You Were Never Lovelier
by William A. Seiter
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Adolphe Menjou, Fred Astaire, Isobel Elsom, Leslie Brooks, Rita HayworthDirector: William A. Seiter
Brand: Sony
Cinematographer: Ted Tetzlaff
Producer: Louis F. Edelman
Writer: Carlos A. Olivari
Writer: Delmer Daves
Writer: Ernest Pagano
Writer: Michael Fessier
Writer: Sixto Pondal R?os
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Japanese (Subtitled)
Format: Black & White, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 97 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-05-25
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Sony Pictures
Movie Reviews of You Were Never Lovelier
Movie Review: Astaire and an Alluring Hayworth Dance to Jerome Kern and Rise Above the Predictable Shenanigans
Summary: 4 Stars
This movie is appropriately titled, as it's hard to imagine a woman more breathtakingly beautiful than Rita Hayworth in the early 1940's. The fact that she was an accomplished dancer - reportedly Fred Astaire's favorite partner - only adds to her ethereal, otherworldly appeal. Their second and sadly last pairing in this lightweight 1942 confection hardly does justice to either star, but it's a pleasant enough romantic comedy highlighted by just two numbers where they dance together. Those unparalleled moments are worth slogging through the silly plot co-penned by Michael Fessier, Ernest Pagano, and Delmer Daves.
Directed by studio journeyman William A. Seiter, the film has American hoofer Bob Davis in Buenos Aires losing his savings at the racetrack. Looking for work, he seeks a chance to audition for hotel owner Eduardo Acuna. Enlisting the help of bandleader Xavier Cugat (Charo's future husband) and his orchestra, he fails to impress Acuna. However, through various plot machinations including mistaken identity and parental scheming, Bob meets and becomes smitten with Acuna's headstrong daughter Maria, who has decided she will never marry. This upsets her two giggly younger sisters who cannot marry their respective sweethearts until Maria marries. The resolution to this dilemma is predictable, but it is all wrapped in a soundtrack that combines Latin rhythms and sonorous songs by Jerome Kern. One of the composer's best, the ?ber-romantic "I'm Old-Fashioned", provides the film's unequivocal high point as Hayworth lip syncs the classic chestnut to Nan Wynn's dusky alto and moves into a graceful pas de deux with Astaire peppered with a Latin-flavored interlude.
On the other end of the spectrum is the be-bop delight, "Shorty George" where a bobby-socked Hayworth tap dances with impressive abandon as she matches Astaire step for step. Astaire's artistry goes without saying, although Bob is pretty much like every hapless character he played in all those movies with Ginger Rogers. At 24, Hayworth is such a serene object of desire as Maria that it's no wonder Astaire's character is rendered speechless and asks her to turn around to avoid further embarrassment. Adolphe Menjou is his usual pompous blowhard as Acuna though hardly believable as an Argentinean, while Cugat seems far more at ease with a baton than with a script. Compared with their 1941 film, You'll Never Get Rich, this movie has a more fanciful tone without the wartime context, but the highlights are less frequent. This was Hayworth's favorite film, and apparently a fifteen-year-old Fidel Castro is among the extras. The 2004 DVD offers no additional features.
Summary of You Were Never Lovelier
Whos been sending this argentine beauty orchids & love notes? she thinks she knows who - but shes wrong! Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 05/23/2006 Starring: Fred Astaire Xavier Cugat Run time: 97 minutes Rating: NrThe devil is in the details when it comes to this effervescent Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth musical. The slight storyline is a hook upon which to hang dance sequences, bits of humor, and songs by Jerome Kern and Johnny Mercer. Set in Buenos Aires, it's a remake of an Argentine feature from the previous year and followed You'll Never Get Rich. Astaire stars as a professional hoofer and Hayworth is Adolphe Menjou's second oldest daughter. The wealthy businessman won't let his youngest daughters marry until Maria (Hayworth) ties the knot. She couldn't care less--until a case of mistaken identity leads her to believe that Robert (Astaire) is in love with her (he's just looking for a job at her father's club). Highlights include a tap dance set to "Shorty George" and the Oscar?-nominated "Dearly Beloved," which is sung by both leads (with Hayworth dubbed by Nan Wynn). --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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