IMDb > You Were Never Lovelier (1942)

You Were Never Lovelier (1942) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
7.3/10   842 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 4% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Carlos A. Olivari (story) and
Sixto Pondal Ríos (story) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for You Were Never Lovelier on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
19 November 1942 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
Hayworth's glowing beauty! Astaire's glorious rhythm! Kern's greatest score since "Show Boat"! more
Plot:
The Acunas, a rich Argentine family, have the tradition that the daughters have to get married in order... more | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for 3 Oscars. more
User Comments:
Rita Hayworth, YOU were never lovelier... more (29 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Fred Astaire ... Robert 'Bob' Davis

Rita Hayworth ... Maria Acuña

Adolphe Menjou ... Eduardo Acuña
Isobel Elsom ... Mrs. Maria Castro
Leslie Brooks ... Cecy Acuña
Adele Mara ... Lita Acuña
Gus Schilling ... Fernando 'Fernie', Acuña's Secretary
Barbara Brown ... Mrs. Delfina Acuña
Douglas Leavitt ... Juan Castro
Xavier Cugat and His Orchestra ... Themselves
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Xavier Cugat ... Himself - 'Cugie'
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Tuesday's Orchids (USA) (working title)
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Runtime:
97 min | Argentina:100 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The dance to "You Were Never Lovelier" was cut from the film after the previews. more
Goofs:
Continuity: Before he gets out of Mr. Acuņa room, Cugat takes from him a sheet of paper and holds it unfolded. When he passes the door out the paper is folded. more
Quotes:
Eduardo Acuña: What's gotten into you, Maria? Nice girls don't act this way.
Maria Acuña: [Naughtily] Nice girls don't feel the way I do.
Eduardo Acuña: Why, you're brazen!
Maria Acuña: How could I be... with a heart like an ice cube?
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Rita Hayworth: The Columbia Lady (2000) (V) more
Soundtrack:
Bridal Chorus (Here Comes the Bride) more

FAQ

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7 out of 11 people found the following comment useful.
Rita Hayworth, YOU were never lovelier..., 12 June 2006
8/10
Author: Jem Odewahn from Australia

...and Fred Astaire was never as boyishly charming as he is here. This is a lovely, escapist, feel-good musical made in the early 40's to appease WW2-weary audiences. This is Rita and Fred's second (and final) outing after the surprise success of 'You'll Never Get Rich', and, while the first film was very enjoyable, this is an improvement on it's predecessor.

Hayworth shines as the girl who's not very interested in marriage until a 'secret admirer' and Fred Astaire come into the picture. She's very beautiful and glamorous in the role; the 'Cansino-to-Hayworth' transformation was going along nicely at the film's time of release. Astaire is always very appealing, and he does light comedy quite well. This hs a far sharper script than 'You'll Never Get Rich' and benefits from the non-wartime backdrop. Yes, the war was going on when Rita and Fred were making dancing magic, but you'd never know it from the happy little self-contained vacuum that Columbia creates for the pair in a story meant to be set in exotic South America.

I guess Rita, with her Latin roots, was the perfect choice for Maria, and she manages to outdo the master Astaire in the Latino-inspired dance routines. Her singing is dubbed, but Rita's dancing is sublime and her acting is very effective.

This film also has more memorable songs than the 1941 Astaire-Hayworth outing (I don't particularly like to compare, but it's hard not to), with 'You Were Never Lovelier', 'Shorty George' and 'I'm Old Fashioned' being great tunes. 'Shorty George' entranced me so much that I re-played the sequence on DVD three times before I moved forward in the film!

It doesn't have much of a plot, but we know that Astaire's musicals were always light on this factor so we can be forgiving. What it does have is a perfect, innocent sweetness that cannot possibly be recaptured today. From early scenes with Astaire trying to make conservation with a haughty Rita, to the final scene where the awkward yet lovable Fred arrives as Rita's 'knight in shining armor' on a white horse, 'You Were Never Lovelier' is just...well, lovely.

8/10.

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