Not as well known as Dolores del Rio or Lupe Velez, this lovely Cuban fireball came along a decade after Lupe Velez struck gold is the "Mexican Spitfire". If her Carmelita was every inch the hot tempered stereotypical senorita, Estelita went out of her way to tone that reputation down. She's fiery, but not in the vase throwing antics way that Velez was. She's equally as free spirited and unpredictable, but her character gets the laughs for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time, causing chaos more through accidents than through her temperament. Imagine Lucy and Ricky switching genders, and you've got the Cuban version of Lucy Ricardo.
Also winning laughs is the hysterically funny Florence Bates who seemed to enjoy playing stuffy society matrons who get their comeuppance. She's the wife of American businessman Hugh Herbert, visiting Cuba on business and biting off more than any American businessman could chew. Suspecting something amiss between her husband and Rodriguez, Bates keeps trying to entrap them, all the while when Rodriguez falls heavily for Texan Bill Williams.
This farce is fast and furious with a ton of sight gags, a few Spanish songs (including "Babalu"), and outstanding performances all round. Fortunio Bonanova as Rodriguez's father, Rosa Turich as her maid and Leon Belasco as a wanna be dictator offer fine support. Republic pictures showed that it had what it took to make fine movies above their B budgets, and this ranks among the best of the many I've seen in their output.
Also winning laughs is the hysterically funny Florence Bates who seemed to enjoy playing stuffy society matrons who get their comeuppance. She's the wife of American businessman Hugh Herbert, visiting Cuba on business and biting off more than any American businessman could chew. Suspecting something amiss between her husband and Rodriguez, Bates keeps trying to entrap them, all the while when Rodriguez falls heavily for Texan Bill Williams.
This farce is fast and furious with a ton of sight gags, a few Spanish songs (including "Babalu"), and outstanding performances all round. Fortunio Bonanova as Rodriguez's father, Rosa Turich as her maid and Leon Belasco as a wanna be dictator offer fine support. Republic pictures showed that it had what it took to make fine movies above their B budgets, and this ranks among the best of the many I've seen in their output.
