HOLLYWOOD PARTY (1934)

HOLLYWOOD PARTY (1934). Director: Roy Rowland.

The Three Stooges and Laurel and Hardy in the same movie! Along with Jimmy Durante, Lupe Velez (the Mexican Spitfire), Polly Moran, Arthur Treacher, and Mickey Mouse. Including an animated bit called the "Hot Chocolate Soldier." Durante plays the great "Scharzan," whose jungle movies have taken a dip at the box office. His rival, "Liondora" (George Givot), isn't doing so great either, and both of them hope to get a prize pride of lions to appear in their films with them. Somehow this all leads to a great big Hollywood party with chorus girls singing the snappy title tune (the darn thing sticks in your memory whether you want it to or not!). Best bits are scenes between Lupe Velez and Laurel and Hardy, and the interplay between Durante and Polly Moran as a wealthy patroness of the arts. Some of the gags are real groaners. The Three Stooges are autograph hunters and Laurel and Hardy think they own the aforementioned lions.

Verdict: Fun, but if only the material were as good as the cast! **1/2.

THE HALF-NAKED TRUTH

Lee Tracy and Lupe Velez

THE HALF-NAKED TRUTH (1932). Director: Gregory La Cava.  

Carnival Barker Jimmy Bates (Lee Tracy), dancer Teresita (Lupe Velez) and the portly Achilles (Eugene Pallette) all work for the same struggling outfit. Jimmy is convinced he'd make a better press agent than the one employed by the carnival, and he concocts a scheme for Teresita that backfires, forcing the trio to flee on the first train to New York. There Teresita is rechristened "Princess Exotica" from Turkey and ensconced in a suite at the Ritz. Using his wiles, Jimmy is able to secure Teresita a spot in the latest show put on by producer Merle Farrell (Frank Morgan), but Jimmy decides, using even more outrageous schemes, to make a star out of hotel employee Gladys (Shirley Chambers) when he thinks Teresita and Farrell are pushing him out.  

Lupe

The Half-Naked Truth is a cute, if minor, comedy with excellent performances from the entire cast, which includes Franklin Pangborn as the hotel manager and Asta from The Thin Man in a butcher shop cameo. Velez, who is sassy and spirited, later starred in the Mexican Spitfire series before committing suicide at 36. Her bouncy "Carpenter" number on stage is a highlight of the picture. The film's composer, Max Steiner, appears as the conductor during this sequence. The following year Tracy played another press agent bedeviling Jean Harlow in Bombshell. 

Verdict: Some very amusing stuff in here. **3/4. 

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. ***.

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. **.

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. ***.

REDHEAD FROM MANHATTAN

REDHEAD FROM MANHATTAN (1943). Director: Lew Landers.

The delightful Lupe Velez from the Mexican Spitfire series plays dual roles in this fairly amusing musical: Rita, whose boat is sunk as she reaches New York; and her identical cousin Maria, who is now known as Broadway star Elaine Manners. Maria has hid her marriage and pregnancy from the boss because he doesn't hire married women, so lookalike Rita's arrival is a godsend -- she can take Maria's place in the musical while the latter goes off to have her baby. Complications include a lover boy (Gerald Mohr from Angry Red Planet) who wants to marry Elaine, and a saxophonist named Jimmy (Michael Duane), who was on the same boat as Rita. [This whole business with the boat torpedoed, sunk, or whatever is sort of glossed over.] Velez is excellent in two roles, making them reasonably distinct, and shines in her snappy production numbers which feature some lively songs. In his second film Michael Duane is good-looking but betrays little real acting ability; still he amassed a few more credits up until 1948. Lewis Wilson, the first actor to play Batman, is cast as Elaine's husband. Shirley Patterson,/Shawn Smith --who was also in the Batman serial with Wilson --  is a switchboard operator. This was released by Columbia on the Port Pictures label.

Verdict: If you enjoy Velez, you may get a kick out of this. **1/2.

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.