That was an excellent one.

SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Sooooooo similar to Gilda.. 1946. THIS one is Warner Brothers, and 6 years before Gilda, which was Columbia Pictures. Cagney and Anne Sheridan star in this, with co-stars Pat O'brien and Andy Devine. and of course, no movie is complete without Grady Sutton as the radio-gram clerk. George Reeves is in here as "Sancho"... he would be Superman in 1952, This was one of those exotic far-away lands, south of the border films, adventure on the banana plantation. Like Gilda, Lee knows how to take care of herself. One big difference here is the soundtrack... this one has a more comical tone, and bounces right along, kind of happy go lucky. Lots of clever one liners in this one. In Gilda, it's a very serious drama; also a great script, but not so fun and up-beat. Rosario and his band interfere with the plantation, so they can get their land back, while Sheridan and Helen Vinson trade insults. They seem to be fighting over Butler (Cagney). Directed by James Keighley, who directed Cagney and Sheridan numerous times, probably the most famous was "Man who Came to Dinner". Torrid Zone is a good one. They must not show it very often... only 900 votes on IMDb so far. It IS available on DVD, for those in a hurry.

This film is a very good example of the difference between which is more important you -- reality or an entertaining film? This is an entertaining film. No question about it. And yet, as I sat there watching it, I logically felt it included so much that I didn't like. Let's start with Pat O'Brien. Was he a really good actor? For me, the answer is no. He talked too fast and seemed to think that good acting was nothing more than raising his voice. Yet most people -- including me -- usually enjoyed him on the screen. Even James Cagney can't be considered a good actor. I remember watching a Cagney film once with an Asian friend, and he kept asking me why Americans enjoyed someone who was so clearly overacting. And Cagney certainly was often guilty of that...although in this film he is more restrained, and as a result it is a better performance. But, the answer is that we enjoyed Cagney on the screen. Andy Devine...is that good acting? No, but there was something endearing about his buffoonery. I have to admit that George Tobias (who we usually see as a Bronx or Queens type) did well in playing a stereotypical Latin revolutionary. Stereotypes here galore, particularly in how the Latinos are depicted...lazy...stupid. And how Cagney, and particularly O'Brien treat the locals in downright disgraceful.Yet, this is an entertaining film.Is there any really good acting here? I'd single out Ann Sheridan, who has some pretty snappy dialog in a role that highlights her acting style. Although this is more a drama, her performance reminds a lot of her performance in "I Was A Male War Bridge" with Cary Grant, although that was a comedy. No doubt, she's enjoyable on screen.Although the part isn't very substantial, also watch for George Reeves (television's Superman) as a Latino.Considering that this film was made in Hollywood, I have to admit that Warner Brothers did a pretty decent job of making it look like Central America.So, despite the many things in this film that I generally dislike, it's an interesting flick. For fun...recommended.

It's one of those movies about the tropics, in this instance somewhere in the Caribbean or Central America, in which women are loose and the men all wear white suits and panama hats, except when they're out in the jungle and sport pith helmets, riding breeches, and boots.Pat O'Brien is the manager of a fruit company and James Cagney is his subordinate in charge of the isolated Plantation Number Seven or something like that. You have rarely heard such fast and zippy dialog. The two of them speak with more speed than I can THINK. Many of the usual Warners stalwarts show up, including George Tobias as a cheerful revolutionary leader who wants his land back. Ann Sheridan is the peripatetic, tough-talking babe, who falls for Cagney, although I don't know why -- he's constantly pushing her around and telling her to get the hell out. William Keighley directed.Nothing in or about the movie is to be taken seriously. Not the fist fights, not the arguments, not Sheridan's mooning over Cagney, not the shoot outs, not the hair-rising escapes from disaster, not O'Brien's conundrum in which he must hire Cagney as his best worker even though he hates him. Certainly not Tobias's revolution. Twice, Tobias is about to be shot by the Guardia Civil or whatever that agency is called -- you know, the one that works for United Fruit Company? Tobias is casual, philosophical, about the prospect of being shot at dawn. He treats his imminent death as an irritant, an annoyance, as if it's going to interfere with a big date he'd planned for tomorrow night.I didn't give a fig about any of it. It didn't matter to me if Sheridan married Cagney or O'Brien, or decided to enter a nunnery. But it's not intended to be the kind of movie in which you are deeply moved. You're supposed to be entertained. And the movie achieves it goal. Everyone darts around and throws barbs at everyone else. There's action aplenty in the studio-bound tropics. Put up your hands. "I tink I shoot you as a matter of convenience."

Torrid Zone (1940) ** 1/2 (out of 4) A banana plantation owner (Pat O'Brien) hires a tough guy (James Cagney) to look after everything but an escaped bandit (George Tobias) causes some trouble as does a woman (Ann Sheridan). This is a slightly entertaining film that offers some nice performances but in the end there's nothing too special with the screenplay, which at times wonders around. O'Brien steals the show as the tough talking owner and this is one exception where he steals the film from Cagney. Cagney is decent in his role but he doesn't bring too much energy to the film. I'm not a fan of Sheridan but she's actually very good her delivering a tough performance. Tobias is great as the villain and Andy Devine offers nice comic support. The cast makes the film entertaining but I wish the screenplay had tried to do a tad bit more. The movie is pretty light weight, which keeps it from being better.