Down Argentine Way
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Movie Reviews of Down Argentine Way
Movie Review: fine, classic movie musical with scenery and entertainment
Summary: 5 Stars
Down Argentine Way is a delightful, light fare type of early 1940s movie musical that should charm just about anyone who loves this type of motion picture. We get fine performances from great stars including Betty Grable, Don Ameche, Carmen Miranda and the incredible dancing Nicholas Brothers! The plot moves along at a good pace and the acting was quite convincing.
The action starts when horse lover Glenda Crawford (Betty Grable) and her mother Binnie Crawford (Charlotte Greenwood) are at the racetrack--once again. It seems the Crawford family has always loved horses and they race them, too. Glenda sees a fine race horse and she wants to buy the horse--trouble is, however, that the horse belongs to crabby Don Diego Quintana (Henry Stephenson), who harbors a long and somewhat silly personal grudge against Willis Crawford, the patriarch of the Crawford family.
Anyway, Glenda and Binnie go to Argentina after their first attempt to buy horses from Quintana doesn't go over very well. It's also not long before Glenda falls in love with Quintana's son Ricardo Quintana (Don Ameche) who is equally charmed by Glenda. The young couple tries to pass Glenda Crawford off to Don Quintana as Glenda Cunningham in the hopes that he will like her and then not care if she's a Crawford; but that too has its complications.
Meanwhile there's a horse bred for racing--will Don Quintana ever let the horse race? It's a flimsy subplot but the few horse races that we do see in this film enhance the action; and that's all right by me!
Look for some excellent song and dance numbers--remember, these plots were practically just excuses for the studio to film fabulous song and dance numbers. Rumor has it that after the public first saw The Nicholas Brothers dance they cheered so much the projectionist had to rewind the film to show their scene again! Charlotte Greenwood also scores big with her nearly unbelievable ability to kick way high with her legs as she merrily dances in another number. Betty Grable dances very well, too. In addition, this film marks Carmen Miranda's film debut; she sings a couple of songs during the movie as well as a brief tune at the very beginning of the movie. Carmen sparkles even when they weren't playing her up as much as they did in later films!
The DVD comes with a superlative extra on the life and times of Betty Grable. She really did seem like an especially sweet gal who actually didn't want too much out of life and enjoyed her private family life as best as she could. The quality of the still photos in the extra on Betty Grable is excellent. There is also a running but optional commentary for people who want to know what went on behind the scenes as this movie was being filmed. Great!
Overall, Down Argentine Way is a musical well worth seeing. I usually reserve five stars for a MGM musical; but this time Fox really did it up right! Fans of classic movie musicals cannot afford to miss this one!
Movie Review: Not Too Sophisticated, But A Lot Of Fun
Summary: 5 Stars
DOWN ARGENTINE WAY is a fun movie, plain and simple. It's a lighthearted Romeo and Juliet-esque story with a not so tragic ending. Betty Grable stars as Glenda Crawford, the fun loving daughter of a well to do industrialist. She spends most of her days looking at horses and chumming around with her amusing Aunt Binne (Charlotte Greenwood). She meets Ricardo Quintana, the son of a horse breeder from Argentina. She falls in love with him and hopes to buy a horse from him, but the deal falls through when Ricardo realizes that she is the daughter of his father's enemy. He snubs her, she doesn't understand why, so she and Aunt Binnie travel to Argentina so that she can slap his face. Of course she slaps his face, and the film progresses as one would expect--the two fall in love and all ends happily. While the basic plotline is predictable, it's fun to see just how the film will be resolved.
Of course most people who buy this film are not all that interested in the story, and will overlook its flaws: bad Spanish accents, what would be considered derogatory stereotypes if the film were made today and a few confusing characters. The singing and dancing numbers are what musical lovers enjoy, and this has some great moments. For one, we see Carmen Miranda starring as Carmen Miranda. How the Brazilian Bombshell ends up in Argentina we never know, but she's at a nightclub and she's the city's main entertainment attraction and it's fun to watch. We also see the Nicholas Brothers dance a tap number that doesn't seem all that Latino in flavor, but it's the Nicholas Brothers so we really don't care, we are just amazed at how they can move as they do. There's also a great number involving Aunt Binne. She and her escort arrive at a street festival and everyone in the festival seems pleased that this well to do WASP from New York decides to sing a song about courting a senorita. Charlotte Greenwood's moves are comical and skillful and it's the sort of scene you watch over and over. Betty Grable and Don Ameche hold their own as the stars, and their musical and dance numbers are good too.
In the end, DOWN ARGENTINE WAY is an enjoyable movie with great musical numbers that make it worth the price alone.
Movie Review: "DOWN ARGENTINE WAY"- DVD
Summary: 5 Stars
Wonderful FOX musical with great Technicolor! Carmen Miranda's first U.S. film. Although she appears in only three numbers and has no speaking part she almost steals the show from Grable! The public wanted to see more of her and they did with Carmen making more musicals for FOX and becoming the highest paid actress in Hollywood at that time. Though her career was brief (only14 U.S. Films) she left a lasting impression. Grable shows off her gams and peaches and cream complexion with Don Ameche in this Argentine horse racing themed picture. Charlotte Greenwood does her traditional high kick number and other supporting cast members show their stuff...the Nicholas Brothers are superb! This time all the mini-lobby cards are there...unlike the "Weekend in Havana" DVD where only one was included in the beautiful packaging. However in the brochure one photo that was used was not from this film nor was Betty Grable in it that movie, it was Miranda's only top billing in the Fox Musical "Greenwich Village". All in all this is a terrific DVD...now lets hope for more Grable/Miranda films on DVD...FOX, what are you waiting for????Movie Review: LUSH FOX MUSICAL....
Summary: 5 Stars
Typically escapist Technicolor Fox wartime musical with the handsome Don Ameche, the gorgeous Betty Grable, the marvelous Charlotte Greenwood and the glittering Carmen Miranda as herself. Set against a backdrop of horse racing and Latin America, Grable jockeys to buy a horse from Ameche and falls for his Latin charms. The plot is somewhat stronger here than in other Fox extravanganzas with serious consideration to the racing aspects of the story but there are musical numbers galore and Travis Banton costumes to match. The Technicolor is ravishing as is the photography. Laugh (or groan) at the cornball characterizations and stereotypical views of Latins as hustlers or Romeos but the film is justifiably beautiful to look at. And as usual, there's a joyous "feel-good" theme running throughout meant to bolster the morale of the Nation during WW2. Grable even wears a red, white and blue gown at one point. The DVD print is stunning. Very much a relic of it's era and a nostalgic reminder of what movies were about before TV. A collector's item for sure with lobby cards included and other extras.Movie Review: Technicolor escape to the past & beautiful Betty
Summary: 5 Stars
Filmed in jewel-like Technicolor, Down Argentine Way is the perfect escapism musical. Does it have anything remotely historically accurate? No (if you're looking for that, you aren't a fan of Twentieth Century Fox musicals). Does it have political correctness? No (you MUST be kidding!). Does it have the fabulous Betty Grable, Carmen Miranda and Nicholas Brothers and the ever-charming Don Ameche? You BET! And, as always, that makes it worthwhile. I've had the VHS for years and decided to upgrade to the DVD to get the extras ( A & E Biography channel profile of Betty Grable, photos and more). As of this writing, so many of Betty Grable's films are not available even on VHS, let alone DVD. Perhaps some day Fox will see that there's a market for these films and actually release them. Currently unavailable on either VHS or DVD are: Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe, Sweet Rosie O'Grady, When My Baby Smiles at Me, The Shocking Miss Pilgrim, Call Me Mister and Coney Island. Be aware if you buy these - they are bootlegs.