Serenata argentina

Irving Cummings takes on a fun tour to Argentina. This is a happy musical that defies all logic as the writers Rian James and Ralph Spence appear to be telling us we're in Argentina, but taking us to Havana, by way of Rio de Janeiro. Talk about a confusion of styles!

Once the viewer gets over the jet lag caused by the disorientation, we are introduced to the Crawford girls, Glenda and Binnie and the Quintana boys, Don Diego and Ricardo. Both these families have grown apart by something that happened long ago in Paris, when Glenda's father stole Don Diego's girlfriend. They're horse people and we are shown the Argentine estancia that looks more like a Mexican hacienda, but we go along for the ride. There's even a fiesta in the town where Binnie makes a splash dancing and being admired by the locals. There are the inevitable night club hopping scene where Carmen Miranda and the Nicholas Brothers are headlining. We see everyone dancing the craze of those years, a Cuban rhumba!

Talk about a melange of styles!

The costume designer Travis Burton dresses Ms. Grable and Ms. Greenwood in creations that might have been popular back home, but no sophisticated Argentine women would have been caught wearing them. Otherwise how can Mr. Burton show Betty Grable in that "American Flag" shmatte? How about the typical Cuban rhumba dancer dress at the end?

The musical numbers are fine, but hello?, aren't we in Buenos Aires, a mild interpretation of a tango wouldn't have been out of place! Someone commented on Carmen Miranda's dancing, but in her two numbers she only shakes her hips and that's the extent of what she does. The amazing Nicholas Brothers fare better because they were the best in the business.

Betty Grable and Don Ameche are fine playing with the material they were given. Charlotte Greenwood, Henry Stephenson, Leonard Kinskey and J. Carroll Naish seem to have a great deal of fun with their characters. As a curiosity, we get a glimpse of Elena Verdugo, who later became famous for her television work, just for a moment.

The film is entertaining once we realize we have been taken for a mindless ride down the Argentine way.

'Down Argentine Way' is notable for being the American debut of Carmen Miranda and the film that made Betty Grable a star. This said, while the casting seemed unlikely initially (for example Alice Faye was intended for the character played by Betty Grable), they mostly come off well and 'Down Argentine Way' manages to entertain enormously.

Sure, while there is so much to enjoy for many it is also to see why others won't connect with it. One says that one shouldn't see a musical for its story, which in a way can be seen as true seeing as even in the classic musicals the story tended to be not as good as the rest of the respective films. Here though the story is thin on the ground, feeling stretched and has its implausible stretches.

The romance between Don Ameche and Betty Grable has many moments of endearing charm, but that Grable replaced an indisposed Alice Faye due to illness makes the chemistry not quite as natural as it could have been. This may have been that Ameche and Faye had worked together a few times before and Grable was in her film debut, so didn't know Ameche as well.

Harry Stephenson on paper couldn't have been a more unlikely and dubious choice for his role and in the final product is for me quite badly miscast. He is not being remotely believable as a Argentinian, which did to me took away hugely from the rest of his performance, with an accent that is phoney at best and comes and goes quicker than one can down a can of fizzy drinks.

On the other hand, 'Down Argentine Way' looks great, with gorgeous use of colour and lavish production design. The songs are lively and infectious, no standards but it's the quality of the music itself and the way it's used that matters more and 'Down Argentine Way' succeeds in those areas.

'Down Argentine Way's' script crackles with wit, energy and charm and the film is rarely dull due to so much being so good. Ameche is as ever suave and charming and Grable's beguiling performance deservedly made her a star.

With the exception of Stephenson the supporting cast work very well. Miranda is not in the film much and her scenes don't necessarily add much to the story and narratively may feel like padding, but she is absolute dynamite in her American debut and her two songs are two of the film's most catchy. J. Carroll Naish is amusing, the Nicholas Brothers dazzle with their athletic dancing and Leonid Kinsky succeeds in making buffoonery not annoying, but the best supporting turn comes from a note-perfect Charlotte Greenwood.

In summary, not great but hugely entertaining, foibles and all. 7/10 Bethany Cox

One of the best Betty Grable musicals. As always the plot is unbelievably vacuous but who cares really? When you have the tippy-tappy Grable (doing what she does best), Carmen Miranda (in her American debut), Don Ameche (speaking in a nice Spanish accent), and the Nicholas Brothers (with their usual dance specialties) all in one movie, the implausible plot and meet-cutes are beside the point. The slick lively tunes and dances are more than enough to like this fluffy musical fiesta set in Argentina.

If you liked "Down Argentine Way", see also "Springtime in the Rockies"(1942)

Despite it's paper thin plot or saran wrap plot, DOWN ARGENTINE WAY is kind of fun, especially seeing it in this day and age. The DVD is outstanding with the colors very bright and chic, the way Foxs' musicals have always been. This put Betty Grable on the map and she is a fine replacement for Alice Faye. Maybe better, since Betty was a much better dancer as a couple of numbers have been added to the plot because of her. Carmen Miranda doesn't really have a role. She is just featured in a couple of night club scenes. Looks like her scenes were added on and has no bearing on the plot. Don Ameche is fine with his very good accent. The real standouts are Charlotte Greenwood and especially the Nocholas brothers. They must be seen to be believed. Like Miranda, they have no bearing in the story, just a showcase for their amazing dancing. For these reasons alone, see this one. Now Fox needs to release THAT NIGHT IN RIO and THE GANGS ALL HERE on DVD, as well as some other Betty Grables.

Betty finally got lucky in landing the staring role in this one after Alice Faye,the intended star, pleaded exhaustion. Fox had picked up her contract only months before, after Betty had had enough of Paramount not knowing what to do with her. She was doubly lucky in that this was also Carmen Miranda's first Hollywood film. Fox wanted to show off Carmen's colorful costumes, thus filmed the show in Technicolor, an uncommon luxury at this time, even for musicals. Yet, Carmen was not in a position to steal the show from Betty. She was still contracted to a nightclub in NYC, thus her limited screen time had to be filmed in NYC, away from the rest of the cast. No doubt, Fox also wanted to test the response of US audiences to Carmen before featuring her more. Thus, this film served as the launching pad for the celebrity of two of the biggest Hollywood stars of the '40s.

The story, though quite implausible, is important to the film. Two wealthy American or Argentine horse breeding families meet and have their problems as well as attractions. In one scene, Betty unexpectedly sees Argentinian Ricardo Quintana(Don Ameche) in a Buenos Aires nightclub, having been escorted by another man she just met. She drops her date and accompanies Ameche to a more private room, where they talk, not having seen each other since their falling out in the US over the reneged offer to buy Ameche's horse. Betty pretends to forgive Ameche and to warm up to his advances, then suddenly slaps his face and walks out, saying that's what she really came to Argentina to do. One would think that to be the end of their association, but actually it was just a new beginning. She really is attracted to him, but wanted first to get even for the disappointment he had caused her. I thought Betty and Ameche had good chemistry,as they would show again the following year in "Moon over Miami". Ameche is quite handsome and always immaculately dressed, and Betty wears a variety of beautiful outfits. To me, Betty looked and acted like a blond, blue-eyed, singing-dancing version of Olivia DeHaviland. Both had great appeal. Ameche could sing tolerably well in solos and duets with Betty. Unlike most of the Fox musicals of the early '40s involving Betty, Alice Faye or Sonja Henje, the romance between the stars is put on sound footing relatively early, rather than doing a flip flop at the end.

The supporting cast was fine, and included some stars in themselves. Charlotte Greenwood, who would appear in quite a few of Fox's musicals over the next few years, serves as Betty's aunt, and is the featured singer-dancer in a number or two. She was famous for her sidewise high kick. Henry Stephenson made a very credible Argentenian aristocrat, as Ameche's father. Carrol Nash added some down-on-the-farm atmosphere to the mostly aristocratic banter. However, I would have preferred the originally cast Cesar Romero in place of Leonid Kinskey, as the sly gigolo. But, perhaps Cesar would have been too handsome and polished to resist. The Nicholas Brothers, who would appear again in the Fox musicals "Sun Valley Serenade" and "Orchestra Wives", were an added major attraction, with their unique acrobatic dance routines. Several other singing and dancing groups were also featured, taking more of the load off the stars. One, consisting of 6 men and a girl, had the cute name of The Six Hits and a Miss.

The commentary by Sylvia Stoddard and the bio of Betty on my DVD are quite worthwhile. According to the commentary, although Fox was pressured by FDR to make some Latin American-oriented feature films, as part of his effort to keep these countries from joining the Axis in the developing WWII, the effort backfired. The Argentinians were offended by the Hollywood inaccuracies in their Spanish accents and portrayal of the details of the Argentine aristocracy. They also didn't like the inclusion of Carmen, a Brazilian, in a film supposedly set mostly in Argentina. Thus, as in the case of "The King and I", which offended Thais in the portrayal of their past king, the film was banned in the country it was supposed to bring to the American public.