Curapedi
I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.
DelRey44
The Ritz Bros. are not everyone's cup of tea - imagine making a career of portraying lousy comedians, which they were. Nevertheless, many later comedians, Mel Btooks and Jerry Lewis among them, credit the Ritz Bros. - well actually Harry Ritz - as being great - mostly for trying so hard. Harry was the mainstay of the look-alike trio, with Al and Jimmy as support shadows. They are not really noted as comedians, but rather as entertainers - lots of mugging, making faces, rolling eyes in skits, most of which should never have seen the light of day, synchronized silly dance steps and decent vocals which they often worked hard at ruining. They run true to form in this otherwise breezy little musical that will help pass the time on a rainy day. The plot is typically Ritz Bros nonsensical, but the film gets 5 stars for the Andrews Sisters and Constance Moore music. is the first appearance on film of the Andrews Sisters, who make some mediocre songs very entertaining, while showing a flair for comedy with more lines than they usually get; Constance Moore, a good vocalist, sings a few good songs as the love interest of a young, slim George Reeves (later TV's Superman), who gets to sing a bit. Well, to give them their due, the Ritz Bros. send-up of the Andrews Sisters, replete with frilly dresses and fruit and bead headdresses done to a record that both skips and slow-down-speed up is great - and the basis for the Jerry Lewis send-up of Carmen Miranda in "Scared Stiff."Note that, in this 1940 film, the song "Hall of the Mountain Queen," sung by Bonnie Brooks' band to introduce her, while she plays piano (and then by Bonnie Brooks), they sing that "with her left hand she plays rock and rolla."
boblipton
If you don't like the Ritz Brothers -- and I can only take so much of their mugging myself -- then avoid this Universal B movie. It is not, I hasten to say, a complete waste of time. The best bit in it is a burlesque of those novelty Latin dances from from the Astaires-Rogers movies called 'The Brooklyn Nanga', which runs to the scansion of 'The Carioca'. Once you've mentioned that, you've exhausted the strong points of this movie as everyone heads down to Argentina, where polo-playing George Reeves -- looking like John Carroll -- pretends to be a bandito called 'El Tigre' in order to romance Grace McDonald. Some decent although unmemorable songs and Ritz Brother routines fill out the time and while this is not the best musical ever made, it is a pleasant enough time waster to make you stay through the end --although it won't make fans for any of the talent involved.
