Mexican Spitfire at Sea

Mexican SPITFIRE AT SEA is a typical door-slamming, vaudevillesque comedy for the fairly popular film series, an endless string of malapropisms, mistaken identities, and double-crossing pushed with gusto by a talented cast working hard to ring out every possible laugh. Carmelita and Dennis (Lupe Velez, Charles Buddy Rogers) are on a cruise ship on what she believes will be a second honeymoon but is actually an attempt to gain the business account of the social climbing George Skinners (Eddie Dunn, Florence Bates), eager to meet Uncle Matt's friend, Lord Basil Epping (both roles played by Leon Errol). When Carmelita learns the truth she throws a fit and threatens to leave and Skinner mistakenly believes blonde bombshell Fifi (Marion Martin) is actually Dennis' wife forcing him to continue the fib. Uncle Matt meanwhile believes Lord Epping is not onboard and is forced to impersonate him - with passenger ZaSu Pitts, a stagestruck wanna-be actress, persuaded to impersonate Lady Epping.

The comedy is frantic and often quite funny, particularly Lupe and her fractured tirades (informed Dennis has "another wife" she screams, "That's bigotry!") Veteran character comic Leon Errol gets the lion's share of screen time in the dual role of Uncle Matt and Lord Epping and while he's funny, many of the scenes seem like repeats from scenes just moments before and it can be a bit much. The role of Carmelita's husband is always a thankless one and it's disappointing to see the appealing Charles Buddy Rogers wasted in the smallish part (which would eventually be played by no less than three actors in the seven film series). Character actress Elisabeth Risdon is around as usual as Matt's rather haughty wife who can't stand Carmelita and she's very good, as is the excellent comedienne Florence Bates as a barge of a social climber.