The Cuban Love Song (1931)

Director:

W.S. Van Dyke

Writers:

C. Gardner Sullivan (screenplay) and
Bess Meredyth (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

5 December 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Musical | Romance

Plot:

A guilt-ridden U.S. Marine returns to Cuba to try to find his illegitimate child. |

Plot Keywords:

San Francisco California | 1920s | Cuba | U.S. Marine Corps | Warship

Cast

Lawrence Tibbett	...	Terry Burke
Lupe Velez	...	Nenita Lopez
Ernest Torrence	...	Romance
Jimmy Durante	...	O.O. Jones
Karen Morley	...	Crystal
Louise Fazenda	...	Elvira
Hale Hamilton	...	John
Mathilde Comont	...	Aunt Rose
Philip Cooper	...	Terry Jr. (as Phillip Cooper)
Ernesto Lecuona and the Palau Brothers' Cuban Orchestra	...	Orchestra

Runtime:

86 min (Turner library print) | UK:86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-G (TV rating)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Moïse Simons's 1929 song, "El Manisero," achieved popularity in the United States in 1932 (a year after this film was released), when it was translated into English by L. Wolfe Gilbert and Marion Sunshine. All verses in this film were in Spanish.

Soundtrack:

The Cuban Love Song

Creaky but Tuneful--and oh that Velez!

The Cuban Love Song is an early talkie with soaring tunes and a touching performance by Lupe Velez, who struggles, mightily, however, to sing the Herbert Stothart music. Most of the vocal duties are carried by Tibbett, whose excellent voice makes up for somewhat wooden acting that was unfortunately typical of the era. As a plot, the film depends on the old Madame Butterfly story (also used in Miss Saigon) of a military man stationed in the developing world (in this case, Cuba) who falls in love with, then loses, a local girl. Viewed today, the story seems tainted with racism, and Velez does occasionally overdo the cuchi-cuchi stuff. But the scene where Tibbett is called away to fight in WWI, and the Velez character tries to put up a bold front, has true emotional impact. Incidentally, the score contains "The Peanut Song," sung in Spanish, later used as a rousing number in the Judy Garland version of "A Star is Born."