''Lady of the Tropics'' is a 1939 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by Jack Conway, starring Robert Taylor, Hedy Lamarr, and

Joseph Schildkraut Joseph Schildkraut (22 March 1896 – 21 January 1964) was an Austrian-American actor. He won an Oscar for his performance as Captain Alfred Dreyfus in the film ''The Life of Emile Zola'' (1937); later, he was nominated for a Golden Globe for h ...

Plot

While visiting

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...

with his girlfriend and her family on her father's yacht, freeloading American playboy Bill Carey falls in love with Manon DeVargnes, a beautiful, local woman of mixed race background he meets in

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

. Manon is also being romantically pursued by local businessman Pierre Delaroch. Bill eventually marries Manon. When Bill is unable to find employment in Saigon, Delaroch secretly arranges to have Bill employed by his company.

Cast

* Robert Taylor as Bill Carey * Hedy Lamarr as Manon DeVargnes *

as Pierre Delaroch * Gloria Franklin as Nina *

Ernest Cossart Ernest Cossart (born Emil Gottfried von Holst, 24 September 1876 – 21 January 1951) was an English-American actor. After a stage career in England, he moved to the US, appearing on Broadway and all around the country. In the 1930s and 1940s, ...

as Father Antoine * Mary Taylor as Dolly Harrison * Charles Trowbridge as Alfred Z. Harrison *

Frederick Worlock Frederick Worlock (December 14, 1886 – August 1, 1973) was a British-American actor. He is known for his work in various films during the 1940s and 1950s, and as the voice of Horace in ''One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1961). Career On sta ...

as Colonel Demassey * Paul Porcasi as Lamartine *

Marguerita Padula Marguerita Anna Padula (December 20, 1890 – February 22, 1957) was an American actress and performer, active in film, vaudeville and radio. She was often typified as a character actress, with her film credits including ''Hit the Deck'', ''The ...

as Madame Kya * Cecil Cunningham as Countess Berichi * Natalie Moorhead as Mrs. Hazlitt

Reception

According to MGM records, the film made $1,042,000 in the US and Canada and $491,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $99,000.

Bibliography

* Barton, Ruth. ''Hedy Lamarr: The Most Beautiful Woman in Film''. University Press of Kentucky, 2010. * Marchetti, Gina. ''Romance and the "Yellow Peril": Race, Sex, and Discursive Strategies in Hollywood Fiction''. University of California Press, 1993.

References

External links

* * * * 1939 films 1939 romantic drama films American romantic drama films Films scored by Franz Waxman Films directed by Jack Conway Films set in French Indochina Films set in Vietnam Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films with screenplays by Ben Hecht American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films {{1930s-romantic-drama-film-stub