Honolulu (1939)
What a cute little comedy! Robert Young stars in a dual role in this throwback to The Prince and the Pauper. I love stories like that, so I was an easily satisfied customer. Others might not like this one as much as I did, so I’ll lay out the pros and cons.
One of the Bobs is a famous matinee idol who gets mobbed by his female fans on the street. The other Bob owns a pineapple plantation in Hawaii, and he constantly gets mistaken for his famous counterpart. In an impressive and adorable scene where the two Bobs meet, shake hands, and marvel at how much alike they look, they agree to switch places for a couple of weeks. Hawaii-Bob warns heartthrob-Bob to stay away from his girlfriend, Rita Johnson, but the second she sees him, she throws her arms around him and kisses him. Then, with a revealing smile and sound, she kisses him again, declaring he’s a changed man since last time they saw each other. The only trouble, besides his promise to stay away from her, is he’s fallen in love with Eleanor Powell, who doesn’t know he’s really a famous movie star.
Eleanor is fantastic, as always, and gets to show off her incredible dance moves in a couple of borrowed numbers from other films: she tap dances while jump-roping à la Curly Top and does a number on a staircase in blackface imitating Bojangles à la Swing Time. She also turns a hula into a tap dance! Bob is adorable, and as his movie star self, he casually name-drops Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, and Myrna Loy leading ladies whom he’d acted with earlier in the decade! When Rita asks him who taught him how to kiss, he jokes and says it was Mickey Rooney, a joke about the off-screen reputation of the Andy Hardy star.
The parts of the movie that aren’t that great are the racially offensive characters of both Bob’s valets: Eddie “Rochester” Anderson and Willie Fung. Also, Gracie Allen is Eleanor’s best friend and constant companion, so if you don’t like her humor, you’ll be thoroughly annoyed. Most of the movie is pretty cute, though, if you can get past Rochester and Willie, reminding yourself that Hollywood was very racist in the 1930s.
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Classic Movies Kristine Rose" for posting!
More Robert Young movies here!
One of the Bobs is a famous matinee idol who gets mobbed by his female fans on the street. The other Bob owns a pineapple plantation in Hawaii, and he constantly gets mistaken for his famous counterpart. In an impressive and adorable scene where the two Bobs meet, shake hands, and marvel at how much alike they look, they agree to switch places for a couple of weeks. Hawaii-Bob warns heartthrob-Bob to stay away from his girlfriend, Rita Johnson, but the second she sees him, she throws her arms around him and kisses him. Then, with a revealing smile and sound, she kisses him again, declaring he’s a changed man since last time they saw each other. The only trouble, besides his promise to stay away from her, is he’s fallen in love with Eleanor Powell, who doesn’t know he’s really a famous movie star.
Eleanor is fantastic, as always, and gets to show off her incredible dance moves in a couple of borrowed numbers from other films: she tap dances while jump-roping à la Curly Top and does a number on a staircase in blackface imitating Bojangles à la Swing Time. She also turns a hula into a tap dance! Bob is adorable, and as his movie star self, he casually name-drops Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, and Myrna Loy leading ladies whom he’d acted with earlier in the decade! When Rita asks him who taught him how to kiss, he jokes and says it was Mickey Rooney, a joke about the off-screen reputation of the Andy Hardy star.
The parts of the movie that aren’t that great are the racially offensive characters of both Bob’s valets: Eddie “Rochester” Anderson and Willie Fung. Also, Gracie Allen is Eleanor’s best friend and constant companion, so if you don’t like her humor, you’ll be thoroughly annoyed. Most of the movie is pretty cute, though, if you can get past Rochester and Willie, reminding yourself that Hollywood was very racist in the 1930s.
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Classic Movies Kristine Rose" for posting!
More Robert Young movies here!