JohnHowardReid
Here's another of those colorful yet mindless set-in-Latin-America musicals where flashily costumed principals and extras burst into high-spirited songs and dances at the drop of an embroidered serape. The story is as slight as passione con amore on ice – and played with as much expression as rigor mortis by pedestrian second-players like J. Carroll Naish and Pedro de Cordoba. Watching this movie is like drinking root beer with chili sauce, although the rest of the cast is pleasant enough. Even Cesar Romero is only half as ridiculous as he usually appears as he spends half of the film hiding his overwrought smile and vacuous face behind dark glasses. Dick Haymes is somewhat wooden as usual, but he doesn't come on for over half an hour. Fritz Feld is usually a pain, but he feeds some good lines here and makes an agreeable comic. Ratoff's direction is extremely skillful for once. My guess is the film editor stood as his side, as the editing is incredibly smooth. And the editor is no less than William H. Reynolds, regarded by both his peers and producers as one of the best three film editors of all time! Leonide Massine's choreography, for instance, particularly in the fiesta sequence, is quite dazzlingly colorful, and notice how brilliantly it is edited!
moonspinner55
Mixture of the new Latin appreciation with the old Hollywood guard results in stilted musical from Fox. Vera-Ellen, who ricochets around the dance floor while never losing her smile, plays a young lass down South American way who changes her mind about an arranged marriage to Cesar Romero. She loves creepy, corn-fed Dick Haymes instead, while Cesar is currently squiring New York gal Celeste Holm around Costa Rica. The weirdest casting must be rigid-backed Anne Revere as Vera-Ellen's mother, who hovers over her daughter like a clucking goose yet doesn't even recognize her own child when she sees her on a parade float. The production is well-dressed--and blessedly gets outside of the studio on several occasions--but the music score seems built around one monotonously cheerful tune, and Romero comes off like a Latin Don Ameche: whipped and all wet. *1/2 from ****
martex34
This is good to watch if only for Vera-Ellen, Celeste Holme, Ceasar Romero, J. Carrol Naish, Anne Revere, and especially, the great crooner Dick Haymes who had a marvelous voice and wasn't a bad actor either.....only the material was schlocky in this one. I would recommend Costa Rica use this for tourism!
ceva
This 20th Century Fox musical has several problems, including an uneven script and uninspired choreography. However, the flaws are countered with some strengths. The color photography and costumes are lovely. And the cast is good, especially leading lady Vera-Ellen and Celeste Holm.
AD
