''Two Yanks in Trinidad'' is a 1942 American
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
spy film
The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way (such as the adaptations of John le Carré) or as a basis for fantasy (such as many James Bond films) ...
directed by
Gregory Ratoff
Gregory Ratoff (born Grigory Vasilyevich Ratner; russian: Григорий Васильевич Ратнер, tr. ; April 20, c. 1893 – December 14, 1960) was a Russian-born American film director, actor and producer. As an actor, he was bes ...
and starring
Pat O'Brien Pat O'Brien may refer to:
Politicians
* Pat O'Brien (Canadian politician) (born 1948), member of the Canadian House of Commons
*Pat O'Brien (Irish politician) (c. 1847–1917), Irish Nationalist MP in the United Kingdom Parliament
Others
*Pat O'Br ...
,
Brian Donlevy
Waldo Brian Donlevy (February 9, 1901 – April 6, 1972) was an American actor, noted for playing dangerous tough guys from the 1930s to the 1960s. He usually appeared in supporting roles. Among his best-known films are ''Beau Geste'' (193 ...
and
Janet Blair
Janet Blair (born Martha Janet Lafferty; April 23, 1921 – February 19, 2007) was an American big-band singer who later became a popular film and television actress.
Early years
Janet Blair was born Martha Janet Lafferty on April 23, 1921, in ...
.
The film was in production when
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...
was attacked by the Japanese, leading to America's entry into
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
[Koszarski p.494]
Plot
Two gangsters have a fight over a woman, and separately decided to join the
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
. While stationed in
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
they join forces to thwart a plan by
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
agents to smuggle
oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
out of the island.
Cast
*
Pat O'Brien Pat O'Brien may refer to:
Politicians
* Pat O'Brien (Canadian politician) (born 1948), member of the Canadian House of Commons
*Pat O'Brien (Irish politician) (c. 1847–1917), Irish Nationalist MP in the United Kingdom Parliament
Others
*Pat O'Br ...
as Tim Reardon
*
Brian Donlevy
Waldo Brian Donlevy (February 9, 1901 – April 6, 1972) was an American actor, noted for playing dangerous tough guys from the 1930s to the 1960s. He usually appeared in supporting roles. Among his best-known films are ''Beau Geste'' (193 ...
as Vince Barrows
*
Janet Blair
Janet Blair (born Martha Janet Lafferty; April 23, 1921 – February 19, 2007) was an American big-band singer who later became a popular film and television actress.
Early years
Janet Blair was born Martha Janet Lafferty on April 23, 1921, in ...
as Patricia Dare
*
Roger Clark
Roger Albert Clark, MBE (5 August 1939 – 12 January 1998) was a British rally driver during the 1960s and '70s, and the first competitor from his country to win a World Rally Championship (WRC) event when he triumphed at the 1976 RAC Rally.
...
as James W. Buckingham III
*
Donald MacBride
Donald Hugh MacBride (June 23, 1893 – June 21, 1957) was an American character actor on stage, in films, and on television who launched his career as a teenage singer (making several recordings in 1907) in vaudeville and went on to be an ...
as Sgt. Valentine
*
John Emery as Chicago Hagen
*
Frank Jenks
Frank Jenks (November 4, 1902 – May 13, 1962) was an acid-voiced American supporting actor of stage and films.
Biography Early years
Jenks was born in Des Moines, Iowa, and his mother gave him a trombone when he was 9 years old. By his ...
as Joe Scavenger
*
Frank Sully
Francis Thomas Sullivan (June 17, 1908 December 17, 1975), known professionally as Frank Sully, was an American film actor. He appeared in over 240 films between 1934 and 1968. Today's audiences know him best as the dumb detective in the ''Bost ...
as Mike Paradise
*
Veda Ann Borg
Veda Ann Borg (January 11, 1915 – August 16, 1973) was an American film and television actress.
Early years
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Gottfried Borg, a Swedish immigrant, and Minna Noble, Borg became a model in 1936 before winni ...
as Bubbles
*
Clyde Fillmore
Clyde Fillmore (October 25, 1874''Who Was Who on Screen''Silent Film Necrology'' p.170 2nd Edition by Eugene M. Vazzana c.2001 – December 19, 1946), born Clyde Fogle, was an American actor of stage and screen. He is best remembered for a 1 ...
as Col. Powers
*
Dick Curtis
Richard Dye (May 11, 1902January 3, 1952), known professionally as Dick Curtis, was an American actor who made over 230 film and television appearances during his career.
Early years
Curtis was born in Newport, Kentucky, the son of Frank Dye ...
as Sea Captain
*
Sig Arno
Sig Arno (born Siegfried Aron, 27 December 1895 – 17 August 1975) was a German-Jewish film actor who appeared in such films as ''Pardon My Sarong'' and ''The Mummy's Hand''. He may be best remembered from ''The Palm Beach Story'' (1942) as Toto ...
as Maitre d'
*
Emory Parnell
Emory Parnell (December 29, 1892 – June 22, 1979) was an American vaudeville performer and actor who appeared in over 250 films in his 36-year career.
Early years
Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Parnell trained as a musician at Morningside ...
as Police Chief
References
Bibliography
* Koszarski, Richard. ''Hollywood on the Hudson: Film and Television in New York from Griffith to Sarnoff''. Rutgers University Press, 2008.
* Langman, Larry. ''Destination Hollywood: The Influence of Europeans on American Filmmaking''. McFarland, 2000.
External links
*
1942 films
American spy comedy films
American spy films
American black-and-white films
1940s spy comedy films
1940s spy films
Films directed by Gregory Ratoff
Columbia Pictures films
Films set in Trinidad and Tobago
World War II films made in wartime
Films produced by Samuel Bischoff
Films scored by John Leipold
1942 comedy films
1940s English-language films
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