Torrid Zone *** (1940, James Cagney, Ann Sheridan, Pat O’Brien) – Classic Movie Review 11,730

The public loved Ann Sheridan after her terrific performance in the 1940 Warner Bros black and white adventure film Torrid Zone, directed by William Keighley and also starring James Cagney and Pat O’Brien.

Ann Sheridan is plenty torrid as a saloon singer called Lee Donley romancing banana plantation foreman Nick Butler (James Cagney) in Central America, in this amusing and exciting entertainment that really drives along. O’Brien plays the plantation boss Steve Case, who schemes with Sheridan to keep Cagney from quitting.

The three star performances are exceptionally charismatic and the character support is especially winsome too. George Tobias plays a revolutionary, Rosario La Mata, who is stirring up unrest among the workers, and Cagney is needed to sort things out.

O’Brien co-stars in his eighth and last appearance with his friend Cagney (till they reunited for Ragtime in 1981).

Also in the cast are Andy Devine as Wally Davis, Helen Vinson as Mrs Gloria Anderson, Jerome Cowan as Bob Anderson, George Tobias as Rosario La Mata, George Reeves as Sancho, Victor Kilian as Carlos, Frank Puglia as Police Chief Juan Rodriguez, Frank Yaconelli as Lopez, Dick Botiller as Hernandez, John Ridgely, Grady Sutton, George Humbert and Paul Porcasi.

Nearly 1,000 banana trees were planted over five backlot acres at Warner Bros for the plantation scenes.

It is shot in black and white by James Wong Howe and runs 88 minutes. It is produced by James Cagney’s brother William Cagney.

Ann Sheridan is remembered for Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), Torrid Zone (1940), They Drive by Night (1940), Kings Row (1942) and I Was a Male War Bride (1949).

Clara Lou Sheridan [Ann Sheridan] was born February 21, 1915, in Denton, Texas, and died on January 21, 1967, in San Fernando Valley, California.

Victor Kilian (born March 6, 1891) was blacklisted for his political beliefs by the Hollywood movie studio bosses in the 1950s. But the Actors’ Equity Association refused to go along with the ban and Kilian was able to earn a living by returning to perform on stage. On March 11, 1979, the 88-year-old Kilian, who lived alone in Hollywood, was beaten to death by burglars in his apartment.

 © Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,730

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