Bayou Mood, Swedish Fika

Alright, so “Lady from Louisiana” – a real guddinge from 1941! Sometimes these old Hollywood films are like opening a box of punchrullar that’s been stuck at the back shelf since midsommar, you know? Bit stale but kinda charming. This one’s got John Wayne (yes, before he really became Mr. Cowboy), and Ona Munson who’s not exactly the household name in Västerås, but she does a solid job with what she’s given. The legendary Bernard Vorhaus did the directing, and I googled, thinking, “Har jag sett nåt annat han gjort?” but, uh, mostly B-films?

So, Pippi Långstrump-meets-New Orleans, kind of. John Wayne’s charm is on full blast, but you can tell he isn’t totally at home outside the wild west. There’s this steamy, sweaty vibe (lots of fake fog), the kind that made me wanna open the window in February, 1997, watching this with my gran in Örebro. She said the southern accent sounded like Stockholmare trying to talk Skånska – och yes, jag håller med. There was popcorn, there were complaints about the music.

Here’s what’s fun: those riverboat scenes are so over-the-top, I half expected Fritiof Andersson to pop up with a dragspel. The melodrama is thick, and plot? Let’s say… it’s a bit of a mess. But there’s gambling, corruption, alligators (that looked very, hmm, stuffed), and plenty of love shenanigans.

The film doesn’t really nail the romance part, if you ask me, but the costumes are lush in a “hylla på Åhléns” kinda way. I’m not sure who’d watch this for actual thrills, but if you’re into old Americana, or wanna see Wayne try to woo a lady in a silly hat, ge den en chans. Bonus if you enjoy complaining about fake fog with relatives.

watch the full movie on Mavshack Movies on YouTube

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