mark.waltz Certainly, Eve Arden gets some great lines here, teasing Phillip Terry every step of the way, basically playing a "Lady in the Dark" type character (minus the necessary psycho analysis that Liza Elliott got in that Broadway musical) who takes a fashion photo tour around every Latin American country in existence to pick out the most beautiful women to headline their big Latino revue and beauty contest. She gets him there by promising him a vacation but all he does is work and try to get time alone with Arden's beautiful assistant (Audrey Long) while trying to avoid spitfire Isabelita who had him arrested on his last trip to Mexico to keep him from leaving the country (and her). It turns out that Isabelita isn't actually Mexican and keeps popping up in every single country to get a chance at the title, and obviously get Terry to her own alter. But for playboy Terry, it's Long's slap across the face after he makes advances to her that gets his blood boiling, and for nearly 90 minutes, you have to wait for the obvious conclusion even though she's engaged to an American in Brazil whom you don't meet until the film's last 20 minutes.All this is turns out to be a cavalcade of Latin music from around the world with major stops in Mexico, Cuba and Brazil. The bongos bong, the castanets click, and the maracas shake, and all this does is show audiences the feathery, fluttery outfits, the wild hats and the twirling fiery dances pretty much exist in all of these countries, whether or not that it is true in real Latin American culture. So in Mexico, there's a chance to hear "Guadalajara", and somebody other than Desi Arnaz/Ricky Ricardo does "Babalu" in Cuba. The film is elegant and pleasant to watch, but more stereotypical well meaning good will that came out of Hollywood (and in smaller cases Broadway) in the 1940's. Robert Benchley is droll as one of Arden's assistants who is the deadpan announcer for the big beauty contest (much like Benchley was in real life for any situation) and Ernest Truex is the Leon Errol like uncle to Long's fiancée (Marc Cramer). For wartime entertainment, it was pure distraction, but other than Arden and a few nice musical numbers, remains pretty innocuous.

moonspinner55 Director John H. Auer also produced and gets a story credit for this lame Good Neighbor Policy musical with a superfluous plot--about the search for the prettiest girl from every nation by the editors of an American magazine--used merely as the pretext for another boy-meets-girl reluctant romance. Phillip Terry is a photographer (a womanizing "coyote") and Audrey Long is a gal-reporter with no-no on her lips and sí-sí in her eyes. As the secondary couple, politely squabbling Robert Benchley and Eve Arden liven things up, but the dire, padded screenplay isn't clever enough to hold interest. The song interludes (but not the Mexican stereotypes) may be of interest to historians of Latin-Americans depicted in the cinema, but this low-budget travelogue is strictly stock shots, rear projection and studio interiors. *1/2 from ****

impsrule As a music presenter and a Latin-music radio host of 20 years, I was compelled to correct a couple of misstatements in previous postings about the musical artists featured in this film. While "Pan-Americana" is not exactly "An American in Paris" (...or even Manhattan), viewers should be more cognizant of what they're actually seeing and hearing.In the post titled "Just Doesn't Cut It", the writer commented: "The contrived plot is a boy-meets-girl story, interrupted by musical performances of Latin American artists, some of which were Carmen Miranda wannabees, and none of which were memorable or even particularly good." Um... amazingly inaccurate! If only for his presence alone, Miguelito Valdes is one of the LEGENDARY vocalists and band leaders of the Latin-American popular/tropical music genre. You could think of him as a combination of two notable U.S. artists: r&b legend Jackie Wilson (from a stylistic standpoint), and crooner Tony Bennett (as far as his 'stature' within the Latin pop music genre). So... to It was actually Mr. Valdes who popularized the song "Babalu" throughout Latin-America and the U.S. in the late 1930's. Likely because of Mr. Valdes obvious African blood, he was denied the opportunity to perform it in the Broadway show "Too Many Girls." The role ultimately was given to white-Cuban actor Desi Arnaz, a more 'traditionally handsome' man (to 1940's North American eyes) who parlayed the Broadway success into an MGM contract. While Desi Arnaz was himself a charismatic performer (a decent actor and visionary television producer), he had nowhere near the vocal presence of Miguelito Valdes (Arnaz himself would have laughed at the mere notion of a comparison...).Sprinkled throughout the film are also rare appearances by folks like the legendary Brazilian composer and band leader Nestor Amaral - the musician who accompanied Carmen Miranda to the U.S. in 1940(!). Antonio and Rosario performed to great acclaim internationally, and performed in a number of Hollywood musicals. After their breakup, their careers continued with success. Antonio would eventually become the Director of the Nacional Ballet de Espana! Chuy Reyes, who led the 'house' Latin band at Hollywood's glamorous Mocambo for years.The point is, while they may not be major "cross-over" names like Xavier Cugat, this film is an important document of some very influential Hispanic performers. To 'dismiss' them as cut-rate is simply wrong.

jeff this movie is a romantic romp. eve Arden, Audrey long, Robert benchley and Phillip terry (joan Crawford's 4th husband) star in this romance set in various tropical settings. the best part is discovering b movie actress Audrey long. Audrey married Leslie charteris (author of the Simon templar "the saint" novels) in the early 1950's and evidently retired after a successful, approximately 10 year, career as a lead in mostly b movies. Audrey really shines in this movie and it really gives pause as to why she did not prosper in the film industry. like most actors and actresses, never getting the one great breakout role prevents them from stardom. she was a total babe. the rest of the cast is doing a very good job and the movie has a nice and varied Latin setting to complement the stars of the film. also look for Jane Greer in her first film role, in a small part.