One is the Bahama's. The other features a giant apple, and when the girl from the big apple goes to the big pineapple, it's not long before she becomes a Bahama mama. That lady in the sarong here is the flashy Yvonne de Carlo, the future Lily Munster, the future one shot Broadway diva who proved that indeed she was still here. She's a successful career woman who by accident inherits a bequest from a wealthy man, given to her through the man's widow (Frieda Inescort) who believes that there was more going on but didn't seem to mind. Newly rich, de Carlo goes to the Bahama's with her friend Zachary Scott to check out a nightclub bought by Kurt Kasznar and ends up finding her own green acres, not at all reluctant to depart Park Avenue.
Looking at first like a thin version of Alan Hale's skipper, James Arness jumps into the story, stirring up de Carlo and making Scott jealous. Later, an old childhood sweetheart (Howard Duff) shows up, stirring her even more to melodramatic delight. While there aren't any movie stars, there are swimming pools (right off the ocean to obviously avoid sharks), and it becomes a colorful delight, getting campier by the minute. Something shady is soon revealed, and it ain't two ladies under a banana tree. Along with the previous year's "Underwater", this is a delight for the eyes, and when de Carlo breaks into "Bahama Mama", be sure not to sip your tropical cocktail. Scarlet O'Hara's mother, Barbara O'Neill, so deliciously nasty to Bette Davis in "All This and Heaven Too", adds another imperious role to her roster as Duff's very young looking mother.
Made during the last days of Republic studios, it was one of the rare times that studio head Herbert J. Yates cast another star over his wife, Vera "Hruba" Ralston, and thank God for that! Crawford and Stanwyck also ventured there around this time, like Maureen O'Hara had done for "The Quiet Man". There's a Christmas sequence with little kiddies singing "Yes, Jesus Loves Me", and while it could be very cloying, it's actually very sweet. For much of the film, however, it's all about de Carlo and her many admirers, some big fishing scenes (she catches a marlin!), and some travelog style shots of the main areas. But the main story really could be set anywhere. Ultimately, that doesn't really matter, because it is fabulously entertaining from start to finish, colorfully filled with everything that made movie going an absolute joy in the golden age.
Looking at first like a thin version of Alan Hale's skipper, James Arness jumps into the story, stirring up de Carlo and making Scott jealous. Later, an old childhood sweetheart (Howard Duff) shows up, stirring her even more to melodramatic delight. While there aren't any movie stars, there are swimming pools (right off the ocean to obviously avoid sharks), and it becomes a colorful delight, getting campier by the minute. Something shady is soon revealed, and it ain't two ladies under a banana tree. Along with the previous year's "Underwater", this is a delight for the eyes, and when de Carlo breaks into "Bahama Mama", be sure not to sip your tropical cocktail. Scarlet O'Hara's mother, Barbara O'Neill, so deliciously nasty to Bette Davis in "All This and Heaven Too", adds another imperious role to her roster as Duff's very young looking mother.
Made during the last days of Republic studios, it was one of the rare times that studio head Herbert J. Yates cast another star over his wife, Vera "Hruba" Ralston, and thank God for that! Crawford and Stanwyck also ventured there around this time, like Maureen O'Hara had done for "The Quiet Man". There's a Christmas sequence with little kiddies singing "Yes, Jesus Loves Me", and while it could be very cloying, it's actually very sweet. For much of the film, however, it's all about de Carlo and her many admirers, some big fishing scenes (she catches a marlin!), and some travelog style shots of the main areas. But the main story really could be set anywhere. Ultimately, that doesn't really matter, because it is fabulously entertaining from start to finish, colorfully filled with everything that made movie going an absolute joy in the golden age.