Moon Over Miami (1941) is a Musical Comedy from 20th Century Fox, starring Betty Grable, Don Ameche, Carole Landis, Charlotte Greenwood, and Robert Cummings.
Kay and Barbara Latimer (Grable and Landis, respectively) are two working girls from Texas who just want security. Their aunt Susan comes into an inheritance that is, unfortunately, a low amount, so they decide to stick to their plan: become gold diggers and seek out a rich husband in Florida.
Off the women go, where Kay is the rich heiress, Barbara is now her secretary, and Susan is the maid. In Miami, Kay meets millionaires Jeff Bolton and Phil O’Neil (Cummings and Ameche) who both vie for her love. As it turns out Kay loves Phil more, but he’s no longer rich, so she must marry Phil. However, Barbara starts to fall for Jeff, and Phil won’t go away that easily.
Fluffy hilarity, dance numbers, and gorgeous costumes ensue.
This film shows the following tropes:
- Beta Couple: Susan and Jack O’Hara, a waiter at the hotel, fall in love.
- Cleaning Up Romantic Loose Ends: Everyone is set up with someone in the beginning, and everyone gets who they belong with in the end.
- Compete for the Maiden's Hand: Phil and Jeff compete for Kay: they race on jumping speedboats, try to romance her with dinners, and they
- Costume Porn: Everything that Kay wears is to die for. Specifically, her pink dress
◊. And when Barbara takes off her glasses, she ain’t too bad either: her silver dress is very shiny and pretty◊. - Gold Digger: Kay is chosen as the most attractive, and therefore, the one that must catch the rich husband. Jack tells Kay when she arrives at the hotel that he spot a gold digger a mile away and can help her weed out potential lovers by giving her a thumbs up and a thumbs down. Given that he already failed to spot check Kay, his advice doesn't go well.
- Love Triangle: A pretty mild one at that. Jeff knows Phil is going to win Kay’s heart.
- Meet Cute: Kay trips over Phil’s feet when she first meets him.
- Ms. Fanservice: It isn’t a Betty Grable film without her showing off her legs one way or another.
- Nerd Glasses: Apparently Barbara’s nerdy secretary glasses are enough to keep men away, but it’s pretty clear that she’s gorgeous with or without them.
- Pretty in Mink: Kay wears fur in Miami of all places.
- Serenade Your Lover: Phil sings “Loveliness and Love” to Kay on a romantic boat ride. And then the loveliness of the boat ride fades away when he admits that he's no longer wealthy.
- Spontaneous Choreography: It’s a musical with Betty Grable, she’s going to tap dance!
