''Club Havana'' is a 1945 American film

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

directed by Edgar G. Ulmer. It was produced and released by independent film company

Producers Releasing Corporation Producers Releasing Corporation was the smallest and least prestigious of the Hollywood film studios of the 1940s. It was considered a prime example of what was called "Poverty Row": a low-rent stretch of Gower Street in Hollywood where shoest ...

. It has been compared to the 1933 film ''

Grand Hotel A grand hotel is a large and luxurious hotel, especially one housed in a building with traditional architectural style. It began to flourish in the 1800s in Europe and North America. Grand Hotel may refer to: Hotels Africa * Grande Hotel Beir ...

''.

Plot

Rosalind (

Margaret Lindsay Margaret Lindsay (born Margaret Kies; September 19, 1910 – May 9, 1981) was an American film actress. Her time as a Warner Bros. contract player during the 1930s was particularly productive. She was noted for her supporting work in successf ...

) returns to her Miami home following a divorce to see her boyfriend Johnny Norton (

Don Douglas Donald Douglas (born Douglas William Kinleyside, 24 August 1905 – 31 December 1945) was a Scottish actor in the United States who performed in films, on the stage and in radio. Background He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, 24 August 1 ...

). They visit nightclub Club Havana, where Johnny tells Rosalind that he has fallen in love with another woman. Saddened, Rosalind tries to kill herself, but Bill Porter (

Tom Neal Thomas Carroll Neal Jr. (January 28, 1914 – August 7, 1972) was an American actor and successful amateur boxer best known for his costarring role in the critically lauded film ''Detour'', for having a widely publicized affair with actress Ba ...

) prevents her from doing so. Meanwhile, Jimmy (Eric Sinclair) has discovered that Joe Reed (

Marc Lawrence Marc Lawrence (born Max Goldsmith; February 17, 1910 – November 28, 2005) was an American character actor who specialized in underworld types. He has also been credited as F. A. Foss, Marc Laurence and Marc C. Lawrence. Early life Lawrence w ...

), who murdered club performer Julia Dumont, has been released as the police believe there is not enough evidence that Joe killed her. Although Jimmy witnessed the killing, he is afraid to see police, fearing that Joe will go after his girlfriend Isabelita (

Lita Baron Lita Baron (born Isabel Castro; August 11, 1923 – December 16, 2015) was a Spanish-born American actress and singer who appeared in movies and television shows for over 30 years. Early life Baron was born Isabel Castro in Almería, Spain ...

). Jimmy instead decides to phone the police, but Myrtle (Sonia Sorel) listens in on the phone call and informs Joe of Jimmy's actions. Joe hires a gunman to murder Jimmy, but the killer shoots Myrtle after she shouts a warning to Jimmy, and she ends up hitting the gunman with her car. As Jimmy goes to the police station to testify, Johnny and Rosalind decide to get back together and go home.

Production

The film was directed by Edgar G. Ulmer. Originally, writer Fred Jackson was set to direct, but Ulmer replaced him by February 1945. The cast includes

, and

. The film's story was written by Jackson. It was shot in only four days. Ulmer did not use a script for the film, as producer

Leon Fromkess Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

told him "OK, you say you can do things – shoot it without a script – invent it." He shot the film on only one set. Ulmer later recalled in an interview with

Peter Bogdanovich Peter Bogdanovich (July 30, 1939 – January 6, 2022) was an American director, writer, actor, producer, critic, and film historian. One of the "New Hollywood" directors, Bogdanovich started as a film journalist until he was hired to work on R ...

that he "adored making" the film.

Release and reception

''Club Havana'' was distributed by

. They released the film in November 1945. Film scholar Hal Erickson believed the film was "''

'', PRC style." Film critic

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...

wrote negatively about the film, calling it a "very cheap production with little of interest."

References

External links

* {{Edgar G. Ulmer 1945 films 1945 drama films American drama films Films directed by Edgar G. Ulmer Producers Releasing Corporation films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films