Waikiki Wedding (1937)

How many clichés can you pack into one movie? Paramount answered the question with "Waikiki Wedding." You've got lithe dancing natives (a few of whom actually look like they're from the islands,) miles of leis, a mysterious black pearl, a volcano that's about to blow, a contest to name Miss Pineapple and even Anthony Quinn (yep, that Anthony Quinn) as a local roustabout. All that's missing are the nuptials of the title. Bing Crosby saunters through the stereotypes as an idea man for a fruit company who spends most of his time lolling on his sailboat, dreaming up promotion stunts and singing island refrains. Toss in a pair of walking clichés -- Martha Raye and Bob Burns -- and appreciate that this was what Crosby had to go through before the studio recognized his potential.

The story and direction do slacken a tad towards the end and Anthony Quinn does look rather lost in an early role. But Waikiki Wedding is still a fun film that will cheer anybody up after a hard day. It is lovingly photographed and the costumes and sets do look beautiful even by today's standards. The incidental score is whimsical and catchy, and the songs are wonderful with Sweet Leilani, A Little Hula Heaven and especially Blue Hawaii being classics. The choreography is sharp and not too flashy but never simplistic, suiting the film just fine. Waikiki Wedding is smartly and wittily scripted and the story is not too complicated, moves swiftly and has a lot of charm and heart. Bing Crosby looks very relaxed here and gives a likewise charming performance. As ever, his distinctive voice sounds fabulous. The very attractive Shirley Ross has a voice like heaven and lights up the screen, sharing good chemistry with Crosby, she's virtually forgotten now and that's a shame. The performances of Bob Burns and Martha Raye won't be everyone's cup of tea but I found them a lot of fun with Raye particularly enjoying herself. Nice to see George Barbier too. All in all, very entertaining and charming particularly notable for the songs. 8/10 Bethany Cox

A mixed blessing. Bing, as usual is in fine form, and the songs are not only worth listening to because of Bing's mastery, but the Rainger-Robin numbers are reasonably attractive in their own right. Of course the stand-out is "Sweer Leilani" by Harry Owens. The story, however, is another matter. True, it starts most promisingly and for a while there it looks as if George Barbier and Grady Sutton are going to enjoy some stellar moments. But this promising sub-plot is soon all but junked in favor of a ridiculous lot of drivel about a stolen black pearl which the script writers themselves undermine when they turn it into a Clayton's affair. (For those unacquainted with liquor, the non-alcoholic Clayton's is extensively advertised as "the drink you have when you're not having a drink." Therefore a Clayton's plot is the plot you have when you're not having a plot). Poor old Anthony Quinn is cast in this segment and looks as puzzled by the script's casual turnabout as we do. Of course, if you decide midway through your movie to junk your plot, you've got to produce a substitute. This the writers promptly do. In fact, they produce two substitutes. The first is a series of strained slapstick scenes involving Martha Raye and Bob Burns, and the second a slightly more bearable but nonetheless ridiculous lot of twaddle involving Bob Burns and Leif Erickson. But the writers do have a nice trick up their sleeve for the Crosby-Ross fade-out. Unfortunately, they forgot to tell director Frank Tuttle to make sure the actress involved, Emma Dunn, played her scene tongue-in-cheek. Maybe they did tell him and Tuttle refused. Or maybe they simply assumed that Tuttle would cotton on. Anyway, as the movie now ends, thanks to Tuttle's incompetence, it leaves a sour taste in the mouth. No audience likes to feel that it's being taken for a ride and critics don't like it either. If a scene is tongue-in-cheek is supposed to be played that way. In fact, the whole movie is a tongue-in-cheek affair. Quinn is obviously aware of this. Understandably, he looks rather puzzled and plays at half steam – which is certainly a good decision, especially if you're not receiving any advice from a seemingly unaware director. Crosby, of course, just breezes trough the movie in his usual fine, casual style. And photographically, my hat's off to Robert C. Bruce who has enlivened his location material with some really captivating yachts-at-dusk footage.

WAIKIKI WEDDING (Paramount, 1937), directed by Frank Tuttle, is an enjoyable but sadly neglected musical set in Hawaii starring Paramount's box office attraction, Bing Crosby, crooning to the up-and-grooming Shirley Ross, a fine vocalist in her own right whose popularity faded as quickly as it started, with her peak years at Paramount being from 1936 to 1938. By 1939, she left the studio after appearing in some secondary roles, including another Crosby musical, Paris HONEYMOON (1938), in which the object to his affection there was a newcomer named Franciska Gaal, but to re-discover Shirley Ross, WAIKIKI WEDDING is a good introduction. And now for a brief synopsis and inside look of the movie.Set in Hawaii, the story begins with Tony Marvin (Bing Crosby) and his pal, Shad Buggle (Bob Burns), accompanied by his pet pig, attending a native wedding feast, in which Tony participated with a Hawaiian song. Tony, a smooth talking publicity man for J.B. Todhunter (George Barbier), president of a pineapple company, is hired to escort Georgia Smith (Shirley Ross), from Birch Falls, a "Miss Pineapple Queen" contest winner, on her Hawaiian tour, accompanied by her companion, Myrtle Finch (Martha Raye), who in turn becomes escorted by Shad. Because Georgia is not satisfied with her trip, threatening to return home to the states and refusing to participate in any publicity campaigns, Tony goes through extremes in keeping her in Hawaii, ranging from having her accused of smuggling a black pearl, abducted by a native group headed by Kimo (Anthony Quinn); vocalizing to her, and having her attend ceremonial dances. After discovering this whole affair to be nothing but tricks to keep her in Hawaii, the angry Georgia decides to book passage on the next boat to return home and marry her dull fiancé, Victor P. Quimby (Leif Erickson), causing Tony, who now loves her, to continue using provide more tricks instead of sincerity to keep her.Along with the lightweight plot and Hawaiian surroundings, the bright score by Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin include: "Blue Hawaii" and "In a Little Hula Heaven" (sung by chorus during opening credits); "Nani Ona Pua" (sung by Bing Crosby); "Blue Hawaii" (sung by Crosby); "Blue Hawaii" (sung by Crosby and Shirley Ross); "Sweet Leilani" by Harry Owens, (sung by Crosby); "In a Little Hula Heaven" (sung by Crosby and Ross); "Okolehao" (sung by Martha Raye. Take notice how Raye's hair style changes midway through this number); "Sweet Is the Word for You" (sung by Crosby) and "Sweet Is the Word for You" (reprise, sung by Ross). While "Blue Hawaii" and "In a Little Hula Heaven" are the best sounding tunes for this production, it's the slower tempo lullaby of "Sweet Leilani" that became the Academy Award winning song of 1937.The supporting cast features Grady Sutton as Everett Todhunter; Granville Bates as Uncle Herman; George Regas, Emma Dunn, and Mitchell Lewis, among others.While "Waikiki Wedding," which runs at about 89 minutes, hasn't aired on any television station for quite some time now, it was distributed on video cassette in 1995 as part of the Bing Crosby collection, along with other titles as RHYTHM ON THE RANGE (1936) with Frances Farmer, and its WAIKIKI WEDDING co-stars, Bob Burns and Martha Raye, and a decade later onto DVD double featured with DOUBLE OR NOTHING (1937) also featuring Martha Raye. Oh, boy!!!! All films mentioned make recommended viewing for Crosby fans. (***)