The Heat's On (1943)

User Rating:

4.5/10   

Director:

Gregory Ratoff

Writers:

Fitzroy Davis (original screenplay) &
George S. George (original screenplay) ...

Release Date:

2 December 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Musical | Comedy

Tagline:

Turn on the Fun! A Heat Wave of Beautiful GIRLS! GAGS! RHYTHM! and ROMANCE!

Plot Keywords:

Uncle | Toupee | Theatrical Producer | Theatrical Backer | Theater

Cast

Mae West	...	Fay Lawrence
Victor Moore	...	Hubert Bainbridge
William Gaxton	...	Tony Ferris
Lester Allen	...	Mouse Beller
Alan Dinehart	...	Forrest Stanton
Mary Roche	...	Janey Adair
Lloyd Bridges	...	Andy Walker
Almira Sessions	...	Hannah Bainbridge
Sam Ash	...	Frank
David Lichine	...	Himself - Specialty Dancer
Leonard Sues	...	Trumpet Player
Jack Owen	...	Himself (as Jack Owens)
Joan Thorsen	...	Singer
Hazel Scott	...	Herself
Xavier Cugat Orchestra	...	Themselves (as Xavier Cugat and His Orchestra)

Also Known As:

Tropicana (UK)

Runtime:

79 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #9658) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating)

Company:

Gregory Ratoff Productions

Trivia:

Roy Engel's first film.

Soundtrack:

Unidentified Song

The Heat was Turned Way Down

Although Mae West receives first billing, she is not on screen long enough to make this misfire worth seeing. Even when she is on display and looking svelte and glamorous at 50, her lines lack the double-entendres and sly delivery of her best work. The silly goings on in this back-stage "comedy" revolve around financing a theatrical production with money from a blue-nose group whose goal is to suppress such shows. The plot is muddled at best, ridiculous at worst, and the cast lacks either a romantic lead such as Cary Grant or a comic like W.C. Fields for Miss West to play off. The production numbers for the most part are forgettable, even when Mae West delivers the songs. The one exception is the dazzling piano playing by Hazel Scott. Her number with two pianos is nothing short of astonishing and almost makes the dreck one has to endure before her appearance almost bearable. Unfortunately, Scott has only two numbers, but mercifully the film ends rather abruptly not long after she exits the screen. "The Heat's On" is certainly an ironically mis-titled film considering the heat that West generated in her early work, and the movie is only for die-hard West fans who are interested in seeing everything that she appeared in. Entertainment seekers and non-West fans beware.