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IMDbPro

One Night in the Tropics

  • 1940
  • Passed
  • 1h 22m
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
1.8K
YOUR RATING
Robert Cummings, Allan Jones, Nancy Kelly, and Peggy Moran in One Night in the Tropics (1940)
ComedyMusicalRomance

Jim "Lucky" Moore (Allan Jones), an insurance salesman, comes up with a novel policy for his friend, Steve (Robert Cummings): a 'love insurance policy', that will pay out $1-million if Steve... Read allJim "Lucky" Moore (Allan Jones), an insurance salesman, comes up with a novel policy for his friend, Steve (Robert Cummings): a 'love insurance policy', that will pay out $1-million if Steve does not marry his fiancee, Cynthia (Nancy Kelly). The upcoming marriage is jeopardized b... Read allJim "Lucky" Moore (Allan Jones), an insurance salesman, comes up with a novel policy for his friend, Steve (Robert Cummings): a 'love insurance policy', that will pay out $1-million if Steve does not marry his fiancee, Cynthia (Nancy Kelly). The upcoming marriage is jeopardized by Steve's ex-girlfriend, Mickey (Peggy Moran), and Cynthia's disapproving Aunt Kitty. The ... Read all

  • Director
    • A. Edward Sutherland
  • Writers
    • Gertrude Purcell
    • Charles Grayson
    • Kathryn Scola
  • Stars
    • Allan Jones
    • Nancy Kelly
    • Robert Cummings
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.3/10
    1.8K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • A. Edward Sutherland
    • Writers
      • Gertrude Purcell
      • Charles Grayson
      • Kathryn Scola
    • Stars
      • Allan Jones
      • Nancy Kelly
      • Robert Cummings
    • 30User reviews
    • 9Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Photos9

    Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, and Peggy Moran in One Night in the Tropics (1940)
    Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in One Night in the Tropics (1940)
    Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in One Night in the Tropics (1940)
    Allan Jones and Nancy Kelly in One Night in the Tropics (1940)
    Robert Cummings, Allan Jones, Nancy Kelly, and Peggy Moran in One Night in the Tropics (1940)
    Bud Abbott, Leo Carrillo, and Lou Costello in One Night in the Tropics (1940)
    Peggy Moran in One Night in the Tropics (1940)
    Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in One Night in the Tropics (1940)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Allan Jones
    Allan Jones
    • Jim Moore
    Nancy Kelly
    Nancy Kelly
    • Cynthia Merrick
    Robert Cummings
    Robert Cummings
    • Steve Harper
    Bud Abbott
    Bud Abbott
    • Abbott
    Lou Costello
    Lou Costello
    • Costello
    Mary Boland
    Mary Boland
    • Aunt Kitty Marblehead
    William Frawley
    William Frawley
    • Roscoe
    Peggy Moran
    Peggy Moran
    • Mickey Fitzgerald
    Leo Carrillo
    Leo Carrillo
    • Senor Escobar
    Don Alvarado
    Don Alvarado
    • Rudolfo
    Nina Orla
    Nina Orla
    • Nina
    Richard Carle
    Richard Carle
    • James G. Moore
    The Theodores
    • San Marcos Dance Team
    Eddie Acuff
    Eddie Acuff
    • First S.S. Atlantica Steward
    • (uncredited)
    William Alston
    • Orchestra Leader
    • (uncredited)
    Brooks Benedict
    Brooks Benedict
    • Croupier
    • (uncredited)
    Harry C. Bradley
    Harry C. Bradley
    • Mr. Moore's Doctor
    • (uncredited)
    Tyler Brooke
    Tyler Brooke
    • First Man Polled by Jim
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • A. Edward Sutherland
    • Writers
      • Gertrude Purcell
      • Charles Grayson
      • Kathryn Scola
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      When "Realart Pictures" reissued this picture in the late 1940s, some 20 minutes were cut at the expense of the plot to give Bud Abbott and Lou Costello proportionately more screen time.
    • Quotes

      [Costello lights up a cigar]

      Abbott: Put that out. There's no smoking in here.

      Costello: What makes you think I'm smokin'?

      Abbott: You've got a cigar in your mouth!

      Costello: I've got shoes on... don't mean I'm walkin'.

    • Alternate versions
      Cut to 69 minutes for re-releases in 1950 and 1954. This shortened version was shown on TV for many years; restored full-length 83-minute version became available again in 1993, when released on VHS.
    • Connections
      Featured in Hollywood: The Gift of Laughter (1982)
    • Soundtracks
      You and Your Kiss
      Music by Jerome Kern

      Lyrics by Dorothy Fields

      Played during the opening credits

      Sung by Allan Jones aboard ship

      Played as background

    User reviews30

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    Love Insurance
    ONE NIGHT IN THE TROPICS (Universal, 1940), directed by A. Edward Sutherland, which began production under the title of "Caribbean Holiday," is a lively, but at times silly musical comedy starring Allan Jones as Jim "Lucky" Moore, an insurance salesman who comes up with the idea of selling his friend, Steve (Robert Cummings) a love insurance policy, because if his fiancée, Cynthia (Nancy Kelly) won't marry Steve, he stands to collect. Jim has Roscoe (William Frawley), a night club owner, finance the policy. However, complications occur when Lucky finds himself falling in love with Cynthia. Not wanting to pay off the policy, Roscoe hires his stooges, Abbott and Costello, to make sure Steve does marry Cynthia. Complications soon follow after boarding an ocean liner to San Marcos, South America.

    In spite the fact that the story is centered mostly on Jones and Cummings, with Kelly and Peggy Moran as the girls in the picture, ONE NIGHT IN THE TROPICS is remembered, if at all, as the feature debut of comedy team Bud Abbott and Lou ("I'm a baaad boy!") Costello, in a rare case in which they act in the story using their own names. Bud and Lou introduce to the screen some of their most famous vaudeville routines, including the abbreviated version of "Who's on First." While Abbott and Costello are known for repeating many of their routines in other films and later TV shows, one in particular, the "Dollar a Day" routine, is presented here for the only time, and it's really funny. It focuses on the fired Costello demanding from Abbott his dollar a day pay of 365 days work, and Abbott making his deductions one at a time, thus, giving his partner the amount pay he's entitled to, which turns out to be only a buck. Aside from the merry mix-up plot and Abbott and Costello, there are songs composed by Jerome Kern, Dorothy Fields and Oscar Hammerstein including "Remind Me," "Simple Philosophy," "Only You and Your Kiss," "I'm Crawling Back in My Shell," "Your Dream" and "The Parandola."

    For years, ONE NIGHT IN THE TROPICS was presented on local TV which eliminated some 20 minutes worth of footage. In the shorter print, it would begin with its opening credits, then cutting immediately into a hotel room in which Robert Cummings is dictating a letter of apology. Apology for what I never knew. Now in the restored copy, available on video cassette (and DVD with slightly different opening and closing titles used from reissue prints), finds Cummings getting into an elevator and innocently encountering trouble with a woman (Mary Boland) who turns out to be the aunt of his fiancée. After meeting again, aunt insists niece not marry this man. Also in the missing footage was Jones' encounter with a man on the street followed by a fight and facing Judge McCracken (played by the uncredited Kathleen Howard) in hight court. With these scenes now restored, the story now makes sense.

    Labeled a "B" musical, ONE NIGHT IN THE TROPICS resembles that of a 20th Century-Fox musical, minus Technicolor and Carmen Miranda. On and all, it's entertaining musically and comically. It made its American Movie Classics debut January 1, 2001, as part of the "WHO'S ON THE FIRST" Abbott and Costello New Year's Day marathon. For Abbott and Costello fans, this is worth viewing because they not only bring life to the story, but this is where the legend of Abbott and Costello began. A final bit of trivia. ONE NIGHT IN THE TROPICS is taken from the story, "Love Insurance," by Earl Derr Biggers, creator of the "Charlie Chan" mysteries. (***)
    helpful•21
    1
    • lugonian
    • Feb 28, 2001

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 15, 1940 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Caribbean Holiday
    • Filming locations
      • Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • Universal Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 22 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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