A valuable gem is being smuggled into America, and the smugglers utilize a returning Lord Epping (Leon Errol) to get it past customs. But getting it back is another issue, especially when you are dealing with Epping's constant imitator Matthew Lindsay (Errol again) and his co-conspirator Lupe Velez, once again on the outs with Dennis (now played by Walter Reed) after seeing him flirting with the blonde bombshell Marion Martin. In her third go around for this series, Martin got to create a new character, giving up the ghost on the French Fifi and thus back to her hard-as-nails Brooklyn accent as one of the smugglers after the gem.
This is probably best remembered for the scene where Velez brings in a real spotted elephant to throw off the smugglers, and she does get some of the funniest malapropisms of the series. While practicing First Aid on uncle Matt, she tells him she needs to give him "artificial perspiration", so she can be successful while working for the "Red X". As this was wartime, this takes on an "entertain the boys" subplot where Aunt Della (Elisabeth Risdon) and Lady Epping (Lydia Billibrook) put together a fundraiser for visiting soldiers. Aunt Della is a bit harsher than ever here, but the writers get some good digs in at her expense by having her convinced that the real Lord Epping is actually her neer-do- well husband underneath.
While not close to the best of the series, there is still a lot of fun to be had. As Carmelita said about blackmail, "Male or female, it's still black..."
This is probably best remembered for the scene where Velez brings in a real spotted elephant to throw off the smugglers, and she does get some of the funniest malapropisms of the series. While practicing First Aid on uncle Matt, she tells him she needs to give him "artificial perspiration", so she can be successful while working for the "Red X". As this was wartime, this takes on an "entertain the boys" subplot where Aunt Della (Elisabeth Risdon) and Lady Epping (Lydia Billibrook) put together a fundraiser for visiting soldiers. Aunt Della is a bit harsher than ever here, but the writers get some good digs in at her expense by having her convinced that the real Lord Epping is actually her neer-do- well husband underneath.
While not close to the best of the series, there is still a lot of fun to be had. As Carmelita said about blackmail, "Male or female, it's still black..."