Follia messicana

What is left to be said with lyrics like "Muchacha, now I gotcha, like a cat watching a little cucaracha," Pat O'Brien as a leading man, and choreography by Busby Berkley?

Not much.

O'Brien stars with Edward Everett Horton, Duncan Renaldo (ah Cisco for us baby boomers), Glenda Farrell, and the staggeringly beautiful Dolores del Rio in this 1935 film.

O'Brien plays a theater critic who is usually drunk when he writes a review. When his assistant (Horton) drags him to Caliente, Mexico to get him away from the Queen of Breach of Promise (Farrell), he doesn't recognize the dancer Espanita (del Rio) whose New York debut was ruined by his bad review.

He falls madly in love with her. As soon as she realizes who he is, she informs the hotel that although on vacation, she'll give a dance performance in the hotel club.

Most of the ending is comprised of a huge Berkley number, culminating in The Lady in Red. I swear some of the gowns were see-through in the breast area.

For me, Horton's dancing and del Rio were the best things in the film. She was one of the most beautiful women ever. She eventually returned to her native Mexico to play some serious roles in important films. In Hollywood, she was the exotic foreigner. Her career spanned over 50 years.

Worth seeing for Dolores.