One Night in the Tropics

Starring: Allan Jones, Nancy Kelly, Robert Cummings, Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Mary Boland, William Frawley
Directed by: A. Edward Sutherland
Rating: Approved
Genre: Comedy, Musical
1940

Times Seen:
Tim: 1


Summary: An insurance salesman (Allen Jones) sells his best friend (Robert Cummings) love insurance to protect against his upcoming marriage. When the relationship hits an obstacle, he must repair the damage and get his friend married or his business will lose $1 million.

Review:

Tim: One Night in the Tropics is most noteworthy for being the feature film debut of Abbott & Costello, two radio personalities who were breaking into motion pictures. It's interesting knowing that they become huge movie stars, but back in 1940, they were a little bit of an unknown on the silver screen. Their first film featured them in a supporting role and it wasn't much of a success (the movie). I still thought this was a pretty good movie, though.

The plot is absurd, but you just have to go with it. I am still not entirely sure how 'love insurance' would work, but I understand it's the excuse for all the movement in the plot. I suppose it's kind of funny in a look-and-what-people-did-in-the-1940s kind of way. The plot is ridiculous, but I actually found it interesting to see a romance turn into a love triangle and then blossom out from there. I was always at least mildly interested in the plot.

I didn't know much about Allan Jones or Robert Cummings before watching this film. They worked well enough on screen, but neither had that spark that would elevate them to the top of Hollywood. Jones gives the better performance. He has a very good voice and although I didn't love all the songs he sang, I admit I was fairly impressed with him in the moment. I wouldn't say he gives an especially memorable performance, but it's serviceable in the context of the film. I can't say I loved Cummings in this movie. He had a career of playing light comedy roles, of which this was right up his alley. He obviously did a lot of physical comedy and there were a few moments when his bumbling character created some laughs. However, as a whole, his performance just felt a little ineffective. He was trying too hard and didn't come across as natural. The whole bumbling regular guy thing grew a little thin as the film went on. He was okay, but I certainly wasn't a big fan of his performance. Nancy Kelly was fine, I don't have any big complaints about her here.

While the film is about those three, it's really Bud Abbott and Lou Costello who steal the show. They bring much needed energy and comedy to the film. Almost every moment where I actually laughed was due to Abbott and Costello. Their scenes were among the highlights of the entire film. It's so interesting to watch a movie where they were supposed to be the supporting players and see them completely outshine everyone else in the cast. Neither Jones, Cummings, or Kelly had that true star potential, but these two had it in spades. I found myself eagerly anticipating their next scene to see what kind of crazy hijinks they would get into. Now, the film does seem to cater to them the longer it goes on. It became apparent to someone involved in the film that their act was great and everything else was average. I do fault the movie a bit for how big of a role they played- while their individual scenes were incredible, the focus on them detracted from the main storyline. It's got to be tough when the supporting players cast a shadow that swallows up the rest of the cast. They were good, but I have to think they hurt the movie a little bit by being so much better than everyone else. I felt a little twinge of disappointment whenever their scenes ended and we had to get back to Jones and Cummings.

One Night in the Tropics is a fine movie. I didn't love it, but I certainly didn't hate it. It's worth seeing primarily for how Abbott & Costello stole the show and launched their Hollywood careers. If you're a true movie fan, I'd recommend tracking this movie down.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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