One Night in the Tropics (1940)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

A. Edward Sutherland

Writers:

Earl Derr Biggers (novel)
Kathryn Scola (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

15 November 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Tagline:

Romance TO THE RHYTHM OF THE RHUMBA...in this magical musical of mirth!

Plot Keywords:

Nightclub | Gun | Revenge | Playboy | Ship

Cast

Allan Jones	...	Jim Moore
Nancy Kelly	...	Cynthia Merrick
Bud Abbott	...	Abbott
Lou Costello	...	Costello
Robert Cummings	...	Steve Harper
Mary Boland	...	Aunt Kitty Marblehead
William Frawley	...	Roscoe
Peggy Moran	...	Mickey Fitzgerald
Leo Carrillo	...	Escobar
Don Alvarado	...	Rodolfo
Nina Orla	...	Nina
Richard Carle	...	Mr. Moore

Also Known As:

Caribbean Holiday (USA) (working title)
Daylight Saving (USA) (working title)
Love Insurance (USA) (working title)
Moonlight in the Tropics (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (PCA #6783)

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Abbott and Costello were big radio stars when they made this, their debut film. Their voices are heard before they appear on screen.

Quotes:

Costello: He's gonna make a wonderful husband.
Abbott: You don't even know what a husband is.
Costello: A husband is what's left of a sweetheart after the nerve has been killed.

Movie Connections:

Version of Love Insurance (1919)

Soundtrack:

Remind Me

Selling Love Insurance

Allan Jones is an insurance salesman with a streak of the riverboat gambler in him. Not surprising since he played Gaylord Ravenal in Show Boat earlier for Universal. He sells Bob Cummings a policy that guarantees him marriage. Of course father Richard Carle hits the roof and sends Jones off to a tropical paradise with Cummings and intended bride Nancy Kelly to see the nuptials go off smoothly. Around to potentially gum up the works is Peggy Moran, Cummings former girl friend.

Of course in One Night in the Tropics in the Caribbean island of San Marcos all kinds of romantic complications ensue in a plot that's totally ripped off from A Midsummer Night's Dream. If you are familiar with that work of Shakespeare you know how the story comes out. The film is taken from Earl Derr Bigger's novel Love Insurance, but there's no doubt where it all comes from originally.

One Night in the Tropics marks the film debut of Abbott and Costello and it is the only time they were ever not billed first. Allan Jones and Nancy Kelly were above them. They got OK notices here and Universal decided to star them in one of their low budget musicals called Buck Privates. That had a success no one predicted and they were above the title forever after that.

Allan Jones and Peggy Moran as our resident musical performers got to sing some Jerome Kern songs. Even mediocre Kern is better than most and one I particularly liked was Your Dream is the Same as My Dream sung first by Moran and reprised by Jones. The song served as a plot device to make sure all the couples were matched up properly.

Allan Jones has always been a personal favorite of mine. He had wonderfully pleasant tenor voice, shown to good advantage here. His musicals with Universal got gradually lower in quality after this one though. They are rarely seen, this one is because of Abbott and Costello's presence.

And a good thing too.