Week-End in Havana (1941)

A salesgirl (Alice Faye) threatens to cause trouble when cruise ship runs aground and vacation is ruined. As compensation she soon gets a free first class Havana holiday with the ship owner's future son-in-law (John Payne) as wall as some unexpected attention from a conniving gambler (Cesar Romero) and his girlfriend (Carmen Miranda).System Requirements:Running Time: 81 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: MUSICALS/MUSICALS UPC: 024543225591 Manufacturer No: 2232559 Product Description

Another fine Fox wartime musical romance

Fox channel ran this film right after "Sun Valley Serenade", both released in 1941. This emphasized to me that both musical romances had basically the same plot, but in very different exotic settings and with different lead actors, except for John Payne. In both films, Payne is engaged to be married to one knockout, but gradually comes to realize he prefers a newcommer, Alice Faye, in the present film. Whereas in SVS, Payne spends most of the film trying to deny that he is falling in love with Sonja Henje's character, who keeps popping up unexpectedly, in the present film, it's Payne who keeps popping up unexpectedly in the life of Alice, who initially shows no interest in him. Both films are blessed with multiple stars, with complementary and overlapping talents. As usual, Payne is the fall guy for a series of embarrassing and comedic situations, can sing, and eventually winds up with the leading lady. Cesar Romero functions as the primary male comedian as well as something for the ladies to swoon over. Carmen Miranda is her usual effervescent flirtatious self, as different in personality and looks from prim dreamy-eyed Alice Faye as one can imagine. She is the centerpiece of occasional lavish costume musical numbers, whereas Alice renders her ballads in quite a different style. While Romero makes a play for Alice, whom he thinks is filthy rich, and Carmen flirts with Payne, savvy viewers know that Carmen will return to Romero, while Payne and Alice will return together to NYC. Like SVS, this film is just fun, with a vaudevillian mix of song and dance, comedy, drama and romance. July 20, 2008

Weekend in Havana

For those of us who enjoy Alice Faye musicals, it was a pleasant and enjoyable movie. December 20, 2007

Ah, Havana!

This film is a classic representation of those of its time and genre. Alice Faye was as good now as she was then. The supporting cast show their versatility from other films they have appeared in and the film is all around fun. The dancers & musicians of that era shine and can never be replaced.
Trust me-you'll enjoy it! August 16, 2007

Are we there yet ??? Two and 1/2 stars

Week-End In Havana can at the very, very best be described as a "fun" film--because the truth is that the film never goes very far and the plot is remarkably contrived. What a shame! The film sports a great cast with Alice Faye, John Payne, Cesar Romero and Carmen Miranda; and they try to do the best they can do with a somewhat flawed plot and poorly written lines.

The action begins when a cruise ship to Havana, Cuba hits the rocks near Cuba and is disabled. All the passengers sign waivers and get arrangements for other trips--all, that is, except one Nan Spencer (Alice Faye). Nan saved like a fiend for this trip and she won't take no for an answer--she wants her vacation NOW! The cruise ship execs panic and even postpone a wedding so that one of their vice presidents, Jay Williams (John Payne), can fly down to Cuba. Jay eventually winds up giving Nan the vacation in Cuba she wanted to avoid her suing the steamship company.

And then the plot thins. Somehow the script works in Cesar Romero as a gambler who romances Nan to get money he thinks she has so he can pay off his gambling debts; Carmen Miranda fits in better as the passionate, flighty nightclub singer who performs some solid numbers in this movie. Of course, you may well be able to predict what happens between Jay Williams, Nan Spencer and Jay's fiancée Terry; but I'll leave that part out so you have some reason to watch this movie--just as long as nothing more exciting is on television tonight.

I can't quite put my finger on it; but those musical numbers and the fast paced slapstick high jinks and all too quickly concocted romances just don't do it for me. I'm spoiled--MGM musicals did it better. Sigh.

The choreography works well throughout the picture; all you have to do is watch those dance numbers with many dancers dancing simultaneously to know that they did work hard to stage those dance numbers. The cinematography reflects good judgment. The choreography and the cinematography work better than the plot!

The DVD features some optional commentary which is rare given the fact that movies from this era don't often offer this; and there is a small stills gallery as well.

Overall, Week-End In Havana works well for a day when the weather is crummy and there's nothing else on television. At times the plot takes a twist that is so contrived I would rather watch cow manure exploding in a field somewhere out in farm country. My sympathy to the stars of this film who offered great talent but had it wasted by a plot with lines so simple a fifth grader could have written most if not all of them.

Two and ½ stars.
July 16, 2007

Rhumba, romance, and chintzy painted backdrops

All Alice Faye has to do is sing in her gorgeous full contralto (that is almost a baritone) and you immediately can see why she was 20th-Century Fox's biggest star during the war years: here she transforms a dull song like "Rhumba and Romance" into a little masterpiece while dancing with Cesar Romero and really kicking back. While skimpy, the plot of this very typical Fox musical is fairly efficient: Faye, a Macy's shop-girl, is the last holdout to sign off for liability when her cruise ship runs aground on a sand bar, so an executive of the cruise line (John Payne) has to squire her around Havana to make sure she has a good time. Along the way they run into an incompetent gigolo (Romero) and his spitfire girlfriend (Carmen Miranda, of course, since Brazil and Cuba were considered pretty interchangeable in the minds of 40s America). The costumes by Gwen Wakeling are quite eye-catching, and the lovely and unusual model Cobana Wright, Jr., plays Faye's rival, and John Payne is at least very handsome; unfortunately the sets and backdrops are pretty chintzy, as was often per usual with Fox, and the songs by Mack Gordon are instantly forgettable. The only thing to really lift this above mediocrity is Faye, who is not much of an actress (though she does have fun with a New York accent), but who sings like a dream. February 16, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...