User reviews

POLLARD AND ALVAREZ give some demonstrations on how to become a good dancer, while at the same time we're treated to some bad examples of people doing the Rhumba and the Conga.

Pollard and Alvarez are a dignified Latin dance duo who demonstrate the knee action, the side step, basic box step, walking step and hand turn which can all be executed while doing the Rhumba.

Liveliest part of this short musical is the latter section devoted to the Conga rhythms, a native Cuban dance which is first demonstrated as a dance for two and then the traditional Conga line.

A Latin orchestra does a nice job on all the pulsating music while the dancing goes on.

Summing up: A lively and amusing short on Latin rhythm that takes time to demonstrate a few intricate steps.

A Smith called Pete keeps talking about the Rhuuumba --- yes, there are that many 'u's in the word, the way he pronounces it, as if he doesn't take this whole thing very seriously.

It's based on a book by the world's greatest authority on the Rhumba. No, not Xavier Cugat: Arthur Murray. Who could possibly know more about a South American dance than a Scots-American? Yet here Pete is, working hard to get you to master this valuable skill. And the conga, too. Nice of him to take the time.

Cuban Rhythm (1941)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Pete Smith short demonstrates the twist and turns of Cuban dancing. Professional dancers Madeline Pollard and Mickey Alvarez show us various moves to do and shows what type of stuff not to do. We get to see how you should move her first, where to place your hands and so on. After this we get to see some average joe's stepping up and doing the moves and needless to say things aren't as smooth. This is a fairly entertaining short that works as a documentary on the dancing but only a few of the laughs from Smith come through. One large guy trying to do the dance gets a pretty good laugh. The Conga dancing is certainly the highlight.