Lady of the Tropics (1939)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Jack Conway

Writer:

Ben Hecht (screenplay)

Release Date:

11 August 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Hedy Lamarr set the world aflame with her beauty in "Algiers" ! Now you see her in the arms of a dashing Bob Taylor !

Plot:

Playboy Bill Carey woos a half-caste beauty in French Indochina, but her second-class legal status makes a formidable barrier.

Plot Keywords:

Playboy | Half Caste | Murder | Buddha | Priest

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Robert Taylor	...	William 'Bill' Carey
Hedy Lamarr	...	Manon deVargnes Carey, aka Kira Kim
Joseph Schildkraut	...	Pierre Delaroch (Delaroche in Newspaper)
Gloria Franklin	...	Nina
Ernest Cossart	...	Father Antoine
Mary Zimbalist	...	Dolly Harrison (as Mary Taylor)
Charles Trowbridge	...	Alfred Z. Harrison
Frederick Worlock	...	Col. Demassey (commandant)
Paul Porcasi	...	Lamartine (purser)
Marguerita Padula	...	Madame Kya (as Margaret Padula)
Cecil Cunningham	...	Countess Berichi
Natalie Moorhead	...	Mrs. Hazlitt

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #5493) | Sweden:15

Company:

Loew's

Trivia:

Leslie Fenton filled in as director for some added scenes when Jack Conway became ill.

Movie Connections:

Featured in From the Ends of the Earth (1939)

Soundtrack:

Ai tuoi piedi son

Hedy's sultry beauty matched against Taylor's good looks...

With a script by Ben Hecht, LADY OF THE TROPICS is a film that recalled another Hedy Lamarr film--at least the title does--called "A Lady Without Passport"--a wretched film she made in 1950. Here too, she's a lady without passport and that's what triggers the entire plot. But it must be said that the comparison between the two films ends with the title.

This is strictly old-fashioned melodrama reeking of either "Manon Lescaut" or "Madame Butterfly", with Hedy as the ill-fated heroine who allows herself to be "used" by Joseph SCHILDKRAUT while hiding her indiscretions from her smitten American admirer (ROBERT TAYLOR), who meets her in French Indochina (Saigon) before WWII and immediately falls in love with her. When Schildkraut gets revenge by planting false evidence of his association with Lamarr to open Taylor's eyes to the truth, the consequences turn tragic.

Hedy has never been more beautiful and gives a sensitive performance as Manon (yes, that's her name!), a "lady of the tropics" with a sultry beauty enhanced by her MGM transformation into a stunning star who is always ready for her close-ups. Attired in an equally stunning Adrian wardrobe, she's a glittering testament to the power of Golden Age films to give stars glamor with a capital "G". Taylor, attired in white linen suits and Panama hats must have made female hearts flutter as the romantic hero willing to sacrifice all for his yen for Manon.

It's a better film than I expected. Joseph SCHILDKRAUT makes a perfect villain, the kind you like to hiss, with his Oriental make-up and oily manner oozing menace at every quiet inflection of his voice. The B&W photography of some artfully designed sets is soothing to the eye and so, of course, is the teaming of Lamarr and Taylor--two of the most photogenic stars on the MGM lot.

The script by Ben Hecht helps sustain interest in the storyline, even if it does get a bit too weepy toward the end. Lamarr shows evidence that she could be a very sympathetic heroine if given half a chance.