In the late 1930s, Carmen Miranda was a VERY hot item. In Brazil, she was queen of the Samba—and folks in the States really loved her as well. Her popularity was such that Twentieth Century-Fox gave her a HUGE contract to come to America even though she could barely speak English! And, her films were immensely popular and made a mint for the studio. At the same time, several other studios attempted to create their own Carmen Mirandas—with much less success. One was Movita*—whose only real similarity to Miranda were her apparent Brazilian roots. But her singing and style were NOTHING like the real thing—and this film is ample proof why she, too, didn't become a household name.
The film begins with a horrid scene. Movita was talking to her immensely untalented maid. I say immensely untalented because the lady simply could not deliver her lines—stumbling over them and sounding about as convincing as Mr. Potatohead! At least this helped to make Movita look much more talented by comparison.
The story is about the lady's brother. He's in America—held in prison on arson and murder charges! When Movita learns of this, she leaves her lucrative career in Brazil and zips to America. She soon learns that her brother in married (you'd sure think she'd know about this considering it's been five months) and moves in with his wife. Later, with the help of her friend (Warren Hull), Movita gets a job at a nightclub in order to do some undercover work to prove her brother's innocence. In the process, she sings lots of songs (none of which sound the least bit like the Samba) and miraculously saves the day.
So is there anything to recommend the film? Nothing especially, though occasionally the film is mildly interesting. Unfortunately, as Movita has little charisma in the film and her singing is pretty awful, I can easily understand how this one slipped under the radar! Not terrible
but not at all good. And, a film with a terrible ending that I would have a hard time describing—it's that dumb. For Movita groupies only.
By the way, it was inexplicable that the secret code spoken by Movita was in Spanish, not Portuguese. Didn't the folks who made this film know that folks in Brazil do NOT speak Spanish?! So, would you like to know where in Brazil Movita hailed? Arizona, USA, actually!! This lady later went on to become Mrs. Marlon Brando and is the last remaining living member of the cast of "Mutiny on the Bounty". Because she was not Brazilian, you have to feel sorry for her and can understand why the film turned out father poorly.
