Holiday in Havana (1949)

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

With a title like "Holiday in Havana", you might expect one of those overlit Fox Technicolor spectacles with Carmen Miranda mugging it up in the numbers. What you have is a black-and-white Universal Studios type of effort which looks like it requires a central comic. Instead, you have a bunch of decent supporting comics like Sig Arno, Minerva Urecal and Leon Belasco. Director Jean Yarborough was fine when directing cut-glass farce with Abbott & Costello. However, dealing with people like Ann Doran, who could do well with a line, the comedy timing limps.What pulls this movie up is the music. The music is lively, mostly Latin and just the sort of thing I grew up with: not only the sort of thing that Desi Arnaz would later use on "I Love Lucy" but the Wall-of-Sound dizzy drive that Tito Puente would command. Desi Arnaz gives a surprisingly nuanced performance and Mary Hatcher as the ingénue is very charming, even if she is made up to look like a juvenile Rita Hayworth.

This is the first Desi Arnaz movie sans Lucy that I watch and all I have to say is WATCH IT!I was really impressed with Desi Arnaz's presence and one-liners here when Ricky Ricardo wasn't even around yet.There's a lot of great musical numbers and songs throughout the movie that make you shake the maracas and wanting more. Great songs, romance and a bit of comedy make this a great experience. Desi looks his best and Mary Hatcher is a beautiful girl and their chemistry goes through the screen. Finally this movie gives Desi the credit he deserves for once.This movie should be remastered and released in DVD sometime in the future, since I'm afraid my tape is going to wear out!

Dance, Ricky, Dance!Finally, Desi can shine without being weighed down by the supremely untalented Lucille Ball. She could make a Pumpkin Pie taste like a Rice Cake. Her acting skills are on a par with Lili Tomlin and Jane Curtain. Anchors all, bringing down their co-stars with the weight of a large Carnie size boat.Go see this movie.See Desi dance!He Rhumbas the night away.This latin lover puts the spice back in spicy.Holiday in Havana is like a fabulous festival for my VCR. It likes this movie so much that I can't seem to eject the tape. Apparently Panasonic gives this movie 2 gigantic thumbs up.