one of my absolute favorites!

Better Late Then Never

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Several characters in this film make it difficult to like. The worst of these is the leading man (Pat O'Brien). He is very abrasive, rather mean-spirited, fast-talking and an alcoholic! In fact, there's really little to recommend this guy. Additionally, Leo Carillo plays a guy who is a cheat and a thief. With characters like these, it's hard to understand what was going through the writer's mind when they created this bizarro film."In Caliente" begins in New York. Larry McArthur (O'Brien) is awakening from a bender and this friend and business partner Harold (Edward Everett Horton) marvels that the drunk writes his theater reviews without even going to see the performances! You assume it's because he's an alcoholic jerk and soon he's drunk again--dead to the world after drinking a bottle of whiskey. Harold is concerned about Larry's self-destructive life as well as his upcoming wedding to a gold-digger (Glenda Farrell) he barely knows, so he whisks the unconscious Larry to a resort town in Mexico, Caliente, to dry him out and get him away from this girl. Unfortunately, Rita Gomez (Delores Del Rio) is there performing--and Larry savaged her some time ago in one of his reviews. Naturally, he also never saw her in person and he truly deserves her to destroy him--which she plans on doing. However, over time they start to fall in love with each other--though I have no idea why. Why would he love her--she's not a whiskey bottle! And, he is just nasty and a drunk--and what sane woman would want that?! For comic relief, we have Horton, though he isn't really used well here. His role is more serious than usual. Also, Leo Carillo plays Rita's uncle. As I mentioned above, he's pretty much a thief and this alone is supposed to make him funny--it didn't.In addition to the romance and comedy, there is a lot of music and dancing--particularly later in the film. These production numbers are the typical Busby Berkeley sort of thing--where the dance numbers are too large for a stadium, let alone a nightclub! One number in particular is notable. "The Lady in Red" is a shockingly risqué number--with very sexily clad ladies who look much more Pre-Code than what you'd expect in 1935 when things were SUPPOSED to be much more sanitized. Oddly, however, the sexiness and beauty of this routine is pretty much ruined when Judy Canova inexplicably enters and begins singing like a slow-witted hillbilly....in Mexico! Huh?! Interestingly, the song morphed into a HUGE and very long production number that lasted a whopping 20 minutes--too long, much too long for my taste.So, we have unlikable characters, alcoholism, musical numbers that are too long and comedy that isn't very funny. Overall, a complete misfire and waste of talent. See it if you must, I think pretty much everyone in the film did better films than this.

IN CALIENTE (First National, 1935), directed by Lloyd Bacon, is a musical tribute to a then popular Mexican resort town south of the border from San Diego, California, most noted for its horse racing and gambling. It stars hot tamale Mexican-born actress Dolores Del Rio in a lightweight story with an overly familiar plot redeemed by a good score and fine choreography by Busby Berkeley. With Berkeley on hand, instead of focusing on his trademark dance numbers of geometric patterns and overhead camera shots, he leans heavily on the current trend of ballroom dancing popularized by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The dancers in question for IN CALIENTE are the now obscure names of DeMarcos, Tony and Sally.The story centers upon Larry MacArthur (Pat O'Brien), president, critic and editor of New York City's smartest magazine, Manhattan Madness, who has a habit of writing bad reviews without ever seeing a performance. Harold Brandon (Edward Everett Horton), vice president, wants to break up Larry's engagement to Clara Thorne (Glenda Farrell), a gold digger who not only prefers to get married on a Thursday, but has had won three previous breach of promise suits. Knowing the upcoming marriage will be a mistake, Harold succeeds in getting Larry drunk enough to take him unconscious from both his job and Clara via airplane to Aqua Caliente, a Mexican resort. While there, the conscious Larry at first demands to be returned to New York, but once he meets up with Rita Gomez (Dolores Del Rio), he decides to have his holiday in Mexico and remain, unaware that Rita, a concert dancer, was one of the performers he criticized in his review. Recognizing Larry as the man who had given her a bad write-up, Rita plots on humiliating him, with the help of Jose Gomez (Leo Carrillo), her uncle and manager who pleasures in cheating "suckers" at cards. More problems arise when Clara arrives to claim Larry.On the musical program, songs include: "Mexicando/In Caliente" (several reprises, mostly sung by Mariachis); "To Call You My Own" (sung by Phil Regan, danced by Dolores Del Rio and unidentified partner); "The Lady in Red" (sung by Winifred Shaw, chorus, Judy Canova), by Mort Dixon and Allie Wrubel; and "Muchacha" by Harry Warren and Al Dubin (sung by Phil Regan, Dolores Del Rio, and chorus).Long on story and comedy, with songs spread apart while the two Berkeley production numbers are saved for the near conclusion. Of the songs presented, only "The Lady in Red" is notable. While introduced in IN CALIENTE by Winifred Shaw, and given the reprise "hillbilly treatment" by comedienne Judy Canova, it's best remembered as a dance number sung and performed by Desi Arnaz in one of the classic episodes to the 1950s TV comedy series, I LOVE LUCY (CBS, 1951-1957) starring Lucille Ball. Phil Regan, an Irish tenor, playing the role of Pat Casey, but acting the part as Pedro Casinova, is the male vocalist. He heads the grand finale of "Muchacha" opposite Del Rio, in a rare opportunity in which she sings (briefly) on film. Her vocalization is adequate, but at times sounds more like the singing of Kitty Carlisle from two Bing Crosby musicals, HERE IS MY HEART and SHE LOVES ME NOT (Paramount, 1934). Carlisle, however, is best noted for her performance opposite The Marx Brothers in A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (MGM, 1935).While this is essentially a showcase for Dolores Del Rio and Pat O'Brien, Edward Everett Horton not only comes close in stealing his many scenes in his overly familiar performance from his leading actor, concluding the story with a funny fadeout. Another plus is the location filming at Agua Caliente. Chris Pin-Martin, as one of the mariachis, recites the catch phrase, "English not so very good looking." IN CALIENTE is typical yet manages to be entertaining as 1930s movies go. For more enjoyment with this south of the border musical comedy, watch IN CALIENTE whenever it plays on Turner Classic Movies. (***).

Pat O'Brien, part time critic and full time boozer, gets pulled away to Caliente in Mexico by his friend Edward Everett Horton to avoid getting married to gold digger Glenda Farrell. But it's out of the frying pan into the fire.Dolores Del Rio has a Spanish dancing act that O'Brien savagely panned one night after attending her performance stewed to the gills. That hurt her career and when she sees him on her home turf, she's going to get a little vengeance. She and father/manager Leo Carrillo.Of course if you can't figure out where this plot is going by now, you haven't seen too many old films. But the plot is just an excuse to string together four Busby Berkeley numbers, including the big hit that came out of the film, The Lady in Red. Dolores Del Rio, what a beauty she was. Hard to believe anyone could have panned her dancing. She sang beautifully as well. When she got her first big break in American cinema in the silent version of Ramona, she recorded the title song and even though the screen was silent, her record sold quite a bit, such was the allure she conveyed.Of course Pat O'Brien was his usual fast talking promoter, though slowed down a bit due to hangover. He didn't contribute anything musical here, but he's always a pleasure to watch.Phil Regan did some vocalizing including the elaborate Muchacha finale number. The DeMarcos danced, Wini Shaw sang, and Judy Canova in her screen debut reprised a hillbilly version of The Lady In Red to a flustered Edward Everett Horton. It was quite a funny moment.In Caliente is not the best of the Busby Berkeley Warner Brothers musicals, but it's still good entertainment.

Caliente was a stylish resort destination for the film community in the 1930's, and this film attempted to capitalize on that exotic fact for movie audiences. Very little of the film takes advantage of its sultry locale, however. The film is mainly concerned with Rita, a beautiful Mexican dancer, who is infuriated after Larry, a theater critic, savagely pans her dancing after failing to catch her act! She sets out to show him, and of course they fall in love. There is a good supporting cast, especially Edward Everett Horton as his usual nervous fussbudget. The two musical numbers were staged by Busby Berkeley. "The Lady in Red" is sung by a chorus of studio cuties and by the wonderful Wini Shaw (and a novelty chorus or two is sung by the delightful Judy Canova, doing her "country hayseed" character). The "Muchacha" number is one of Berkeley's typical sprawling numbers and makes good use of Dolores Del Rio's beauty and horses riding up a staircase! Pay attention to Del Rio in the scene at the pool. She wears what's believed to be the screen's first two-piece bathing suit. Just one look at her stunning beauty will make you long for the days when Hollywood was known for goddesses like Del Rio, Dietrich, Lamarr, Garbo, etc.