''Rumba'' is a 1935 American

musical drama film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

starring

George Raft George Raft (né Ranft; September 26, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is remembe ...

as a Cuban dancer and

Carole Lombard Carole Lombard (born Jane Alice Peters; October 6, 1908 – January 16, 1942) was an American actress, particularly noted for her energetic, often off-beat roles in screwball comedies. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Lombard ...

as a

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

socialite. The movie was directed by

Marion Gering Marion Gering (June 9, 1901 in Rostov-on-Don – April 19, 1977 in New York City) was a Russian-born American stage producer and director. He moved to the United States in 1923 as an artist. He became involved in the theatrical community in Chic ...

and is considered an unsuccessful follow-up to Raft and Lombard's smash hit ''

Bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It h ...

'' the previous year.

Plot

In Havana, Cuba, an American dancer called Joe Martin has a winning lottery ticket. However wealthy socialite Diana Harrison also has a lottery ticket with the same number. Joe's ticket is counterfeit so he misses out on the money. Diana feels sorry for him and offers to back him in his own night club but then changes her mind after he tries to seduce her. Joe then discovers the rumba dance when he visits his home town during a fiesta. He gets financial backing from a Texan to establish a new nightclub with Flash, his manager. Joe dances the rumba with Carmelita and is a big success. Diana goes to opening night with her boyfriend Hobart Fletcher. She dances with Joe and they fall in love. However Carmelita helps break them up. Back in New York Diana discovers that Joe left New York because he had evidence that would send a gang member to prison. Diana breaks up with Hobart. Joe reads about this, signs with a Broadway producer and returns to New York. Joe is threatened with death by gangsters but decides to perform anyway. Carmelita faints out of fear but Diana steps up and performs the rumba with Joe. The performance is a big success and it's revealed that the gangster threats was a publicity stunt.

Cast

as Joe Martin *

as Diana Harrison *

Lynne Overman Lynne Overman (September 19, 1887 – February 19, 1943) was an American actor. In films he often played a sidekick. Early life and career Born in Maryville, Missouri,Aaker, Everett (2013). George Raft: The Films'. Jefferson, NC: McFarland ...

as Flash * Margo as Carmelita *

Gail Patrick Gail Patrick (born Margaret LaVelle Fitzpatrick; June 20, 1911 – July 6, 1980) was an American film actress and television producer. Often cast as the bad girl or the other woman, she appeared in more than 60 feature films between 1932 a ...

as Patsy Fletcher *

Iris Adrian Iris Adrian Hostetter (May 29, 1912 – September 17, 1994) was an American stage and film actress. Life and career Adrian was an only child, born in Los Angeles, California, to Florence (née Van Every) and Adrian Earl Hostetter, who wed in 1 ...

as Goldie Allen *

Monroe Owsley Monroe Righter Owsley (August 11, 1900 – June 7, 1937) was an American stage and film actor. Early life The son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Owsley, he was born in Atlanta, Georgia. His father was a manufacturing executive, and his mother was a co ...

as Fletcher Hobart *

Jameson Thomas Jameson Thomas (born Thomas Roland Jameson; 24 March 1888 – 10 January 1939) was an English film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1923 and 1939. Biography He was born in St George Hanover Square, London. On the stage from ...

as Jack Solanger *Soledad Jimenez as Maria *

Paul Porcasi Paul Porcasi (1 January 1879 – 8 August 1946) was an Italian actor. He appeared in more than 140 films from 1917 to 1945. Biography Porcasi sang with the Metropolitan Opera. One of his early non-operatic productions was ''The Country B ...

as Carlos *

Samuel S. Hinds Samuel Southey Hinds (April 4, 1875October 13, 1948) was an American actor and former lawyer. He was often cast as kindly authority figures and appeared in more than 200 films in a career lasting 22 years. Early years Hinds was born in Brookly ...

as Henry B. Harrison *

Virginia Hammond Virginia Hammond (August 20, 1893 – April 6, 1972) was an American film and theatre actress. Born in Staunton, Virginia. Hammond was the daughter of a Confederate army major. Hammond began her career in 1907, where she made her theatre debut ...

as Mrs. Harrison *

Ann Sheridan Clara Lou "Ann" Sheridan (February 21, 1915 – January 21, 1967) was an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in the films ''San Quentin'' (1937), '' Angels with Dirty Faces'' (1938), '' They Drive by Night'' (1940), '' ...

as a Chorus Girl (uncredited) *

Akim Tamiroff Akim Mikhailovich Tamiroff (born Hovakim Tamiryants; October 29, 1899 – September 17, 1972) was an Armenian-American actor of film, stage, and television. One of the premier character actors of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tamiroff developed a pr ...

as Tony (uncredited) *

Jane Wyman Jane Wyman ( ; born Sarah Jane Mayfield; January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007). was an American actress. A star of both movies and television, she received an Academy Award for Best Actress, four Golden Globe Awards and nominations for two Pr ...

as a Chorus Girl (uncredited) *

Jean Ross Jean Iris Ross Cockburn (; 7 May 1911 – 27 April 1973) was a British people, British journalist, political activist, and Film criticism, film critic. During the Spanish Civil War (1936–39), she was a war correspondent for the ''Daily Expres ...

as a Chorus Girl (uncredited)

Production

The film was based on an original story by Guy Endore which was purchased by Paramount in September 1933 as a vehicle for Raft. Filming took place in November and December 1934. The film starred

Margot Margot ( , ) is a feminine given name, a French language, French diminutive of Marguerite (given name), Marguerite that has long been used as an independent name. Variant spellings in use include Margo (given name), Margo and Margaux (name), Margaux ...

a Mexican dancer who had just made her film debut in ''

Crime Without Passion ''Crime Without Passion'' is a 1934 American drama film directed by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur and starring Claude Rains. It is the first of four pictures written, produced and directed by Hecht and MacArthur for Paramount Pictures. Sixty t ...

''. Danvce team Veloz and Yolanda coached Lombard and Raft in the dance sequences. The signature rumba danced near the end by Raft and Lombard seems to be a simplified variation of rumba performed by Veloz and Yolanda themselves the year before in another Paramount film starring George Burns and Gracie Allen, '' Many Happy Returns''. George Raft reportedly fought with Lombard during the shoot and refused to make a film with her later. He claimed this was because Paramount assigned

Ted Tetzlaff Ted Dale Tetzlaff (born Dale Herbert Tetzlaff; June 3, 1903 – January 7, 1995) was an American Academy Award-nominated cinematographer active in the 1930s and 1940s. Career Tetzlaff was particularly favored by the actress Carole Lombard, whom ...

to shoot the film and on ''Rumba'' Raft thought Tetzlaff favored Lombard rather than him.

Reception

The film has been described as a box office flopEverett Aaker, ''The Films of George Raft'', McFarland & Company, 2013 p 55 and a hit. The ''Los Angeles Times'' thought the story was even more "preposterous" than ''Bolero'' but felt it was a better movie due to its dancing, attractive women and music, calling the film "a sensory experience".

References

External links

*
Review of the film
at Variety * {{Marion Gering 1935 films 1930s romantic musical films American musical drama films American romantic drama films American romantic musical films American black-and-white films Paramount Pictures films Films directed by Marion Gering Films set in Havana Fiction about publicity stunts 1930s English-language films 1930s American films English-language romantic musical films