Sat 24 Mar 2012
A Movie Review by Walter Albert: THAT NIGHT IN RIO (1941).
Posted by Steve under Films: Comedy/Musicals , Reviews[3] Comments
THAT NIGHT IN RIO. 20th Century Fox, 1941. Alice Faye, Don Ameche, Carmen Miranda, S. Z. Zakall, J. Carrol Naish. Musical direction by Alfred Newman; Hermes Pan, choreographer; music and lyrics by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren. Director: Irving Cummings. Shown at Cinevent 35, Columbus OH, May 2003.
Oh, that eye-popping technicolor! Great color cinematography makes you want to lap it up like sugar candy, and there was a time when that kind of color was not an unusual occurrence on the screen.
And That Night in Rio, starring a very popular trio of musical comedy performers, matches its eye-grabbing color with vibrant performances that provide some of the movie magic (and it doesn’t have to involve ghosts) that used to be more commonplace.
Well, maybe Alice Faye, a favorite of my errant youth, is somewhat matronly and reserved, but she still cuts a mighty lush figure in a nightgown. (Yes, there’s a semi-naughty bedroom sequence that stays fairly primly but still suggestively on the right side of the Production Code.)
And Carmen Miranda exudes so much energy that it’s relaxing to have Faye taking center screen, with her mellow voice purring seductively in the lyrics for “They Met in Rio.” Ameche’s dual roles may not have the malevolent fierceness of Chaney’s in The Blackbird [reviewed here ], but they suit the well-constructed comic plot to a “T.” A delightful opening film for the Saturday night screenings.
Editorial Comment: To watch a five minute clip from this movie, featuring Carmen Miranda and Don Ameche singing “Chica Chica Boom Chic”, go here on YouTube. Spectacular, indeed!
March 24th, 2012 at 8:30 pm
I never “got” Alice Faye or Ruby Keeler. Don Ameche was from Cedar Rapid, my home town, so I was obliged to like him but except for “Midnight” I never could quite see him (“Midnight” being one of the GREAT screwball comedies). I saw this movie a year or so ago on TCM. I got through it because of the Technicolor. Steve you have one of the finest websites of all time (six years 🙂 Seriously. Night after night there’s something interesting.
March 25th, 2012 at 10:54 am
Five and a half years, Ed, and I think I finally have a sense of what I’m doing. Thanks for the compliment. It’s been a busy, hectic week, and I appreciate it. Thanks too to all the contributors to this blog, to whose words I only add pretty pictures.
As for Alice Faye, I know her only from FALLEN ANGEL, one of my top five noir films ever, and her voice on the PHIL HARRIS-ALICE FAYE SHOW, one of the funniest shows ever on radio. Her musicals I’ve never seen, unfortunately, but in the early forties, before Betty Grable came along, she was probably Fox’s top star, including the box office, where it counts.
March 25th, 2012 at 11:00 am
You won’t get any argument from me about “Midnight.” A great film.
I probably never went to see a film because Don Ameche was in it, but I didn’t avoid his films either. A laid-back, popular star in his day.