Cairo

Director: W.S. Van Dyke II

Overview

In this film, Jeanette MacDonald plays wisecracking movie star Marcia Warren, who while "between pictures" in London hires fellow American Homer Smith as her butler. What Marcia doesn't know is that Smith is an American newspaperman, who strongly suspects that our heroine is a Nazi spy.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/27/2012
UPC:	0883316616963
Original Release:	1942
Source:	Warner Archives
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Full Frame]
Sound:	[monaural]
Language:	English
Time:	1:41:00
Sales rank:	39,117

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Jeanette MacDonald	Marcia Warren
Ethel Waters	Cleona Jones, Marcia's Maid
Robert Young	Homer Smith
Reginald Owen	Philo Cobson
Grant Mitchell	O.H.P. Boggs
Lionel Atwill	Teutonic Gentleman
Eduardo Ciannelli	Ahmed Ben Hassan
Mitchell Lewis	Ludwig
Dooley Wilson	Hector
Larry Nunn	Bernie
Dennis Hoey	Col. Woodhue
Mona Barrie	Mrs. Morrison
Rhys Williams	Strange Man
Cecil Cunningham	Mme. Laruga
Harry Worth	Bartender
Frank Richards	Alfred

Technical Credits

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Producer

Editorial Reviews

Cairo is enormously fortunate to have Jeanette MacDonald on hand. Without this bright star operating in top form, it would be a bit of trial to sit through all the muddled nonsense that passes for its screenplay. With MacDonald, who looks sensational, Cairo emerges as an entertaining bauble. Rarely has the singer been in better voice, and she's given ample opportunity to show that voice off to its best advantage; whether dealing with "light" numbers like "Beautiful Ohio" and the title song or attacking operatic entries like "Il Bacio" and "Chi mi frema," MacDonald sounds glorious. She's also allowed to take full advantage of her comic abilities, including her too-rarely-used knack for spoofing herself. As her suspicious paramour, Robert Young provides very able support; if his role doesn't allow him the chance to shine as it does MacDonald, he nevertheless acquits himself quite respectably. Ethel Waters is given entirely too little to do, but she makes the most of "Buds Won't Bud" and "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee," and Lionel Atwill, Reginald Owen, and Dennis Hoey help to make the proceedings pleasant and enjoyable. Cairo is far from a top-notch vehicle, but as long as MacDonald is driving it, it's an engaging little diversion.