''The Heat's On'' (1943) is a musical movie starring

Mae West Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...

William Gaxton William Gaxton (né Arthur Anthony Gaxiola, December 2, 1893 – February 2, 1963) was an American star of vaudeville, film, and theatre. Gaxton was president of The Lambs Club from 1936 to 1939, 1952 to 1953, and 1957 to 1961. He and Victor ...

, and

Victor Moore Victor Fred Moore (February 24, 1876 – July 23, 1962) was an American actor of stage and screen, a major Broadway star from the late 1920s through the 1930s. He was also a writer and director, but is best remembered today as a comedian, play ...

, and released by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

Plot

Broadway star Fay Lawrence (West) is a temperamental diva who is reluctantly persuaded by a Broadway producer (Gaxton) to star in his latest production.

Cast

... Fay Lawrence *

... Hubert Bainbridge *

... Tony Ferris *

Lester Allen Lester Allen (November 17, 1891 – November 6, 1949) was a screen, stage, vaudeville, circus actor, and film director. In vaudeville, he appeared in a double act with Nellie Breen and also emceed at the Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace ...

... Mouse Beller *

Alan Dinehart Mason Alan Dinehart Sr. (born Harold Alan Dinehart; October 3, 1889 – July 18, 1944) was an American actor, director, writer, and stage manager. Biography Dinehart initially studied to be a priest, but he turned to the theater instead. ...

... Forrest Stanton * Mary Roche ... Janey Adair *

Lloyd Bridges Lloyd Vernet Bridges Jr. (January 15, 1913 – March 10, 1998) was an American film, stage and television actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. He was the father of four children, includi ...

... Andy Walker *

Almira Sessions Almira Sessions (September 16, 1888 – August 3, 1974) was an American character actress of stage, screen and television. Born in Washington, D.C., her career took her through all the acting mediums of the 20th century. She appeared in over ...

... Hannah Bainbridge * Jack Owens ... Himself *

Hazel Scott Hazel Dorothy Scott (June 11, 1920 – October 2, 1981) was a Trinidad-born American jazz and classical pianist and singer. She was an outspoken critic of racial discrimination and segregation. She used her influence to improve the representat ...

... Herself *

Xavier Cugat Xavier Cugat (; 1 January 1900 – 27 October 1990) was a Spanish musician and bandleader who spent his formative years in Havana, Cuba. A trained violinist and arranger, he was a leading figure in the spread of Latin music. In New York City ...

and His Orchestra ... Themselves

Production background

Mae West was 49 at the time of the movie's production, her first film in three years, after an interlude starring on Broadway. Unlike her previous films, for which West wrote the screenplays and/or story material, West played no part in creating the story or dialogue of ''The Heat's On''. Perhaps as a result, the movie was not a box office success. West did not return to the screen until 27 years later in '' Myra Breckenridge'' (1970), and chose to pursue a successful career in theater instead.

References

External links

* * * 1943 films 1940s musical drama films American black-and-white films Columbia Pictures films Films directed by Gregory Ratoff American musical drama films 1943 drama films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films {{musical-drama-film-stub