Cuban Fireball
Cast & Crew
William Beaudine
Estelita Rodriguez
Warren Douglas
Mimi Aguglia
Leon Belasco
Donald Macbride
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In Havana, Cuba, Estelita Rodriguez, a singer hired to entertain employees at a cigar factory, faces dismissal when she is caught performing an unflattering impersonation of her boss, Señora Martinez. Estelita finds an unexpected escape from her troubles at work when Don Perez, an attorney, tells her that she has inherited the estate of her oil tycoon grandfather, Patrick Renaldo O'Hara. Perez explains that to claim the $20,000,000 inheritance, Estelita must travel to Los Angeles to be present at the estate settlement. Before leaving for Los Angeles with her cousin Maria, Estelita attends a going away party held in her honor, and turns down a marriage proposal from Señora Martinez' fortune-hunting son Estaban. On her flight to Los Angeles, a stewardess advises Estelita to disguise her beauty to avoid "wolves" who might be after her money. Estelita takes the advice seriously and dresses herself in the disguise she used to impersonate Señora Martinez. When Mr. Pomeroy, the general manager of the O'Hara Oil Co., and his son Tommy greet Estelita at the airport, she tells them that her name is Maria and that she is Estelita's aunt. After making certain that Tommy is not a fortune-hunter, Estelita falls in love with him. Chaos ensues, however, when Estelita tries, with great effort, to impersonate her cousin for Mr. Pomeroy and others, while at the same time trying to show Tommy her true self. The situation is further complicated when a maid, after overhearing a plan do "get rid" of Estelita, believes that the heiress will be murdered. The maid tells the police about the plan, and Detective Bacon begins an investigation. Later, when Ramon, an old friend of Estelita's, makes an unexpected visit, he blackmails her, and demands $5,000 in exchange for his silence. When Bacon learns that Maria is Estelita's legal heir, he sees a possible motive for Maria to kill Estelita and places a twenty-four-hour watch on "Maria." Things become even more complicated for Estelita when two immigration officers arrive at her hotel room demanding to see Maria. Estelita's hopes of fooling the officers are nearly dashed when her dog Pepito jumps out of the hotel room window with the fake nose and glasses she was using for her disguise. While Estelita tries to retrieve her disguise by climbing onto the ledge outside her window, Señora Martinez arrives, determined to prevent Estelita from marrying anyone but her son. Realizing that Señora Martinez might easily be mistaken for "Maria," Estelita tries to keep her out of view by forcing her into a closet. A struggle between the two women ensues, and the maid, witnessing the stuggle, believes that the suitcase the two women are fighting over contains the dead body of the heiress. The maid alerts the police, and the following day, assuming that Señora Martinez is Maria, they arrest her for Estelita's murder. As newspaper headlines report the apparent murder of the heir to the O'Hara fortune, Estelita goes to Ramon for help. Ramon, who is only interested in Estelita's fortune, refuses to help and demands his blackmail money. Estelita is eventually saved when Tommy arrives and bests Ramon in a fistfight. Although Estelita's ruse is exposed, Tommy forgives her, and they marry.
Director
William Beaudine
Cast
Estelita Rodriguez
Warren Douglas
Mimi Aguglia
Leon Belasco
Donald Macbride
Rosa Turich
John Litel
Tim Ryan
Russ Vincent
Edward Gargan
Victoria Horne
Jack Kruschen
Pedro De Cordoba
Olan Soule
Tony Barr
Luther Crockett
Julian Rivero
Nacho Galindo
Eumenio Blanco
Harry Vejar
Eddie Parks
Harry Tyler
Pat Shade
Manuel Paris
Douglas Evans
Pat Gleason
Lois Hall
John Crawford
Crew
Earl Crain Sr.
Jack Elliott
Aaron Gonzales
Peggy Gray
Julio Gutierras
Frank Hotaling
Reggie Lanning
Lee Lukather
Howard Lydecker
Theodore Lydecker
Bob Mark
Tony Martinelli
John Mccarthy Jr.
Adele Palmer
Sidney Picker
Arthur Roberts
Charles E. Roberts
Charles E. Roberts
Charles Thompson
Jack Townley
Stanley Wilson
Herbert J. Yates
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Hollywood Reporter production charts list Arthur Roberts as the film's editor, but only Tony Martinelli is credited onscreen. According to memos in the file on the film in the MPPA/PCA Collection at the AMPAS Library, the Breen Office negotiated the elimination of some situations and dialgoue from the film that might "prove highly offensive to the sensibilities of Cuban nationals." Among the changes noted was the elimination of a questionable reading of "Little Red Riding Hood" in dialect.