deal for implied sex coincidence is ridiculous sleaze is implied
"Panama Flo" is a film clearly rooted in the Pre-Code Era--a film filled with lots of sleazy subtext and characters who are ALL rotten! When the film was remade seven years later as "Panama Lady", it was scrubbed clean of all its sexual tension...and was, as a result, an incredibly dull film!
When the story begins, Flo (Helen Twelvetrees) is working at a sleazy dive of a bar. She's dead broke and her only chance of getting away from this dump is her boyfriend, Babe (Robert Armstrong)...a guy who's promised to marry her as soon as he returns from his trip to South America. The problem is that after two weeks, Babe still hasn't returned and weeks turn into months.
Into the hellish dive comes Dan (Charles Bickford)--an oil man with a huge wad of cash practically burning a hole in his pocket. The 'lady' who runs the dump convinces Flo to help rob the guy and he's not as dumb as he looks...but he's on to the scam too late...and another woman working in the bar runs off with the money.
Now here's where the sleazy Pre-Code stuff comes into it. He could easily have Flo tossed into prison but instead gets her to agree to be his 'housekeeper' down in the South American jungle. It's very clear that this is a job with plenty of fringe benefits...though Flo does her best to keep the lecherous Dan at bay. Into this sexual tension arrives Babe...and considering how huge South America is, this is ridiculous! Flo thinks Babe is there to rescue her...but he is, at heart, a complete pig. So what happens next? See the film.
Is this a very good film? Nah. The plot is pretty dumb and the whole coincidence angle is just too dumb to be real. The very end, by the way, is even dumber!! But, in a salacious way it IS worth seeing because it is so exciting and scummy!
"Panama Flo" is a film clearly rooted in the Pre-Code Era--a film filled with lots of sleazy subtext and characters who are ALL rotten! When the film was remade seven years later as "Panama Lady", it was scrubbed clean of all its sexual tension...and was, as a result, an incredibly dull film!
When the story begins, Flo (Helen Twelvetrees) is working at a sleazy dive of a bar. She's dead broke and her only chance of getting away from this dump is her boyfriend, Babe (Robert Armstrong)...a guy who's promised to marry her as soon as he returns from his trip to South America. The problem is that after two weeks, Babe still hasn't returned and weeks turn into months.
Into the hellish dive comes Dan (Charles Bickford)--an oil man with a huge wad of cash practically burning a hole in his pocket. The 'lady' who runs the dump convinces Flo to help rob the guy and he's not as dumb as he looks...but he's on to the scam too late...and another woman working in the bar runs off with the money.
Now here's where the sleazy Pre-Code stuff comes into it. He could easily have Flo tossed into prison but instead gets her to agree to be his 'housekeeper' down in the South American jungle. It's very clear that this is a job with plenty of fringe benefits...though Flo does her best to keep the lecherous Dan at bay. Into this sexual tension arrives Babe...and considering how huge South America is, this is ridiculous! Flo thinks Babe is there to rescue her...but he is, at heart, a complete pig. So what happens next? See the film.
Is this a very good film? Nah. The plot is pretty dumb and the whole coincidence angle is just too dumb to be real. The very end, by the way, is even dumber!! But, in a salacious way it IS worth seeing because it is so exciting and scummy!