PANAMA HATTIE (1942) is two different movies, plotwise. One movie is about nightclub singer Hattie Maloney and her romance with a young soldier from a well-to-do Philadelphia family. The other film is a slapstick comedy about a trio of sailors on shore leave, with a penchant for catching spies. Juggling both, only tenuously connected plots in a 79-minute time frame means that neither story is properly developed. Conflicts are resolved easily and off-screen. And both stories give way to extended musical numbers, particularly at the end.
Despite its obvious weaknesses, PANAMA HATTIE is a very entertaining collection of parts. Red Skelton, Rags Ragland, and Ben Blue make a fine comedic team. The slapstick is pulled off well and the script is witty. Skelton's clowning shtick isn't too overbearing, as he is part of a trio (and the brains, no less). Ann Sothern impresses with her singing and Lena Horne is showcased in a couple of musical numbers with the dancing Berry Brothers.
Two favorites of mine, the offbeat "deadpan" singer Virginia O'Brien and the lovely Marsha Hunt, are welcome presences in the congenial ensemble. O'Brien shines in fun numbers like "Fresh as a Daisy" and "(Did I Get Stinkin') At the Savoy". Hunt's mildly antagonistic Philadelphia snob is a bit of a change of pace for her, and she has some great comedic moments opposite Skelton.
The film's finale becomes an interesting showcase of wartime patriotism, capped by the entire cast singing "The Son of a Gun Who Picks on Uncle Sam" about bombing the Japs and Heinies right off their Axis and whatnot. There's a great line near the end. After convincing her to join the war effort, Skelton tells Hunt that he'll take her around the world after the war is over: "I'll even show you where Japan used to be."
6.5/10
Despite its obvious weaknesses, PANAMA HATTIE is a very entertaining collection of parts. Red Skelton, Rags Ragland, and Ben Blue make a fine comedic team. The slapstick is pulled off well and the script is witty. Skelton's clowning shtick isn't too overbearing, as he is part of a trio (and the brains, no less). Ann Sothern impresses with her singing and Lena Horne is showcased in a couple of musical numbers with the dancing Berry Brothers.
Two favorites of mine, the offbeat "deadpan" singer Virginia O'Brien and the lovely Marsha Hunt, are welcome presences in the congenial ensemble. O'Brien shines in fun numbers like "Fresh as a Daisy" and "(Did I Get Stinkin') At the Savoy". Hunt's mildly antagonistic Philadelphia snob is a bit of a change of pace for her, and she has some great comedic moments opposite Skelton.
The film's finale becomes an interesting showcase of wartime patriotism, capped by the entire cast singing "The Son of a Gun Who Picks on Uncle Sam" about bombing the Japs and Heinies right off their Axis and whatnot. There's a great line near the end. After convincing her to join the war effort, Skelton tells Hunt that he'll take her around the world after the war is over: "I'll even show you where Japan used to be."
6.5/10