Sadly Over-hyped

From my favorite movies..

How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

Paying mind to the ever growing South American market MGM made this trilogy of love stories in Mexico of the romances of three guys from the same small village. Sombrero is kind of like Three On A Match or if you will a film from a rival studio that came out around the same time, 20th Century Fox's Three Coins In The Fountain.Vittorio Gassman is the son of Walter Hampden the local Ben Cartwright of the area and he's married to Nina Foch in a loveless union. It was one of those arranged deals, Gassman really loves Yvonne DeCarlo a poor peasant girl, they've had a thing going since they were kids. He's got himself some bad news, one of those unnamed Hollywood diseases that might make him go any time. Sounds awfully like an aneurysm.Incidentally Foch got a career role in this one and the best performance in the film. The woman really spits fire in this part.Rick Jason falls for Cyd Charisse the sister of matador Jose Greco who treats her like a possession. Some serious hints of unrequited incest here. Charisse longs to break free and love the guy who's a happy go lucky sort who sells candy at the Corrida. The gypsies provide a solution.The comedy comes from Ricardo Montalban and his pursuit of Thomas Gomez's pride and joy Pier Angeli. Gomez is from a neighboring village and they've got a feud with where Montalban comes from. Nobody from that place is marrying his little sugarplum. There are some chase scenes rivaling the Keystone Cops.A nice trilogy of romances from Mexico with a great ensemble cast for Sombrero.

Somewhat of an oddity, really. Wake-up from your afternoon siesta and enjoy this movie. And not to be missed. Made in Mexico with guts, gusto and gringos. While South-of-the-Border, Hollywood worships at the altar of the magical and(sometimes) hokey movie musical. And wins. The picture may cause some viewers to fall into a world of confusion. Whirlpool effect: three bachelors fall in-and-out of love with four beautiful girls. The odd lady out in this game of musical chairs: Yvonne Decarlo. Why? Jeolousy. The other women feel threatened by the sexy creature("Maria") down by the river. Decarlo's character does provide an unusual story wrinkle: she informs her ailing suitor, who loves and wishes to marry her, that she will not marry him. Her noble gesture is a selfless act. But not practical. The film's photography of the Mexican countryside reveals streams of priceless visuals. A modern hospital pops up to great effect. Ricardo Montalban has top billing and delivers an amiable and confident performance. But the other two male leads more than hold their own against the studio's choice. One fellow has a strange prop, a tray of trinkets, which he hauls from the village to the city. In addition, he has an uncanny feel for the opposite sex. Cyd Charise falls under his influence. She sings and dances up a storm in a rainfall. Miss Decarlo's song, "You Belong to My Heart," was cut from the finished print and can only be seen at TCM's web site. A good movie to catch late at night. Trust me. Health!

This film is based on short stories by Josefina Niggli, whom I met when she was teaching at the Univeristy of North Carolina in Chapel Hill -- the plot outlined by the previous contributor is quite thorough, but does not mention the fine performance of Yvonne DeCarlo as Maria, of the River Road, and most especially does not mention the magnificent dance number performed by Cyd Charisse on a mountaintop in the rain -- unforgetable!!!

This is a wonderful, enjoyable film with a retinue of fine actors having a lot of fun in an entertaining story set in Mexico. The tale is wonderfully Mexican with cock-fights, inter-village rivalry, tragedy and mystery: Pepe (Richardo Montalban-- Mr. Rourke of Fantasy Island) loves the Mayor's (Thomas Gomez) daughter, Eufemia (Pier Angeli) but needs some success to convince her father he's a worthy candidate for her hand. Vittorio Gassman is the local rich boy whose family want him to marry an appropriate girl from an appropriate family, Rick Jason is the third compañero in love with a gypsy girl (Cyd Charisse). Wonderful performances by the lovely Nina Foch as the set-aside sweetheart, the great Andaluzian Gypsy dancer, Jose Greco, the ever-lovely bubbly Thomas Gomez, plotting Kurt Kaszner and a bit part with one of my fav's, Alfonso Bedoya who doesn't say "We don' gotta chow you no stinkin' batches." Alas, no video for this fine, fun film, so you'll have to catch it on the late show. Check out especially, Ricardo Montalban, Rick Jason and Vittorio Gassman singing the lively, "¡Eufemia!" ¡Realmente macanudo!