Wonderland Burlesque's
Let's Go To The Movies:
Where That Girl From?
Part III
Everybody's from somewhere. In theory. Even in the abstract.
Today's cinema excursion dares to ask the poignant question: Where That Girl From?
And who has the answer?
Hollywood, of course. For Tinseltown has the 411 on anything or anyone who has ever graced the silver screen.
So, off we go... seeking answers, which these vintage films offer up in spades.
Yes, never fear. When it comes to the movies?
You are never truly lost.
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The Girl From Rio
(1927)
Paul Sinclair, engaged to be married, represents a large coffee concern in Rio de Janeiro and while visiting with the American consul is taken by the beauty of Lola, a cafe dancer. Learning that she is the undisputed object of the affections of Antonio Santos, Paul obtains an introduction and dances with her, much to Santos' chagrin. Soon Paul falls in love with her, and after a quarrel she breaks with Santos, who seeks revenge by having Paul's coffee orders canceled. When Paul bargains directly with the planters he again thwarts Santos' sabotage attempts. Raoul, Lola's dancing partner, in a jealous frenzy, fires at Paul, and Paul kills him; Santos reports the events to the police, swearing a warrant for Paul's arrest. Lola appeals to Santos to spare him; and realizing that his own love for her is futile, he relents. Learning that his former fiancée has married, Paul finds happiness with Lola.
This American silent romance was directed by Tom Terriss and stars Carmel Myers, Walter Pidgeon, and Richard Tucker.
Though she is little remembered today, silent screen star Carmel Myers had a high-flying career in her heyday and she was ranked among the screen's most glamorous and enticing vamps. Signed by Universal, Carmel rose quickly up the ranks appearing with Rudolph Valentino in A Society Sensation (1918) and All Night (1918).
Meyers later branched out and worked for other studios. Her most prestigious film was the epic extravaganza Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925), in which she portrayed Iras, the evil Egyptian seductress out to snare both Ramon Navarro and Francis X. Bushman. Outrageously adorned, she was a tremendous hit and MGM signed her up for their pictures The Devil's Circus (1926) and Tell It to the Marines (1926), with each showcase striving to outdo the costumes she wore for Ben-Hur. Carmel managed the transition into talkies but, due to her age, she was cast more and more in supporting roles until she was left with nothing but bit parts. She then transitioned to real estate and died in 1980.
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The Girl From Havana
(1929)
Joan Anders, a girl detective for a jewelers' protective association, poses as a chorus girl in a musical comedy troupe to capture a gang of jewel thieves. On a steamer from Los Angeles to Havana, Joan falls in love with Allan Grant, one of the suspected crooks. After the gang has been apprehended, Grant is revealed to be the son of a murdered jeweler who fell in with the gang to track down the murderer.
American all-talking sound pre-Code crime film directed by Benjamin Stoloff and written by Edwin J. Burke. The film stars Lola Lane, Paul Page, Kenneth Thomson, Natalie Moorhead, Warren Hymer and Joseph W. Girard.
The film features the theme song entitled Time Will Tell with lyrics by L. Wolfe Gilbert and music by Abel Baer.
Adele Palmer's debut as a costume designer and she was only 14 years old.
This film is considered a lost film.
Lola Lane was an American actress and one of the Lane Sisters with her sisters Leota, Rosemary, and Priscilla Lane. She appeared on Broadway and in films, with and without her sisters, from the 1920s to 1940s, most notably in Marked Woman with Humphrey Bogart and Bette Davis.
Girl From Rio
(1939)
Marquita Romero, a South American singer in New York, is striving to secure the release of her brother, Carlos, who has been framed for arson. At fault is the owner of a night club whose sideline racket happens to be collecting insurance on the arson fires he creates. Marquita gets help from Steven Ward, who, with the help of an investigator for the insurance company, devises a plan to find enough evidence to free Marquita's brother. To accomplish this, Marquita gets a job as a singer in a nightclub owned by the arsonist. In the office, she discovers a valuable stamp collection in the gangster's safe on which insurance money has been collected. Meanwhile, the crook's jealous girlfriend discovers Maquita's plan and blows the whistle on her.
This American drama was directed by Lambert Hillyer and stars Movita, Warren Hull, Alan Baldwin, Kay Linaker.
The film features the song Romance in Rio written by Johnny Lange and Lew Porter and Ssng by Movita.
You can watch this film in its entirety for free on YouTube.
Movita (Maria Luisa Castaneda) was an American actress and the second wife of actor Marlon Brando. In films, she played exotic women and singers, such as in Flying Down to Rio (1933) and Mutiny on the Bounty (1935). With Brando, she had two children, Miko and Rebecca. They married in 1960. In 1962, Brando married his Mutiny on the Bounty co-star Tarita Teriipaia. Brando's marriage to Movita was annulled in 1968 when it was discovered she was still married to her first husband, boxer Jack Doyle.
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The Girl From Mexico
(1939)
AKA: Una Mujer Endiablanda
In the first entry of a long-running series for RKO, Carmelita Fuentes is a fiery-Latin singer/dancer in Mexico City who has designs on Dennis Lindsay, an American publicity agent. Helping in the romance department is Lindsay's shiftless uncle, Matthew Lindsay, who aids and abets Carmelita every step the way to the marriage altar.
This American comedy was directed by Leslie Goodwins and stars Lupe Vélez, Donald Woods, Leon Errol, Linda Hayes and Donald MacBride.
RKO wasn't planning a series while this film was being made - it was supposed to be a 'B' picture, meant to fill out a bill alongside one of their 'A' pictures - but the "Mexican Spitfire" series was developed after the first one proved to be such a big hit and one of RKO's top earners for the year. In total, the studio released eight films in the series, starting with this picture, from 1939 to 1943.
This is the sole picture in which Leon Errol plays Uncle Matt. His other character, Lord Basil Epping, was created for the second film in the series, Mexican Spitfire, and appeared in all subsequent entries.
When the franchise ended in 1944 and Velez found herself unwed and pregnant with no prospect of marriage, rather than abort the child, she took her own life in an elaborately staged suicide that guaranteed her international news coverage.
Lupe Vélez
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Girl From Havana
(1940)
AKA: Pendeniciero Indeseable
Woody Davis and Tex Moore are ambitious and enterprising friends who decide to become South American oil drillers in hope of becoming wealthy. Woody and Tex set up a site, but unfortunately, must spend their time fending off attacks from the rebellious locals. Their friendship is also threatened by the beautiful Havana girl who comes between them.
Theis American drama was directed by Lew Landers and stars Dennis O'Keefe, Claire Carleton, Victor Jory, Steffi Duna, Gordon Jones and Bradley Page.
Songs featured include: Girl from Havana and Querido, Take Me Tonight - Lyrics by Sol Meyer and George R. Brown and Music by Jule Styne, Terrace Rhumba - Music by Cy Feuer, and Midnight Tango - Music by William Lava.
You can watch this film in its entirety for free on YouTube.
Claire Carleton was an American actress whose career spanned four decades from the 1930s through the 1960s. She appeared in over 100 films, the majority of them features, and on numerous television shows in several recurring roles. In addition to her screen acting, she enjoyed a successful stage career, including appearances on Broadway.
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The Girl From Rio
(1969)
AKA: The Seven Secrets of Sumuru, City Without Men,
Sumuru Queen of Femina, Rio 70,
Future Women, Mothers Of America
When Jeff Sutton arrives in Rio de Janeiro with a suitcase filled with 10 million dollars, the powerful mobster Sir Masius sends his henchman to follow Jeff and steal the money. Sutton has an affair with a manicurist and then succeeds to escape from the mobsters. Meanwhile, Sumuru, leader of the women of the City of Femina, which strives to defeat all men and take over the world, captures Sutton and brings him to Femina in order to steal his money. Sumuru has several prisoners locked in glass cages, including Ulla Rossini, who knows Sutton. Sutton discloses to Ulla that his kidnapping and arrival is all part of his plan to rescue her from Sumuru. Sutton then becomes a pawn in the middle of a war between Masius and Sumuru.
This co-production between West Germany, Spain and the United States, a spy-fi film, was directed by Jess Franco and stars Shirley Eaton, Richard Wyler, George Sanders and Maria Rohm.
This film is a sequel to The Million Eyes of Sumuru (1967), based on Sax Rohmer's Sumuru character. With the exception of Shirley Eaton as Sumuru, all the other characters and actors are different, except for Maria Rohm, who plays a different character.
A critic in the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia found that Franco "has not achieved here the precise rhythm of the action movie" finding that "many sequences borders on monotony." A review from ABC Andalucia described the film as "an uneven production", that did "not transcend the simply commercial plane of products for popular consumption." The review concluded that "Correct execution and good photography includes splendid exteriors and a dynamic treatment that makes the fantastic story more bearable."
Shirley Jean Eaton is an English actress and singer. Eaton appeared regularly in British films throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and gained her highest profile for her appearance as Bond Girl Jill Masterson in the James Bond film Goldfinger (1964), which earned her bombshell status. This was Eaton's final role. She retired to concentrate on her family. In 1999, she released her autobiography, the bestseller Golden Girl.
And that's all for now, folks.
Tune in next time...
Same place, same channel.
The Girl From Mexico - Lupe Vélez
(1939)
