The Oscars and the Mambo: Cross Body Leads (Scene 2)

Not unlike a trompe l'oeil painting, many vintage Hollywood films posses their own brand of perspectival illusionism.  At first glance, the film may seem 'one-dimensional' as they deal with Latin music and/or characters.  Sometimes, however, the more you look, the more information can emerge from the confines of the screen.

One good example is "Criss Cross" (Universal, 1949), a rather well-known film noir crime drama by director Robert Siodmak.  The film stars brooding Burt Lancaster and stunning Yvonne DeCarlo, long before her days as ghoulish 'Lilly Munster' of mid-1960's television fame.  The viewer is first introduced to DeCarlo's character, 'Anna', when recent parolee Lancaster spots his old flame doing the rumba in a crowded, smoky little Los Angeles dance hall.  The band, which thankfully received billing in the credits, is led by virtuoso flautist Esy Morales, brother of legendary bandleader Noro Morales. 

Esy was considered among the most gifted flautists of the 1940's.  Adept in classical, jazz and Latin genres, he performed to acclaim at Carnegie Hall (his version of 'Flight of the Bumble Bee' was legendary), and recorded widely on labels such as Decca and RCA-Victor.  The legendary Tito Puente named one of his more memorable early Latin-jazz numbers 'Esy,' upon the 43 year old flautist's premature death of a heart attack in 1950.  For this reason alone, this clip is a treat.

But a dramatic close-up during a relatively lengthy piano solo reveals even more to the astute viewer.  The pianist driving delectable DeCarlo into a dance floor frenzy is none other than the legendary Rene Touzet, one of the greatest Cuban composers of his generation.  Touzet's many hit compositions include "Mi Musica Es Para Ti," "Tu Felicidad (Made For Each Other)", and "No Te Importe Saber" (recorded as "Let Me Love You Tonight" by Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and other top pop vocalists of the era).  Touzet relocated to the U.S. in the early 1940's, and by the mid 1950's was among the top Latin bandleaders on the West Coast scene (a staple at promoter/dj Chico Sesma's legendary 'Latin Holiday' dances at the Hollywood Palladium).  As an added bonus in this film, Yvonne DeCarlo's dance partner in this scene is none other than future top 1950's heartthrob Tony Curtis, in one of his first screen appearances.  A decade later, Curtis would be at his peak, co-starring with Marilyn Monroe in the classic "Some Like it Hot."

All too often early Hollywood films are 'written off' by Latin music scholars because they usually didn't contain 'big name' bands (a la Tito Puente, Machito, Tito Rodriguez...).  However, even the most unlikely films often contain a bounty of information and insight when you look deeper.