Honolulu (film)

Honolulu is an American musical film that was released by MGM in 1939. The film stars dancer Eleanor Powell and Robert Young, and was directed by Edward Buzzell.

Inspired by stories about doppelgängers and identical twins such as The Prince and the Pauper, Honolulu features Young in a dual role as Brooks Mason—a top movie star—and as Hawaiʻi-based businessman George Smith. Mason is tired of being in the public eye, so when he discovers that Smith is close enough to be his twin, he arranges to switch places with Smith temporarily. When Mason steps into Smith's life, he finds himself in a tug-of-war between Smith's fiancée, and a dancer named Dorothy March (Powell), with whom he has fallen in love. Meanwhile, Smith discovers that being a famous movie star is not all that it is made out to be.

Also appearing in the film are George Burns, Gracie Allen, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, and Rita Johnson.

Eleanor Powell's dance routines, here given a mostly Hawaiian flavor, are the highlights of this film. One of her routines is performed in black face in tribute to Powell's idol, Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson. The comedy of Burns & Allen is also featured, although the two actors work separately for much of the movie. The film is also notable for offering a somewhat rare cinematic look at pre-World War II Honolulu.

Footage of one of Powell's dance routines (done in a hula skirt to a tiki drum orchestra) would be reused in the later comedy, I Dood It, while another dance performance that was cut from the film appeared seven years later in the "hodge-podge" production The Great Morgan.

Cast

• Eleanor Powell as Miss Dorothy 'Dot' March
• Robert Young as Brooks Mason / George Smith / David in the movie
• George Burns as Joe Duffy
• Gracie Allen as Millicent 'Millie' De Grasse
• Rita Johnson as Cecelia Grayson
• Clarence Kolb as Mr. Horace Grayson
• Jo Ann Sayers as Nurse
• Ann Morriss as Gale Brewster
• Willie Fung as Wong, Mason's Hawaiian servant
• Cliff Clark as First Detective
• Edward Gargan as Second Detective
• Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson as Washington, Mason's Hollywood servant (billed as Eddie Anderson)
• Sig Ruman as Professor Timmer, psychiatrist (billed as Sig Rumann)
• Ruth Hussey as Eve, David's wife in the movie
• Kealohu Holt as Native Dancing Girl (billed as Kealoha Holt)

External links

• Honolulu at the Internet Movie Database