Very well executed

Simply A Masterpiece

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

We're in December 2015 in the US, a country beset by a terrorist attack in San Bernadino, California, by racial outbursts, and by a political system that seems tired and about to expire, and by never ending wars. So in this moment of darkness bordering on despair, what better respite there is than seeing a film 75 years old, from a US a year away from world war, exhibiting a joy of life that today seems as far away as the dawn of time. And what a spectacular opening: Carmen Miranda burst onto to the screen sing 'Down Argentine Way', with the hypnotic curves of a supple body, a bare midriff, and green flashing eyes, in her first film in a Hollywood production. With the advances of Nazi troops in Europe and North Africa, America looked to its backyard, with worry. Although Washington ruled its neighbors to the South firmly invoking the Monroe Doctrine, the appeal of Hitler's Germany had found admirers in Argentina, Brazil and Chile and other capitals. So FDR launched the 'Good Neighbor Policy', to blunt any stray from America's embrace. In consequent,Hollywood obliged. It was a time when songs in Spanish, with lyrics in English became the rage as did the rumba and bolero and the Congra found great popularity. 'Down Argentine Way's story is silly, but, oh, lifted by the tap dancing of the Nicholas Brothers, the raffish Don Ameche with his bedroom eyes, speaking in a false Spanish accent, and his pleasing baritone voice, the vivacious Betty Grable singing and dancing in a costume that has the cut of the Brazilian bombshell Miranda without the tutti frutti headpiece, bracelets and other silliness of dress. And then there's the wry humor and long legs of Charlotte Greenwood. The film's a typical boy meets girl set up, with love conquering all in the end. And yet, in spite of the talent of Ameche and Grable, it is the magical perfume and spirit of Miranda that wafts throughout the film. And the blithe spirit of song and dance makes you not wince painfully at the stereotypical mugging of J. Carroll Nash and the condescension of Henry Stephenson or the buffoonery of Leonid Kinsky. It is in trying times as these, a sprinkling of fluff is very welcome as a reminder that reality is not as dire as it seems.

According to the excellent documentary on Grable included on the DVD, she had been making films since 1929, and this one, made when she was 24, made her a star. For the next 10 plus years she topped popularity polls as she sang and danced in Fox technicolor musicals. Her looks and pizazz in this film reminded me of Lana Turner, before she too became a mega star. Betty is adorable. Women liked her and men said, "I want to marry a girl just like the girl that married Harry James." The boys in khaki didn't say that about Lana when she married Artie Shaw.Betty was primarily a dancer and her specialty number in the last few minutes, wearing an "Argentine" ruffled costume and shaking her shoulders with a bit of oomph at the close, showed her wow power. Down Argentine Way is a sure cure for the blues. Betty, as well as that dynamic dancing duo, the Nicholas Brothers, are guaranteed to banish drooping spirits and put a smile on your face.

The singing and dancing are great. The plot is weak here with Argentinian, Don Ameche, with an authentic Spanish accent, romances Bette Grable. For some foolish reason, Ameche's father, an engaging Henry Stephenson, has it in for the Crawford family for an incident that took place long ago between him and Grable's father.Charlotte Greenwood portrays Grable's aunt to perfection. The only thing she will admit to is being 31. She really kicks up her heels as does the rest of the cast.Carmen Miranda portrays herself briefly in two dancing scenes. We can really say that she is wasted here.There is another gem of a performance by J. Carrol Naish, as a Spanish worker for Stephenson.

I thought this film, Betty Grable's first big star part, was surprisingly flat, probably because there wasn't enough tension between her and Don Ameche before the inevitable happy ending. Betty looks great in a couple of her costumes but it's clear that no one realized her talents as a comedienne yet and so she doesn't get to act out as she would in subsequent films. If you want to see Grable and Ameche together, go with "Moon Over Miami" first. Also, it's Carmen Miranda's first U.S. picture, but she just performs two songs and doesn't interact with any of the other stars. Her hat isn't even very big!