Ideally, you should have already seen the first("The Girl from Mexico") in this series of 8 comical B films, of around 70 min. in length, as this second installment begins where the first one left off: the newly weds of Dennis(Donald Woods) and Mexican Carmelita(Lupe Valez) Lindsay. We begin with them arriving at Newark airport from their Mexican honeymoon, being greeted by Uncle Lindsay(Leon Errol), Aunt Lindsay(Elizabeth Risdon), and Dennis's debutante ex-fiancé Elizabeth(Linda Hayes), who hopes to somehow breakup the whirlwind marriage, to resume her former status. There is one very major personnel change from the first film in that Errol plays the dual characters of Uncle Lindsay and the eccentric British upperclassman: Lord Epping. Errol switched back and forth between the 2, using a mustache, glasses, a taupe , an odd stiff walk, and odd speech mannerisms to distinguish Epping from the comparatively bland Uncle. Occasionally, we have the odd experience of having 2 Eppings in the same frame or vicinity.............During negotiations between Dennis(an advertising executive) and Epping and Chumley(Cecil Kellaway)over a contract to advertise Epping's products, Carmelita shows up and somehow masquerades as Dennis's secretary(or rather cartoonist, as things turn out). Lord Epping is invited to dinner that evening, but they don't want to have to introduce Carmelita, his supposed secretary, as also his wife.(Is that so bad?). Hence, it's decided, over Carmelita's objection, that Elizabeth will play Dennis's wife: perhaps the first stage in her replacing Carmelita permanently? During dinner, Epping keeps criticizing the food, keeps changing his mind what he wants to eat, wants his Yorkshire pudding, and makes occasional rude remarks about the others. These antics cause Carmelita to giggle, as only she knows that Epping is really Uncle. The others are horrified. ...........After dinner, Dennis and Epping go into the study, for Epping to sign the contract, which Carmelita knows will be disastrous. Hence, she also goes in, and when Epping is about to sign, she somehow knocks over the ink well, spilling it on the contract. No matter, Dennis has a duplicate copy. Carmelita then offers Epping a cigar, strikes her lighter, which happens to also alight the contrast, ruining it. ...........Later, Uncle get the impression that the police are looking for him for impersonating Epping. Hence, he grabs Carmelita, and they take a plane to Mexico. On the way, Carmelita reveals that she thinks she's not right for Dennis. Hence, when they arrive, they find a supposed lawyer to draw up a divorce document. Unfortunately, the 'lawyer' is a phony crook, as the police know, but the 2 don't discover until later. Meanwhile, Denny, Aunt, and Elizabeth got the message, by radio!, that Carmelita has divorced Dennis. ..........While Carmelita rests in their hotel room, Epping has a series of adventures, some indirectly involving the real Lord Epping, who just happens to show up, and that contract that Chumley just happens to show up with. Pretty absurd! Eventually, the 2 decide to return to NYC, having received a telegram that Carmelita's divorce is invalid. Now, she is glad, as she had changed her mind about the advisability of a divorce. When they arrive home, they find that Dennis and Elizabeth are to be married that very day. The latter are shocked to read the telegram that Carmelita's divorce is invalid. But, Dennis is OK with that news. Elizabeth is furious and starts a wedding cake slice throwing episode that eventually involves all the guests. Finally, Elizabeth picks up the remaining whole cake and heaves it at Carmelita, who ducks, it hitting Lord Epping in the face., to end the film...........Lupe and Errol formed a friendship duo in both this and the first film. The other main characters largely serve as straight men, in opposition to the duo's antics. In the first film, Lupe was more prominently displayed over Errol, whereas in this film, it's the opposite. .........The series ended in 1943, which apparently was one reason why Lupe decided to end her life in late '44, although a pregnancy, with no evident husband prospect, seems to have been the main factor. I don't think she ever got over Garry Cooper's refusal to marry her, although they clearly had some good, as well as bad, times together..............In the early '40s, while this series was playing, another Latino singer/dancer/actress came to the US in the form of 'the Brazilian Bombshell', or the 'Samba Queen': Carmen Miranda. She was featured along with some of Fox's other top musical comedians, in a series of films, that ended in '45. Although she was/is mainly famous for her unique singing/dancing style and outrageous turbans, given the chance, she was also an effective comedian, in the general bombastic style of Lupe, and with the same sometimes fractured English. They were 2 of a kind, we probably will never see again, except in their remaining films..............
Carmelita quotes: "Why don't you mind my own business"
"We're all washed down"