Panama Hattie (1942)
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0% want to see it
(3 ratings)
Cole Porter's musical hit Panama Hattie originally starred Ethel Merman on Broadway. But Merman was not a proven movie commodity, thus it was Ann Sothern who appeared in the film version as Hattie, brassy but golden-hearted proprietress of a Canal Zone hotel. Accustomed to dealing with such… More Cole Porter's musical hit Panama Hattie originally starred Ethel Merman on Broadway. But Merman was not a proven movie commodity, thus it was Ann Sothern who appeared in the film version as Hattie, brassy but golden-hearted proprietress of a Canal Zone hotel. Accustomed to dealing with such raucous cohorts as she-sick sailors Red (Red Skelton), Rags (Rags Ragland) and Rowdy (Ben Blue), Hattie isn't quite certain how to handle herself when she falls in love with wealthy and cultured Dick Bulliett (Dan Dailey Jr.) Socialite Leila Tree (Marsha Hunt), who'd previously set her cap for Dick, does her best to break up the romance, but Hattie is championed by Dick's kid sister Geraldine (Jackie Horner) and family butler Jenkins (Alan Mowbray). The play's original storyline, which shifted into gear when Hattie began picking up Nazi shortwave radio broadcast in the fillings of her teeth, is virtually nonexistent here, as is Porter's score, save for "I've Still Got My Health" and "Let's be Buddies" (Lena Horne does, however, show up to sing "Just One of Those Things", a carryover from an earlier Porter musical). A notoriously troubled production, Panama Hattie was completely refilmed after a disastrous preview, delaying its scheduled release by nearly a year. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Norman Z. McLeod
- Written By
- Jack McGowan, Wilkie Mahoney
- Genres
- Musical & Performing Arts
Unrated,
Critic Reviews
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
A low-brow musical that doesn't bear the stylistic signature of Vincente Minnelli, not to mention the fact that Ann Sothern is not Ethel Merman, who did it on Broadway.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
The wartime musical/comedy Panama Hattie was a hit on Broadway for songwriter Cole Porter and its star Ethel Merman.
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Cast
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Red Skelton
as Red
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Ann Sothern
as Hattie Maloney
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Rags Ragland
as Rags
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Ben Blue
as Howdy
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Marsha Hunt
as Leila Tree
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Virginia O'Brien
as Flo Foster
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Alan Mowbray
as Jay Perkins
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Dan Dailey
as Dick Bulliet
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Jackie Horner
as Geraldine Bulliet
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Carl Esmond
as Lucas Keller
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Lena Horne
as Herself
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Stanley Andrews
as Col. John Briggs
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The Berry Brothers
as Themselves
- Monte Blue
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Fred Graham
as Naval Policeman
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Lucien Prival
as Hans
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Max Wagner
as Guard
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Pierre Watkin
as Adm. Tree
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George Watts
as Mac the Bartender
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Duke York
as Bruno
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Joe Yule
as Waiter
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Grant Withers
as Shore Patrol
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Roger Moore
as Spy
