One Night in the Tropics

Let me explain. This is the first film in which (what I consider to be) the greatest comedy team of all time appear. They are not the leads, but steal the show with every scene that they're in. The plot of the movie is interesting enough to hold one's attention. An insurance salesman sells his friend "Love Insurance" which insures his marriage to his fiancée. When Lucky (the salesman) falls in love with Steve's (his friend) fiancée, things get complicated. Throw in Steve's second love interest, a crooked nightclub owner and his two thugs (Bud and Lou), and a larger than life Aunt and you have yourself a twisted (but funny!) little feature. Each time Bud and Lou show up they give off a radiance and freshness that is truly a joy to watch. The gags include two tens for a five, mustard, Jonah and the Whale, an abbreviated "Who's on First?", and Lou's cut in pay. The last bit I mentioned is extremely funny and I'm not sure if it appears in any of their other films so watch for it! The rest of the cast is pretty decent and the music doesn't really help or hurt the film. It's a great way to introduce someone to the team. Recommended for A&C fans, fans of classic comedy and films, or simply someone who wants to smile a little! Just warning you though, this film will leave you craving more Bud and Lou, so have another of their films at hand. Enjoy!!

My first viewing of this movie left me surprised. Why? For years I'd read that the only plus was the first screen appearance of Lou and Bud. Instead I found the story fun and the cast fine, especially Bob Cummings as a kind of good-looking Woody Allen-type character. Bob in fact takes the limelight whenever he's on the screen.

When the boys did appear, it was if they'd walked in off the lot next door with no idea of what was going on. Their routines were pure music hall. There seemed to be no effort to work them into the story. Perhaps the point that neither were sympathetic characters didn't help. So anyone with expectations of this movie should be prepared for something different.

A delightful movie, `One Night In the Tropic' Features Abbott and Costello in their first film together, but they are not leads. Their next film, `Buck Privates' (1941) they would save Universal and they would star in their first leading roles.

Yet anyway, this film casts 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 nightclub 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.

Abbott and Costello do however; steal the show with many of their sketches, including The Mustard Routine, Money Changing, Jonah and the whale, Paid In Full and Two Tens for a Five. Who can forget `Who's On First'? Apparently the Paid in full Routine has only been in this film and the film is worth catching for this sketch alone.

I enjoyed this silly B-Musical and had a fun time with it. You will, too!

MPAA Rating: NR

My Rating: 6 and up

My * Rating: 7.2

"One Night in the Tropics" is the film debut of the great comedy team, Abbott and Costello. The story line is 1940s amusing: a rich guy is engaged to a beautiful woman but he's loudly and publicly pursued by another gorgeous gal who declares he'll be her husband - or else. The fellow's best friend winds up in love with his pal's fiancee. Guess who that fellow winds up with.

Throw in a silly plot about a newly hatched business scheme, a policy for "Love Insurance" and we're back in a simpler time for romantic comedy.

Very conventional stuff with scenes set in the tropics as not very well realized by the backlot crew.

What makes this film fun is Abbott and Costello who largely steal the show as employees of a less than scrupulous businessman (of sorts). This is the movie that introduced the most famous, probably, A & B skit, "Who's on First?" Terrific! But there's also a very funny dialogue about the properties of mustard and its crucial relationship to the enjoyment of a hot dog. These guys are still among the funniest ever in movies.

Jerome Kern composed the music and songs for "One Night in the Tropics." It's not his finest or most memorable work but ANYTHING by Kern is infinitely better than what most Hollywood film score composers and songwriters were doing in those days.

Earl Derr Biggers, creator of Charlie Chan, wrote the book on which the film is based. Many will be surprised to see this side of him. No murders, no brilliant detectives-just a bunch of fun characters lighting up the screen.

8/10.

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. (***)