Frank Morgan is just about my favorite character actor. So, when TCM began to show a few more of the B movies he starred in for MGM, I was very enthusiastic. My enthusiasm didn't last long. Not because of Frank Morgan, but because the starring roles MGM was giving him were nothing but fluff.
So, when I sat down to watch this one, I was ready to turn it off after checking it out for a few minutes. I'm glad I stuck with it, because while it seemed a bit light at first, it sure didn't stay that way. This may be a B movie, but I'd give it a B+ or even an A- (yes, I know that's not how films are rated).
A well-meaning politician goes out for a night on the town (Washington) while his wife and daughter are taking a long vacation in Rio. This part of the movie seems like fluff. At the nightclub there's a rather impressive water ballet, and a very chauvinistic segment when the customers get to "fish" for the mermaids...which Morgan does...and hooks a beauty...who turns out to be a rather nice girl and he spends some very innocent time with her sightseeing in Washington...until his wife telegrams him that she and the daughter are about to return home.
He leaves the "mermaid" with roses and some money, which she decides to return. She just enjoyed their innocent time together. Then the MC from the nightclub (Dan Dailey) catches her writing the letter to return the money, knocks her down, and discovers he has killed her. The letter turns out to be a clue that Frank Morgan has killed her, instead.
Frank Morgan is excellent here, a bit restrained, as is appropriate for the part. Dan Dailey is very good as the crooked MC; not sure why his winning persona on screen didn't push him further. Virginia Grey is a bit over the top as Dailey's sometimes-fiancé. Ann Rutherford is quite good as Morgan's daughter, and key to the story line. Lee Bowman is out of place here. He plays his reporter role as if the film was a comedy, which it is not. Kent Taylor isn't quite right as the newspaper editor, either. But, the latter two actors don't detract much from the story.
With a slightly better script and slightly better casting of a couple of the parts, this could have been an A picture. Savor it for a very good performance by Frank Morgan.
So, when I sat down to watch this one, I was ready to turn it off after checking it out for a few minutes. I'm glad I stuck with it, because while it seemed a bit light at first, it sure didn't stay that way. This may be a B movie, but I'd give it a B+ or even an A- (yes, I know that's not how films are rated).
A well-meaning politician goes out for a night on the town (Washington) while his wife and daughter are taking a long vacation in Rio. This part of the movie seems like fluff. At the nightclub there's a rather impressive water ballet, and a very chauvinistic segment when the customers get to "fish" for the mermaids...which Morgan does...and hooks a beauty...who turns out to be a rather nice girl and he spends some very innocent time with her sightseeing in Washington...until his wife telegrams him that she and the daughter are about to return home.
He leaves the "mermaid" with roses and some money, which she decides to return. She just enjoyed their innocent time together. Then the MC from the nightclub (Dan Dailey) catches her writing the letter to return the money, knocks her down, and discovers he has killed her. The letter turns out to be a clue that Frank Morgan has killed her, instead.
Frank Morgan is excellent here, a bit restrained, as is appropriate for the part. Dan Dailey is very good as the crooked MC; not sure why his winning persona on screen didn't push him further. Virginia Grey is a bit over the top as Dailey's sometimes-fiancé. Ann Rutherford is quite good as Morgan's daughter, and key to the story line. Lee Bowman is out of place here. He plays his reporter role as if the film was a comedy, which it is not. Kent Taylor isn't quite right as the newspaper editor, either. But, the latter two actors don't detract much from the story.
With a slightly better script and slightly better casting of a couple of the parts, this could have been an A picture. Savor it for a very good performance by Frank Morgan.