No, the third Mexican Spitfire movie Lupe Velez made in 1942 isn't a circus movie -- the elephant in question is an onyx knickknack, not unlike "the stuff that dreams are made of" bird in the previous year's The Maltese Falcon (1941). Jewel thieves (Marion Martin and Lyle Talbot) are using the precious pachyderm to smuggle an emerald, with Lord Epping (Leon Errol, veteran of seven Mexican Spitfire movies) as their unwitting patsy. Too bad for them that colorful Carmelita (Velez) mixes herself into the situation, mangling the English language on the way. Walter Reed replaces Donald Woods as Dennis, Carmelita's long-suffering husband in this installment, and his recollections of working with the disintegrating Velez are poignant, describing his co-star as "unbalanced and neurotic" "crav[ing] attention", and "wild, like an untamed cat". Fortunately, whatever her off-screen mental state, Velez is still vital on screen.

By Violet LeVoit