Week-End in Havana (1941)

I love this movie so much

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Splashy TCF musical with an imaginative plot, but also with an unfortunate lineup of undistinguished musical numbers. Payne's supposed to keep Faye happy on her Havanna vacation so she won't sue his cruise ship line. That might be okay if Payne didn't have an impatient fiancée, Wright Jr., waiting back home. Worse, Faye wants romance and thinks she's found it with handsome gold-digger Romero. But what happens when the greedy Romero doesn't pan out. Payne's got a big juggling act to do. And through it all, Miranda rhumbas her way, sporting a permanent smile and a half dozen top-heavy hats. The mystery is how she gets them to stay on.Faye's her usual winning self, while Payne gets to go Tarzan-like shirtless. But together they do make a compelling couple, as a dozen of these TCF musicals show. Meanwhile, Romero and Wright get to model some impressive high fashion, as compensation, I guess. Fortunately, director Lang keeps the circus running smoothly, but don't let all that splashy Technicolor overwhelm you. Nothing special here, just a truckload of eye-catching Hollywood escapism.

The film begins with a cruise ship getting stuck on a reef. The cruise line sends one of its execs (John Payne) to meet the passengers in order to placate them and get each one to sign a release. However, one (Alice Faye) is not so easily satisfied and refuses to sign. After all, she cannot afford to take another trip a couple weeks later and she insists that the cruise line owes her a vacation and NOW! So, to avoid a lawsuit, he arranges for the woman to be flown to Havana to be wined and dined in style. She is happy but won't sign the release until AFTER the trip is over--as it COULD still be a lousy vacation. So, to be sure the vacation is great, he arranges for a local ne'er-do-well (Cesar Romero) to romance her. The problem is that he already has a girlfriend (Carmen Miranda)--and she's one jealous lady! What's next? Well, it's pretty predictable but quite entertaining.This picture is pretty much what you'd expect from a film from this studio--some very nice Technicolor, a few songs and a lot of fun. While none of "Week-End in Havana" is certainly NOT a great film, it is a decent little time-passer and is worth seeing. It's also one of Miranda's best films, as she's used more effectively than in many of her Fox movies.By the way, at the 73 minute mark, you can catch a brief glimpse of Hugh Beaumont--but look fast or you'll miss him.

Alice Faye knows more than she should about a cruise ship accident and gets herself a big vacation courtesy of the ship line in "Weekend in Havana," costarring John Payne, Carmen Miranda, and Cesar Romero. Alice plays a demanding young woman who insists on recompense for a long-planned vacation when handsome John Payne tries to convince her to sign a waiver. Payne escorts her to Havana where, anxious to get home for his wedding, he proves a dull escort. Faye soon hooks up with Romero, who thinks she's wealthy. He's on the lam from a casino proprietor to whom he owes money. Carmen Miranda, his girlfriend, is the jealous entertainer.Everyone in the film is delightful. Having just seen Romero in "Captain from Castile," he is even more impressive in this light role. Miranda is always fun to watch. Faye is very pretty and sings well in her lush contralto. John Payne is easy on the eyes and makes an able leading man. Cobina Wright, as Payne's fiancée, is quite stunning.I admit to liking Springtime in the Rockies and The Gang's All Here more, but "Weekend in Havana" makes for fun viewing.

Fox makes ample use of their stock company players--ALICE FAYE, JOHN PAYNE, CARMEN MIRANDA, CESAR ROMERO, as well as a bevy of dependable supporting actors to make sure that their technicolor investment in WEEKEND IN HAVANA pays off. Unfortunately, it's a routine assignment for all concerned. The script is light, even for a Fox musical.Faye had better musicals at the studio and is saddled with playing a rather pushy department store clerk who expects to get the royal treatment in Havana after her cruise is interrupted by a shipwreck. Naturally, a handsome corporate man (Payne) is assigned to take care of her "vacation" in Havana, and therein lies the nub of the plot. Everything that follows is quite predictable, including misunderstood romantic complications, but the end result is nevertheless entertaining.Both Alice and Carmen Miranda have opportunities to demonstrate their prowess with a song and John Payne makes an attractive partner for Faye. Cesar Romero plays a Latin charmer with his usual confident air. It's all very pretty in Fox's typically garish technicolor but fails to stay in the memory as some of Faye's other films do since there's nothing especially memorable about either the plot or the music.