MOON OVER MIAMI (1941)

MOON OVER MIAMI (1941). Cast: Don Ameche, Betty Grable, Robert Cummings, and Carole Landis.

Kay and Barbara Latimer, both holding down jobs, singing at the Texas drive-in restaurant as car hops, with their aunt Susan, who is flipping burgers.



Waiting for the mailman to bring their inheritance check of $55,000. Only to read the disappointing news they will only receive only $4,000. They talk Susan, into spending the money on a trip to Miami, to find rich husbands.

Barbara, comes up with a plan to pretend to be Kay's secretary, and Susan her maid.

They fly off to the Flamingo Hotel and make quick friends with Jack, a bartender who tells them he will protect them from the Gold Diggers.

Kay tricks Jeff into an invitation, to his party. Where she also meets Phil, heir to the McNeil Mines. Close friends Jeff and Phil, begin a playful competition for Kay affections. Kay finds herself not able to choose whom she would like to marry. Her sister Barbara has secretly fallen in love with Jeff.

The women find themselves in financial trouble, after a couple weeks of living it up at the fancy hotel. They need $150 to pay their hotel bill. Kay, has plans to go dancing with her two friends later that evening.

Kay invites Barbara, to come along so she can dance with Jeff, while she talks with Phil. Phil admits to her that he is broke. Kay, also admits, that she came to Miami, to find a rich husband. They decide that they are not right for each other. Phil searches out Jeff to tell him that Kay loves him, after which they becomes engaged .

As the women are packing to leave for Jeff's families island, Jack overhears them talking about their Gold Digging plans, and threatens to tell Jeff. Jack finds himself locked in the bathroom, while the women quickly leave for the island.

Phil, decides he can not live without Kay, and comes up with a plan to stop the wedding. The woman are surprised to see Jack, who came to inform Jeff that Kay, is not really love him.
Will Phil get there in time to stop the wedding, or ...Will Jack ruin the girls plans?

I really enjoyed watching Betty Grable sing and dance in this fun/colorful movie. I also really enjoyed the location scenes of Cypress Gardens and Silver Springs.

Carole Landis dropped out of high school at age 15 and went on to a career in show business. She started out as a hula dancer in a San Francisco nightclub and later sang with a dance band..

She dyed her hair blond and changed her name to "Carole Landis" after her favorite actress, Carole Lombard.

Her 1937 film debut was as an extra in A Star Is Born.

She performed in bit parts until 1940 when Hal Roach cast her as a cave girl in One Million B.C.. The movie turned Carole into a star. A press agent nicknamed her "The Ping Girl" (because "she makes you purr").

Landis performed in many successful films in the early forties, usually as the second female lead.

In a time when the singing of many actresses was dubbed in, Landis's own voice was considered good enough and was used in her few musical roles.

Landis landed a contract with 20th Century Fox.

She had roles playing opposite fellow pin-up girl Betty Grable in Moon Over Miami and I Wake Up Screaming, both in 1941.

DOUBLE FEATURE SPOTLIGHT: DIAL M FOR MURDER (1954) and REAR WINDOW (1954)

GRACE KELLY'S performance in HIGH NOON(1952), caught the interest of director Alfred Hitchcock, who, with the help of Edith Head, transformed Grace Kelly, into his idea of a elegant, beautiful blond. She gave Hitchcock wonderful performances in DIAL M FOR MURDER(1954), REAR WINDOW(1954), and TO CATCH A THIEF(1955).

DIAL M FOR MURDER (1954), begins as Margot (Grace Kelly) discusses with the other man in her life, Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings), that she had changed her mind about divorcing her husband. And is convinced, that her husband still cares for her and wants a fresh start in her marriage. She also informs him about a blackmailer who stole a letter that Mark wrote to her, but never picked up the money. When Tony (Ray Milland), comes home, he announces that he has unexpected business to take care of and has to change their evening plans. But insists that Mark and Margot to go on without him. After they leave,Tony makes a call to Lesgate, who has a car for sale. They make plans to meet at Tony's apartment. Tony informs him and that he is aware of illegal activities, in which he is involved and blackmails Lesgate, into agreeing to do the killing.Tony warns Lesgate that going to the police would only backfire.

Lesgate, is to watch the apartment and when Margot goes into the bedroom, he is to enter using Margot's house key.. At the agreed time, Tony will call, and when Margot answers, Lesgate, is to strangle her. When he has finished, Lesgate is to whistle into the phone and hang up. He is to leave the garden window open and put the key under the stairway.

Before Tony and Mark leave for the club, Tony gets the key from Margot's handbag and requests her to stay behind to clip articles for his scrapbook. At the club,Tony leaves the table, saying he must call his boss, but calls home. During this time Lesgate has unlocked the apartment door and put the key under the stairway, he waits inside the apartment. When Margot goes to answer the phone, Lesgate tries to strangle her, but things don't go as planned. Tony, on the other end of the phone line, has to quickly come up with a new plan. He talks into the phone and Margot, hearing his voice, tells him what happened. Later, when the police start to investigate they find all evidence points to Margot letting Lesgate in and killing him because he was blackmailing her. What is to happen to Margot?

Hitchcock arranged to have Grace Kelly dressed in bright colors at the start of the film and made them progressively darker as time goes on.

http://www.tcm.com/video/videoPlayer/?cid=2515&titleId=16707
Click to view theatrical trailers.
http://www.tcm.com/video/videoPlayer/?cid=64870&titleId=87777

THE REAR WINDOW (1954)
Jeff (Jimmy Stewart), a professional news photographer, stuck in a wheelchair with a broken leg from an accident while on assignment. Spends his hot summer days watching his neighbors through the REAR WINDOW of his New York apartment. Dreaming up names for his new friends, like Miss Torso, the ballerina and Miss Lonely Heart, the old maid. One neighbor in particular, seems to have peaked Jeff's interest. A traveling salesman and his bed ridden, nagging wife, who lives in a apartment across the courtyard.

Everyday like clock work, Stella (Thelma Ritter) , his nurse, drops by to prepare his meals and to make his bed. She disapproves of his spying on his neighbors and encourages him to marry Lisa(Grace Kelly). Jeff, insists that Lisa is too "perfect", for his adventurous lifestyle.

In the middle of the night, Jeff hears a woman scream and glass break, but sees nothing outside. Jeff believes that he is a witness to the murder of Mrs Thorwald. Over the next few days they watch Thorwald's, suspicious behavior. Jeff comes up with a plan to write him an anonymous note, asking... "What have you done with her?" Lisa slips the note under his door. What is Thorwald's next move ?

The romance between war photographer Robert Capa and actress Ingrid Bergman is believed to be Hitchcock's inspiration for the movie, REAR WINDOW..