Starring Vivian Blaine, Don Ameche, Carmen Miranda, and William Bendix
Directed by Walter Lang
Music and Lyrics by various
After our vacation down in Argentina, how about a trip to downtown New York in the Roaring 20's? Miranda was at her height of popularity around this time as well as Roosevelt's Good Neighbor Policy resulted in an explosion of Latin American culture and themes in American films of the late 30's and 40's. Greenwich Village was still considered to be the spot in New York for artists even in the 40's, but in the 20's, it was a real melting pot. a place where Art rubbed against Commerce, and starving artists could be discovered by the great stage impresarios and publishers.
It was also about the time composers like George Gershwin started taking popular music more seriously and wrote classical pieces with the zip and pizzazz of jazz. How does the arrival of hopeful composer Kenneth Harvey (Ameche) and his attempt to get his music noticed look now? Let's start with Kenneth stepping off the bus at the heart of Greenwich Village in 1922 and find out...
The Story: Kenneth steps right into a speakeasy owned by tough guy Danny O'Mara (Bendix). He wants to put on a major revue to rival Ziegfeld downtown starring his girlfriend Bonnie Watson (Blaine). His other headlining performer is "Princess" Querida O'Toole (Miranda), who does a fortune teller act between shows. She thinks Kenneth is rich after he flashes money around, but it turns out that's all the money he has on him. Danny doesn't like Bonnie's interest in Kenneth, but he still convinces Danny to write music for their show.
Kenneth is excited when violinist Hofer (Felix Bressart) claims the great producer Kavosky (Emil Rameau) wants to hear his music. Hofer, however, isn't as well-known in the classical music business as he claims, and Danny still wants to use Kenneth's music in the revue, whether he likes it or not. Kenneth now thinks everyone in New York is out to exploit him and his music, and ending up in jail with bootleg liquor doesn't help matters. Bonnie, Querida, and his friends in Greenwich Village, however, won't let him or his music go so easily.
The Song and Dance: Miranda and Ameche dominate this look at how popular music began to be taken more seriously in the 20's, with Bendix getting in as the jealous but well-meaning Danny. Ameche has one of his better musical performances as the hopeful composer, while Miranda is a riot as the South American lady with an eye for men with big wads of cash. There's also lovable con-man Bressart and B.S Pully as Danny's none-too-bright bouncer. The sets and costumes burst in utterly stunning Technicolor, some of the best from this decade. Everything pops, whether it's the get-ups in the costume ball mid-way through or Miranda's flowing jewel-toned tropical confections.
Favorite Number: We kick off with the most unique rendition of "I'm Just Wild About Harry" on film as Miranda gives it her signature touch, backed by a pirate combo on part of a ship. Blaine and Ameche go "Swinging Down the Lane" in a charming duet, which is cut off by the arrival of Danny and a massive party. Ameche, Bendix, Pully, and Bressart form their own brief but adorable barbershop quartet for "When You Wore a Tulip and I Wore a Big Red Rose." Dancers Sally and Tony DeMarco join the chorus outside of their deli as they declare to all of Greenwich Village that "This Is My Lucky Day." The entire cast gets in on "It's All for Art's Sake" that they're involved in debauchery during that colorful costume ball.
Miranda's "I Like to Be Loved By You" is actually a leftover that was cut from Springtime In the Rockies, and it does seem a little spliced-in. The actual 20's ballad "Whispering" is performed at least three times by Blaine, including in Danny's apartment in the beginning and near the end at the revue. Black group The Four Step Brothers give the middle of the movie a lift with their awesome jazzy rendition of "It Goes Down to Your Toes." The movie ends with Miranda claiming "Give Me a Band and a Bandanna" as she rhumbas her way through segments from other songs. The DeMarcos turn up again with their lively number to "June Night."
What I Don't Like: First of all, while the costumes are gorgeous, they're not historically accurate. Nor is the music, even the songs that really were written during the 20's like "Whispering." It looks and sounds like 1944 for the entire film. Danny won't even allow the constantly-mentioned bootleg whiskey in his place. The flimsy plot can even come off as a bit mean-spirited when Hofer takes Kenneth for a ride and Danny allows it; even Bonnie calls Danny on it. Speaking of, this was not Blaine's first film, but she never did develop the down-to-Earth flare that Grable and Faye did and comes off at best as good-natured and at worst as bland.
The Big Finale: Lighthearted fun for fans of Miranda, Ameche, or the 20th Century Fox Technicolor extravaganzas of the 1940's.
Home Media: DVD only as part of the Marquis Musicals series and The Carmen Miranda Collection.
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