Honolulu (1939)

Movie star Brooks Mason tries to avoid his fans and spend some weeks on vacation. When Hawaiian plantage-owner George Smith is mistaken by Mason's fans for Mason and brought to Mason's home... See full summary »

Director:

Edward Buzzell

Writers:

Herbert Fields (original story and screen play), Frank Partos (original story and screen play),

Stars:

Eleanor Powell, Robert Young, George Burns

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eleanor Powell	...	Dorothy March
Robert Young	...	Brooks Mason / George Smith
George Burns	...	Joe Duffy
Gracie Allen	...	Millie De Grasse
Rita Johnson	...	Cecelia Grayson
Clarence Kolb	...	Mr. Horace Grayson
Jo Ann Sayers	...	Nurse
Ann Morriss	...	Gale Brewster
Willie Fung	...	Wong
Cliff Clark	...	First Detective
Edward Gargan	...	Second Detective
Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson	...	Washington (as Eddie Anderson)
Sig Ruman	...	Psychiatrist (as Sig Rumann)
Ruth Hussey	...	Eve
Kealohu Holt	...	Native Dancing Girl (as Kealoha Holt)

Storyline

Movie star Brooks Mason tries to avoid his fans and spend some weeks on vacation. When Hawaiian plantage-owner George Smith is mistaken by Mason's fans for Mason and brought to Mason's home. They decide to change their identitiess for a few weeks. But George Smith is mobbed by Mason's fans again on a personal appearance tour in New York, Mason falls in love to dancer Dorothy March, who also is on her way to Hawaii. Problems for Mason arise due to the fact that Smith is engaged with Cecilia Grayson, and her wealthy father believes, that Smith has double-crossed him. Mason isn't able to establish a connection with Smith in New York due to his agent's orders...

---

Plot Keywords:

hawaii | dancer | vacation | actor | jail | 

---

Taglines:

Hundreds of lovely hula girls . . . scores of lilting songs . . . spectacle to make you marvel !

---

Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 February 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Liebe auf Hawaii

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Loew's, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The entire "Hola E Pae" number of the Hawaiian Medley was inserted into the movie I Dood It.

---

Quotes

[Millie has just spotted movie star Brooks Mason on the deck of a cruise ship]
Millicent 'Millie' De Grasse: My dream man! I'm gonna meet him in person. And I'm warning you, if he makes one false move, I'm his!
Miss Dorothy 'Dot' March: I suppose you think it'll do you a lot of good to throw yourself at him.
Millicent 'Millie' De Grasse: Throw myself at him? If I thought it would do any good, I'd have myself shot at him out of a cannon!

---

Connections

Featured in 100 Years of Comedy (1997)

---

Soundtracks

"Listen to the Mockingbird"
(1855) (uncredited)
Music by Richard Milburn
Danced by Eleanor Powell in her blackface medley

User Reviews

Robt Young In A Dual Role

"Honolulu" is a good-natured comedy-musical that is great fun without being a great picture. The tempo is good, the cast is very good and the story is also, before becoming somewhat far-fetched towards the end. The music is not memorable but it is tuneful, and the song-and-dance numbers are lively.

You don't normally think of Robert Young as a funny guy, just a pleasant, presentable leading man, but here he pulls off comedy in fine style. He plays a movie idol and a look-alike business man who switch places as both are looking for a break from their respective routines. Of course, there are the usual comical mistaken identity situations to get through, some with a Hawaiian flavor, as the business man resides in Honolulu.

While Young is fine, Eleanor Powell is more problematic. She joins actor Young on the way to Honolulu, and has several dance numbers in the process. She was a terrific dancer and had a great smile, but her on-screen persona lacked warmth and never seemed to connect with the audience unless she was dancing. Maybe that was why MGM couldn't figure out what to do with her. She gets some help from Gracie Allen as her sidekick, but it was passing strange she and George Burns did not appear in a scene together.

This is a better-than-average 30's musical, a crowd-pleaser that could have used a better musical score. Everything else is there, and I rated it a 7, even though it's hard to tell if it's an A or a B picture. I guess with Eleanor Powell in it, it must be an A.