LITTLE BIG SCREEN - "BRUNCH IN ACAPULCO"

'GET SMART'

"THE AMAZING HARRY HOO"

Hoping to catch the same plane to San Francisco as the KAOS agent they were trailing, Maxwell Smart and Agent 99 nearly missed the flight because Max objected to the in-flight movie.  Trans-State Airlines was showing "Brunch In Acapulco" - starring George Brent and Joan Bennett, co-starring Edward G. Robinson and Lynn Bari, with cameo appearances by Joan Blondell and Cab Calloway.  As far as Max was concerned, the movie was a bomb and not even Joan Blondell could save it.

(Using the word "bomb" at the ticket counter would have TAS down on Max in no time today.  And when they found all the spy contraband he would have been carrying.....?)

Back in February, TCM showed "Brunch In Acapulco" as part of their half-day celebration of Joan Bennett's birthday.  Being the trivia-seeking televisiologist that I am, I watched the movie and I gotta say... Max was right.  The movie stinks to high heaven.  It's no wonder that TCM skedded it deep in the overnight.

But the odd thing is, it is kind of hypnotic, this romantic lark about two naval officers on weekend leave in Acapulco and the women they meet that Sunday morning just as their leave is about to end.  Hijinks ensued as they tried to maneuver a way to spend at least one full night with the young ladies.

Ralph Bakshi must have thought it was fascinating as well, since he made an animated film short with the same title, rotoscoped from the big nightclub dance scene that was the frenetic high point of the movie.

Here are some of the actors from "Brunch In Acapulco" as they looked in the cartoon version:

JOAN BLONDELL

CAB CALLOWAY

EDWARD G. ROBINSON

BCnU!