''Law of the Tropics'' is a 1941 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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Ray Enright Ray Enright (March 25, 1896 – April 3, 1965) was an American film director. He directed 73 films between 1927–53, many of them for Warner Bros. He oversaw comedy films like Joe E. Brown vehicles, five of the six informal pairings of Joa ...

and starring

Constance Bennett Constance Campbell Bennett (October 22, 1904 – July 24, 1965) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress and producer. She was a major Cinema of the United States, Hollywood star during the 1920s and 1930s; during the early 193 ...

, Jeffrey Lynn and

Regis Toomey John Francis Regis Toomey (August 13, 1898October 12, 1991) was an American film and television actor. Early life Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was one of four children of Francis X. and Mary Ellen Toomey, and attended Peabody High Sc ...

. By the time Bennett made the film, her career was in steep decline. It was produced and distributed by

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

.Fetrow p.266 The film is loosely based on the 1935 movie '' Oil for the Lamps of China'', but the setting is changed from China to the Amazon jungle, and the tone is somewhat lighter. The conflict between a man's conscience and his corporate loyalty, which is a principal theme of the original, is less important in this film.

Synopsis

Jim Conway, working on a

South American South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

rubber plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tobacco ...

, goes to the

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

to meet his

fiancée An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

who he is expecting to come out to him. Instead he received a

telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...

from her telling him she has married another man. Disconsolate he heads to a waterfront dive where he encounters singer Joan Madison. He offers to take her to live with him on his plantation, something attractive to her as she is on the run from the law.

Cast

as Joan Madison * Jeffrey Lynn as Jim Conway *

as Tom Marshall *

Mona Maris Mona Maris (born Mona Maria Emita Capdeville or Maria Rosa Amita Capdeville; November 7, 1903 – March 23, 1991) was an Argentine film actress. Early life Mona Maris was born Mona Maria Emita Capdeville. Some sources spell her last name as C ...

as Rita Marshall *

Hobart Bosworth Hobart Van Zandt Bosworth (August 11, 1867 – December 30, 1943) was an American film actor, director, writer, and producer. Bosworth began his career in theater, eventually transitioning to the emerging film industry. Despite a battle with ...

as Boss Frank Davis *

Frank Puglia Francesco Giuseppe "Frank" Puglia (9 March 1892 – 25 October 1975) was an Italian actor. He had small, but memorable roles in films including ''Casablanca'' (a Moroccan rug merchant), ''Now, Voyager'' and ''The Jungle Book''. Biography Born ...

as Tito * Thomas E. Jackson as Det. Maguire *

Paul Harvey Paul Harvey Aurandt (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 2009) was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. He broadcast ''News and Comment'' on mornings and mid-days on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays and also his famous ''The Rest o ...

as Alfred King, Sr. * Craig Stevens as Alfred King, Jr. *

Charles Judels Charles Judels (August 17, 1882 – February 14, 1969) was a Dutch-born American actor. Early years Judels was born on August 17, 1882, in Amsterdam as a third generation in a family of actors. His grandfather owned several theatres throughout ...

as Cap * Roland Drew as Hotel Clerk *

Cliff Clark Cliff Clark (June 10, 1889 – February 8, 1953) was an American actor. He entered the film business in 1937 after a substantial stage career and appeared in over 200 Hollywood films. In the last years of his life, he also played in a numb ...

as Bartender *

Rolfe Sedan Rolfe Sedan (born Edward Sedan; January 20, 1896 – September 15, 1982) was an American character actor, best known for appearing in bit parts, often uncredited, usually portraying clerks, train conductors, postmen, cooks, waiters, etc. Ea ...

as Julio André *

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 Parnell was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He spent eight months in the Arct ...

as Bartender

References

Bibliography

* Fetrow, Alan G. ''Feature Films, 1940-1949: a United States Filmography''. McFarland, 1994.

External links

* * * 1941 films American drama films 1941 drama films 1940s English-language films Films directed by Ray Enright Warner Bros. films Films based on American novels American black-and-white films 1940s American films English-language drama films Films scored by Howard Jackson (composer) {{1940s-US-drama-film-stub