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!

Perhaps the most beautiful casting in classic cinema in almost a fantasy-like small Mexican town, this movie reads like short stories similar to a fairy tale (or folk tale) background. There's little subplots intertwining Cyd Charisse, Yvonne De Carlo, Pier Angeli, Ricardo Montalban and Vittorio Gassman. It's quite entertaining if not a bit odd with Cyd Charisse's climax dance on the mountain. She also danced with Ricardo Montalban in several movies (Mark of the Renegade, On An Island With You, The Kissing Bandit, and Fiesta) and they make a gorgeous pairing. Surprisingly and sadly after their success, the director/producers for this film didn't put them together for this film. Still it's a happy, charming tale. Objectively I rate it a 6 but due to the wonderful casting and Cyd dancing, it's a 7.

This movie is really hard to find since there's no DVD out there so you have to view it on an old videotape (that may be converted to DVD) or wait until TCM shows it (maybe once a year if at all).

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!

I don't understand why it shows such a low rating of 5.4 for this movie on this page. I saw it in the movie house way back in the 1950;s when I was a teenager and I remembered it over the years. Its a adorable funny/tragic story that keeps on your mind for years to come. And so many well know actors playing great parts. I give only one movie 10 stars and I give Sombrero 9 stars. Watch it, you will be glad you did.