By Violet LeVoit
Mexican Spitfire's Blessed Event
Brief Synopsis
A husband mistakenly believes his hot Latin wife is pregnant.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Leslie Goodwins
Director
Lupe Velez
Carmelita Lindsey
Leon Errol
Uncle Matt Lindsey/Lord Basil Epping
Walter Reed
Dennis Lindsey
Elisabeth Risdon
Aunt Della Lindsey
Lydia Bilbrook
Lady Ada Epping
Film Details
Genre
Comedy
Adventure
Release Date
Jul
1943
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 3m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Synopsis
While on a two-week leave from the Merchant Marine, Dennis Lindsey, accompanied by his uncle Matt Lindsey and Matt's wife Della, visits Lord Basil Epping at his hunting lodge in Canada, where the Lindseys hope to convince Epping to sign an advertising contract with their firm. Their efforts are jeopardized by the arrival of George Sharpe, a business competitor. Epping decides to award the contract to the Lindseys, however, after Dennis receives a telegram from his wife Carmelita notifying him that "his little kitten has become a mama." The message from Carmelita, who is vacationing at a dude ranch in Arizona, refers to their pet ocelot, but Epping misunderstands and announces that Dennis, as a new father, deserves the contract. When Sharpe suggests that Epping see the baby before signing the contract, they all pack up and head for Arizona. After Carmelita shows Matt her "blessed event," Matt realizes that their contract is in jeopardy and stalls for time by reporting that the doctor has ordered that no one can see the baby for twenty-four hours. After Dennis and Aunt Della discover the truth about Carmelita's blessed event, Della accuses her of ruining her husband's career. Meanwhile, Sharpe questions the hotel doctor about the Lindsey baby, and when the doctor denies any knowledge about the infant, Epping announces that if there is no baby, there is no contract. Plotting to keep Sharpe away from Epping, Carmelita convinces Uncle Matt to pose as Epping and buys him a toupe. In the hotel bar, Carmelita sees Epping and, thinking that he is Matt, begins to flirt with him. When Sharpe leaves Epping's side to get a copy of the contract, Lady Epping comes to escort her husband to lunch and Matt takes his place. Sharpe returns, and when Matt's toupe is blown off his head by a draft from the fan, he quickly dons Sharpe's hat and runs out of the room, announcing that he is sick. The real Epping then enters the bar, and when a befuddled Sharpe questions him about his health, he impatiently proclaims that he wishes Dennis had a baby so that he could award him the contract. This prompts Carmelita to pose as a nurse and borrow the baby of a hotel guest. Carmelita shows "baby Basil" to Epping, who immediately makes the contract out to "Basil Lindsey." Carmelita, delighted, leaves the baby with Epping while she goes to tell Dennis the good news. Meanwhile, the baby's mother has discovered that the nurse is an impostor, and demands that Epping return her child. Epping refuses and takes the baby to Carmelita, who then wheels the baby's carriage back to his mother's room. As Matt and Carmelita scheme to get Epping to change the name on the contract to Dennis Lindsey, Sharpe overhears them and watches as Matt dons his Epping disguise. Sharpe then informs the sheriff, who is the baby's father, that Epping is Matt Lindsey in disguise. When the real Epping enters the lobby, Sharpe kicks him in the pants. After the sheriff begins to question him about the baby, Epping runs out of the lobby and is lassoed by the sheriff and his men. Sharpe urges dunking Epping in the well until he tells the truth, and when Matt appears, a chagrinned Sharpe pulls a soaking Epping out of the well. All ends happily, however, as Epping awards Dennis his contract, the mother finds her baby, the doctor announces that Carmelita is pregnant and Matt pushes Sharpe into the well.
Director
Leslie Goodwins
Director
Cast
Lupe Velez
Carmelita Lindsey
Leon Errol
Uncle Matt Lindsey/Lord Basil Epping
Walter Reed
Dennis Lindsey
Elisabeth Risdon
Aunt Della Lindsey
Lydia Bilbrook
Lady Ada Epping
Hugh Beaumont
George Sharpe
Aileen Carlyle
Mrs. Pettibone
Alan Carney
Bartender
Marietta Canty
Verbena
Ruth Lee
Mrs. Walters
Wally Brown
Desk clerk
Robert Andersen
Captain Rogers
George Plues
Driver
Eddie Dew
Sheriff Walters
George Rogers
Dancer
Dorothy Rogers
Dancer
Don Kramer
Dancer
Billy Edward Reed
Attendant
Charles Coleman
Parkins
Eddie Borden
Messenger boy
June Booth
Nurse
Anne O'neal
Matron at orphanage
Joan Barclay
Patti Brill
Margaret Landry
Margie Stewart
Barbara Hale
Rita Corday
Mary Halsey
Ann Summers
Rosemary La Planche
Crew
C. Bakaleinikoff
Music Director
James Casey
Assistant Director
Albert S. D'agostino
Art Director
Bert Gilroy
Producer
Walter E. Keller
Art Director
Dane Lussier
Screenwriter
Jack Mackenzie
Director of Photography
Harry Marker
Editing
Harley Miller
Set Decoration
Renie
Gowns
Charles E. Roberts
Screenwriter
Charles E. Roberts
Story
Darrell Silvera
Set Decoration
Richard Van Hessen
Recording
Film Details
Genre
Comedy
Adventure
Release Date
Jul
1943
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 3m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Articles
Mexican Spitfire's Blessed Event
In 1943 Lupe Velez considered returning to her native Mexico for a farcical Spanish-language version of Romeo and Juliet, playing against legendary comic actor Cantinflas, "The Chaplin of Mexico", before dropping out of the project and returning to Hollywood. Here, Velez's final turn as Carmelita in the Mexican Spitfire series is all about motherhood confusions: when Carmelita's pet ocelot delivers a litter of cubs, she's so thrilled she sends a telegram to husband Dennis (Walter Reed) announcing "his little kitten has become a mama". Of course confusion ensues, including a borrowed baby, a botched contract, a lasso-happy sheriff, and someone inevitably getting dunked in a well. All ends well for Carmelita and company, but regardless of her extraordinary on-screen vitality, this movie -- and the dark irony of its baby-centric story line -- is a hard one for Velez fans to enjoy. Shamed by a pregnancy out of wedlock, the moody (and possibly bipolar) Velez committed suicide in 1944.
By Violet LeVoit
By Violet LeVoit
Mexican Spitfire's Blessed Event
In 1943 Lupe Velez considered returning to her native Mexico for a farcical Spanish-language version of Romeo and Juliet, playing against legendary comic actor Cantinflas, "The Chaplin of Mexico", before dropping out of the project and returning to Hollywood. Here, Velez's final turn as Carmelita in the Mexican Spitfire series is all about motherhood confusions: when Carmelita's pet ocelot delivers a litter of cubs, she's so thrilled she sends a telegram to husband Dennis (Walter Reed) announcing "his little kitten has become a mama". Of course confusion ensues, including a borrowed baby, a botched contract, a lasso-happy sheriff, and someone inevitably getting dunked in a well. All ends well for Carmelita and company, but regardless of her extraordinary on-screen vitality, this movie -- and the dark irony of its baby-centric story line -- is a hard one for Velez fans to enjoy. Shamed by a pregnancy out of wedlock, the moody (and possibly bipolar) Velez committed suicide in 1944.
By Violet LeVoit
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
A Hollywood Reporter production chart places Erford Gage in the cast, but his participation in the completed film has not been confirmed. The Variety review incorrectly identifies this film as Mexican Spitfire's Baby, the title of a 1941 "Mexican Spitfire" film. This was the eighth and final film in the series. The Hollywood Reporter review and a news item in Hollywood Reporter note that the studio announced its intentions to produce a new series based on the "Lord Epping" character, but that series was never made. In Hollywood Reporter news items, the "Mexican Spitfire" series was occasionally referred to as the "Lord Epping" series. For additional information about the series, consult the Series Index and see the entry for Mexican Spitfire in AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1931-40; F3.2846. This film marks the last screen appearance for Lupe Velez, who commited suicide on December 14, 1944. Two films were made about her in the 1960s: a 1966 Andy Warhol picture titled Lupe, starring Edie Sedgwick, and a 1967 Film-Makers' Cooperative film, also called Lupe, starring Maria Montez (see AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1961-70).
