Happy Go Lucky (1943)

A gold-digger hopes to land a rich husband in Trinidad, but gets mixed up with a beach boy and voodoo.

Director:

Curtis Bernhardt

Writers:

Walter DeLeon, Melvin Frank,

Stars:

Mary Martin, Dick Powell, Betty Hutton

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Mary Martin	...	Marjory Stuart
Dick Powell	...	Pete Hamilton
Betty Hutton	...	Bubbles Hennessy
Eddie Bracken	...	Wally Case
Rudy Vallee	...	Alfred Monroe
Mabel Paige	...	Mrs. Smith
Eric Blore	...	Betsman
Clem Bevans	...	Mr. Smith
Rita Christiani	...	Herself
Sir Lancelot	...	Calypso singer

Storyline

To land a rich husband, golddigger Marjory Stuart goes to Trinidad posing as a debutante. Beach boy Pete promptly unmasks her, but offers to help her catch his enemy, yachtsman Alfred Monroe. Marjory's pal Bubbles turns out to be the old flame of Pete's pal Wally. All the well-planned efforts to land Monroe end in slapstick; then Wally's voodoo priestess landlady gives him a love potion that works...

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 January 1943 (USA)

Also Known As:

Caçadora de Marido

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The song "Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Ay/Ray" was not written by Henry Gordon Thayer at all; he heard it performed in a speakeasy by an African-American performer called Mama Lou; after taking down the notes and lyrics, he sanitized the words as much as possible and published it as his own. The song was later the subject of a copyright battle in the courtroom and was declared to be in the public domain, meaning anybody can use it.

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Quotes

Pete Hamilton: With your charm and my conniving, there's nothing to worry about.

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Connections

Featured in Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)

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Soundtracks

"Happy Go Lucky"
Music by Jimmy McHugh
Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Sung by Mary Martin and Dick Powell

User Reviews

Almost a swansong

The musical cinema careers of both stars was almost at an end when this film was released.Dick Powell clearly knew that his time as a juve lead was nearing its natural end as he appeared in "Farewell My Lovely" the following year.Mary Martin made one more film in this era before returning to the stage.She made very few films so a musical such as this is of great interest .Although she is quite delightful i do not think that she had the glamour of say Rita hayworth or the brashness of Betty Grable to enable her screen career to really take off.All of her performances that i have seen have been engaging without being memorable.Dick Powell does what he had been doing for 10 years on screen.Betty Hutton,Eddie Bracken and Rudy Vallee all lend support in this very entertaining and colourful 40s musical.