Torrid Zone (1940)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

William Keighley

Writers:

Richard Macaulay (screenplay) and
Jerry Wald (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 May 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy

Plot:

Plagued by revolutionaries that harass his plantation in a banana republic, fruit company exec Steve Case rehires former nemesis Nick Butler to restore order and profits.

Plot Keywords:

Plantation | Banana | Singer | Banana Republic | Fruit Company

Cast

James Cagney	...	Nick 'Nicky' Butler
Ann Sheridan	...	Lee Donley
Pat O'Brien	...	Mr. Steve Case
Andy Devine	...	Wally Davis
Helen Vinson	...	Mrs. Gloria Anderson
Jerome Cowan	...	Bob 'Bill' Anderson
George Tobias	...	Rosario 'Rosie' La Mata
George Reeves	...	Sancho, Rosario's Henchman
Victor Kilian	...	Carlos (Rosario's henchman)
Frank Puglia	...	Police Chief Juan Rodriguez
John Ridgely	...	Gardner
Grady Sutton	...	Sam, Steve's Secretary
Paul Porcasi	...	Garcia, Hotel Bar Proprietor
Frank Yaconelli	...	Lopez, Plantation Driver (as Frank Yaconnelli)
Dick Botiller	...	Hernandez, Plantation Worker (as Dick Boteler)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #6091)

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

When Frank Puglia says, "I don't believe in a third term," he was referring to the then speculative run of Franklin Delano Roosevelt for an unprecedented third term as U. S. President in 1940.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the gunfight scene between Butler's group and Rosario's group, Rosario shoots Butler and Butler appears to be grabbing his right arm as he goes down. In the next shot, he is now tending to his wound on his left arm. Later in the scene, after they catch Rosario, Rosario bumps Butler's hat as he walks by.

Quotes:

Police Chief Juan Rodriguez: [arguing with Case on the phone] After a good night's sleep a man doesn't mind being shot, but during siesta?
[a pause while he listens]
Police Chief Juan Rodriguez: All right, all right! Si, senor. We... we give him a permanent siesta - we shoot him right away.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Breakdowns of 1941 (1941)

Soundtrack:

Mi Caballero

Sheridan shines with some tart dialog...

Life at a banana plantation must have its compensations, judging from the way things turn out in this fast-moving, wise-cracking comedy directed stylishly by William Keighley. PAT O'BRIEN is the hard-nosed manager of a plantation who needs his former overseer's help in keeping some criminal elements from causing too much trouble. So JAMES CAGNEY comes back to help him--but trouble brews when he and O'Brien quarrel over red-headed ANN SHERIDAN, who just about walks off with the film's best lines.

It's strictly a Warner comedy-melodrama with stock players turning up in some good supporting roles, particularly GEORGE TOBIAS, ANDY DEVINE, JEROME COWAN and, in a small role, GEORGE (Superman) REEVES.

The real surprise of the film is ANN SHERIDAN, handling herself in every situation as a gal to be reckoned with. It's fun all the way.