion, hoping Epping will eventually show up. When he doesn't, his Uncle Matt (also Errol) impersonates Epping as he has done before, and then, of course, the real Epping finally shows up, causing the usual complications -- including Dennis' ever-snooty Aunt Della (Elisabeth Risdon) mistaking Epping for her husband and trying to drag him off to bed! One could easily argue that there's little novelty in the script or situations, but Errol is such a comic genius, and the others -- foremost among them the effervescent Velez -- are so adept at this kind of farce, that the movie is consistently amusing. Great Old Movies favorite Mantan Moreland also shows up as a servant named Lightnin', but he's not given nearly enough opportunities to interact with Errol and Velez, although they are a funny trio when he does. There are some criminals in the cellar of the house who pretend to be ghosts at one point. Better than Mexican Spitfire's Baby but arguably not quite as good as Mexican Spitfire at Sea.

Verdict: Often very funny with a very capable cast. ***.

WE'RE NOT DRESSING

Gracie Allen encounters a lion in the South Pacific!

WE'RE NOT DRESSING (1934). Director: Norman Taurog.

"This is beginning to depress me." -- Uncle Hubert

Wealthy Doris Worthington (Carole Lombard) is taking a cruise on her yacht with a group of friends, two handsome princes (Ray Milland and Jay Henry) who are both courting her, her Uncle Hubert (Leon Errol) and her pal, Edith (Ethel Merman). Doris is attracted to a singing sailor named Stephen (Bing Crosby), but she finds him impertinent and he thinks she's a snob. When the yacht sinks, almost everyone winds up on a deserted island in the south pacific, where the husband and wife team of George and Gracie (George Burns and Gracie Allen) are doing research on the flora and fauna! Stephen declares that everyone has to pitch in and work for their supper, while he and Doris fight their increasing attraction to each other and he sings one catchy number after another ["Love Thy Neighbor;"  "Lovely Little Lady;" "May I"]. This doesn't have much of a plot, and the dialogue and lyrics aren't always winning, but the cast is game, although these will not go down as great performances for either Der Bingle or Lombard. Errol is his usual comical self, Merman is very amusing, and if you like Burns and Allen you'll enjoy their sequences in this movie. This is clearly a "Bing Crosby Picture" with the others sort of along for the ride, but on that level it's easy enough to take, if no world-beater, and it does have its charming and amusing moments.

Verdict: Amiable silliness with pleasant old tunes. **1/2.

GALS, INCORPORATED

Leon Errol in a pensive mood

GALS, INCORPORATED (aka Gals, Inc./1943). Director: Leslie Goodwins.

The club "Gals, Incorporated" and the ladies who toil there are basically supported by zipper heir Cornelius Rensington III (Leon Errol) -- "he loves the girls and the girls love his money" -- but the arrangement is jeopardized when his sister Jennifer (Minna Phillips) arrives in town threatening to cut him off unless he gets married. Without money, Cornelius will have to go to work! He pretends to be married to singer Molly (Grace McDonald), but another complication arrives in the form of Bill (David Bacon), Corny''s son and a marine who falls for Molly even as man-hunting Gwen (Harriet Hilliard) tries to get Bill to the altar. This should be a cute picture, but the material is sub-standard, there aren't nearly enough good lines or physical gags, and with the exception of Errol the cast is pretty third-rate. Hilliard [Harriet of Ozzie and Harriet fame] isn't well-cast as a femme fatale; McDonald and Bacon are merely bland; and loose-limbed Betty Kean seems to be trying to be a poor woman's Joan Davis and failing miserably. This is one of the few films in which you can see Jo Stafford and the Pied Pipers, although their numbers are mediocre. The best number, performed by another female vocalist, is "Brazil." Bacon made only a few films, including the cliffhanger serial The Masked Marvel. Errol had better roles in Mexican Spitfire at Sea (also directed by Goodwins) and The Invisible Man's Revenge, among many others.

Verdict: Not quite an hour but it seems much longer. **.

MEXICAN SPITFIRE AT SEA

MEXICAN SPITFIRE AT SEA (1942). Director: Leslie Goodwins.

Dennis Lindsay (Charles "Buddy" Rogers) takes his wife Carmelita (Lupe Velez) on a second honeymoon cruise but doesn't tell her that he's combining business with pleasure: once again he has to get Lord Epping (Leon Errol) to sign a contract. Also on board are Uncle Matt (also Leon Errol) and Aunt Della (Elisabeth Risdon), not to mention two characters from the previous film Mexican Spitfire's Baby, Miss Pepper (Zazu Pitts) and Fifi, the sexy French gal (Marion Martin). Oddly neither Miss Pepper nor Fifi recognize any of the other characters even though they've already interacted with them. But logic is the last thing to expect in a Mexican Spitfire movie. That being said, it must also be said that this is probably the funniest of the Spitfire features. A particularly amusing sequence has Pitts pretending to be Lady Epping (Lydia Bilbrook) at a dinner party. The presence of Florence Bates as the hostess Mrs. Baldwin certainly adds to the fun. This comedy of errors is certainly silly, but it's also good-natured and has some genuine laugh-out-loud moments. Well-acted by all. Errol is simply brilliant.

Verdict: If only you'd meet such people on cruises! ***.

MEXICAN SPITFIRE'S BABY

MEXICAN SPITFIRE'S BABY (1941). Directed by Leslie Goodwins.

Carmelita (Lupe Velez) and Dennis Lindsay (Charles "Buddy" Rogers) are celebrating their first anniversary when Uncle Matt (Leon Errol) suggests they have a baby -- a war orphan, which he gets from Paris. Unfortunately the war orphan "baby" turns out to be a full-grown beautiful blond named Fifi (Marion Martin)! And that's just the beginning of all the misunderstandings in this zany comedy that has all the principals interacting in an inn where the nosy manager, Miss Pepper (Zazu Pitts), is determined to get evidence of infidelity and more. Leon Errol also plays the half-shot Lord Epping, as usual. Fritz Feld is a riot as a count who thinks Fifi has run off with Uncle Matt and wants to fight a duel with him. Some might feel the film is more busy than funny, and that the very accomplished cast is straining for laughs with formulaic material, and they might be right, but at the same time there are a lot of very amusing moments.

Verdict: Love that Lord Epping! **1/2.

THE INVISIBLE MAN'S REVENGE

THE INVISIBLE MAN'S REVENGE (1944). Director: Ford Beebe.

Although it employs concepts and character names from previous Universal Invisible Man flicks, The Invisible Man's Revenge goes off in a new direction. In this John Carradine plays Dr. Peter Drury, and it is he who has invented an invisibility formula. The lead character, played by Jon Hall (of The Invisible Agent) is named Robert Griffin -- the same as the original Invisible Man -- but only happens upon the professor and his formula by accident. However, he is just as miserable a person as the Griffin of the novel and the first film. Griffin has been left for dead by partners in an African mine (Lester Matthews and Gale Sondergaard, who has little to do), and use his invisibility to try to get revenge on them. The wonderful Leon Errol plays a mischievous old man who assists Griffin -- the scene when Griffin helps him win at darts and confounds everyone in the pub is memorable. This is the only Invisible Man film that plays up the horror aspects of the material, as Griffin must drain people's bodies entirely of blood in order to regain visibility. Unpredictable, fast-paced, and well-acted by all, this is the best of the Invisible Man series. Alan Curtis and Evelyn Ankers play young lovers. Grey Shadow, a beautiful German shepherd, also makes an impression as Carradine's invisible dog, Brutus, who becomes visible later in the picture. Good show!

Verdict: Well worth a viewing. ***.