Must See Movie...

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Splashy TCF musical with an imaginative plot, but also with an unfortunate lineup of undistinguished musical numbers. Payne's supposed to keep Faye happy on her Havanna vacation so she won't sue his cruise ship line. That might be okay if Payne didn't have an impatient fiancée, Wright Jr., waiting back home. Worse, Faye wants romance and thinks she's found it with handsome gold-digger Romero. But what happens when the greedy Romero doesn't pan out. Payne's got a big juggling act to do. And through it all, Miranda rhumbas her way, sporting a permanent smile and a half dozen top-heavy hats. The mystery is how she gets them to stay on.Faye's her usual winning self, while Payne gets to go Tarzan-like shirtless. But together they do make a compelling couple, as a dozen of these TCF musicals show. Meanwhile, Romero and Wright get to model some impressive high fashion, as compensation, I guess. Fortunately, director Lang keeps the circus running smoothly, but don't let all that splashy Technicolor overwhelm you. Nothing special here, just a truckload of eye-catching Hollywood escapism.

I know this is going to offend a lot of fans, but "Weekend in Havana" does not come anywhere near "Down Argentine Way" or "That Night in Rio" both of which were made around the same time. Certainly, Carmen Miranda (the main attraction of the movie) has more to do in this, bus the talent of Alice Faye is wasted, and I felt it needed someone like Charlotte Greenwood to really lift the tempo and interest. No need to recap the story as it is one that has been done before many times, but I do give full marks for the Technicolor which was absolutely brilliant (in more ways than one!). John Payne and Caesar Romero were adequate, and it was good fortune to have some of the standard actors in Leonid Kinsky, Billy Gilbert and Sheldon Leonard to help move it along.

Fox channel aired 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 settings and with different lead actors, except for John Payne. In both films, Payne is engaged to be married to a society knockout, but gradually comes to realize he really prefers a newcomer "nobody", 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 Faye, who initially shows no interest in him. Both films are blessed with multiple stars with complementary and overlapping talents. As usual, Payne is the straight man 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 sense that Carmen will return to Romero, while Payne and Alice will return together to NYC. Like SVS, this film is just a fun time, with a vaudevillian mix of song and dance, comedy, drama and romance.

Fox makes ample use of their stock company players--ALICE FAYE, JOHN PAYNE, CARMEN MIRANDA, CESAR ROMERO, as well as a bevy of dependable supporting actors to make sure that their technicolor investment in WEEKEND IN HAVANA pays off. Unfortunately, it's a routine assignment for all concerned. The script is light, even for a Fox musical.Faye had better musicals at the studio and is saddled with playing a rather pushy department store clerk who expects to get the royal treatment in Havana after her cruise is interrupted by a shipwreck. Naturally, a handsome corporate man (Payne) is assigned to take care of her "vacation" in Havana, and therein lies the nub of the plot. Everything that follows is quite predictable, including misunderstood romantic complications, but the end result is nevertheless entertaining.Both Alice and Carmen Miranda have opportunities to demonstrate their prowess with a song and John Payne makes an attractive partner for Faye. Cesar Romero plays a Latin charmer with his usual confident air. It's all very pretty in Fox's typically garish technicolor but fails to stay in the memory as some of Faye's other films do since there's nothing especially memorable about either the plot or the music.