Panama Hattie is my kind of movie. It’s under 90 minutes in length, it’s got a wisecracking dame, a stuffy English butler, a snooty rich bitch, simple-minded sailors, and international intrigue, all capped with a jaw-dropping musical number performed by the incandescent Lena Horne and, my new favorites, The Berry Brothers—an elastic-limbed trio of dancers who think nothing of leaping off a balcony and landing in splits on the dance floor below. There is also a war-time finale that has the whole cast singing about how the U.S. will “slap the Jap right offa the map.” I am always amazed at how much cheerful racism one could easily get away with during World War II.
Though this musical was one of the earliest produced by the Arthur Freed unit at MGM, it was significantly better than I expected. The songs are pretty good (even though they’re mostly Cole Porter throwaways) and the dialogue is crackling. One particular exchange that had me in stitches (though I can guarantee I cannot quote verbatim) was when the English butler, dismayed by the sight of his master’s drunk and boisterous girlfriend (the always excellent Ann Sothern), announces to no one in particular, “I’ve a feeling this is the beginning of a very obnoxious friendship,” to which she replies, “No more of your fancy talk or you’ll be wearing a cuspidor as a snood.” Well, I thought it was funny.
by Matt Bailey | Source: Turner Classic Movies broadcast
22 Oct 2004 1:14 PM | Submit Comment