That Night in Rio

As a lifelong fan of musicals, and who tries to find merit in even the lesser/worst ones, 'That Night in Rio' is a more than worthwhile one. No classic, hardly a stinker, instead very entertaining.

Its weak point is the story, which is not much of one and is more an excuse to string along the songs and production numbers together. When there is signs of a story, there is a constant recycled feel and plausibility is cast to the wind and thrown out the window. People always argue about whether one should see musicals for the story, there are numerous times where it doesn't but it does depend on how well done everything else is.

There is actually very little to dislike about 'That Night in Rio' and everything else is done very well indeed, and more, but with so much effort put into everything else it was a shame that the effort doesn't really translate in the story and it sticks out like a sore thumb. SZ Sakall and J Carroll Naish, while still good, deserved more to do in quite limited and clichéd roles, Sakall especially is very close to wasted.

However, 'That Night in Rio' looks great, with beautiful production values and costumes, luminous photography and lavish colour. The sets are obviously back lot-bound and the lack of evocative Rio locations to lust after is somewhat of a disappointment, the good news is that the sets are still very handsomely constructed, colourful and pleasing. The songs are lively, full of energy and truly lovely to listen to, "Boa Nite" is a beautiful romantic song but Carmen Miranda's exuberant and riotous "I, Yi, Yi, Yi, Yi (I Like You Very Much)" and "Chica Chica Boom Chic" stand out the most.

Script-wise, 'That Night in Rio' is witty and the romantic aspects are adorable and charming, always on the right side of charm and sweetness without laying it on too thick with the sugar and sentiment. The film never loses its energy thanks to the songs, production numbers and the cast, despite the story threatening to grind things to a halt which luckily it never quite does.

Don Ameche plays his two roles with dashing charm, elegance and witty bravado, and Alice Faye has energy and substance. Shining brightest is none other than "The Brazilian Bombshell" or "The Chiquita Banana Girl" (the one and only) Carmen Miranda, whose delightful presence is the bees knees and makes the jaw drop.

All in all, a very worthwhile night in Rio especially for Miranda. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Poor Don Ameche must have felt like something of a doormat. In her first film Carmen Miranda stole the film from him and Betty Grable in Down Argentina Way. Now Ameche with new co-star Alice Faye got upended again by Miranda in That Night In Rio. Don Ameche if nothing else was a gentleman and one of the classiest men in Hollywood. He got his licks in That Night In Rio playing a dual role.

If this plot seems familiar it was previously done as Folies Bergere with Maurice Chevalier and afterward by Danny Kaye in On The Double. Ameche is a prominent Brazilian financier who is married to Alice Faye and something of a cold fish. He's also a visiting American entertainer who is going out with Carmen Miranda and as part of his act does a dead on impersonation of the financier with a little more pizazz.

Circumstances have Curt Bois and S.Z. Sakall come to the entertainer to have him impersonate the financier for 24 hours while the financier goes out of town for some really delicate business negotiations. The entertainer succeeds in arousing the sleeping woman in Faye and the sleeping tiger in Miranda with the impersonation. I think you can figure the rest out.

Harry Warren and Mack Gordon wrote the score, but the songs that Faye and Ameche sing are barely noticeable. But I Yi Yi Yi I Like You Very Much and Chica-Boom-Chic became a staple of Carmen Miranda's nightclub act for the rest of her life. And the way she sings them, hey no one else has ever even tried to do those numbers, you can't possibly imitate that style.

For Carmen Miranda fans who are still legion, the world over.

This is one of my absolute favorite Fox musicals, photographed in the studio's idiosyncratic garish Technicolor, featuring Carmen Miranda in her second American appearance; Alice Faye and Don Ameche in their last pairing. Ameche is in a double role: playing a Rio nightclub entertainer Larry Martin and a rich airline businessman Baron Duarte.

"That Night in Rio" starts explosively with Miranda's entertainingly flashy number "Chicka Chicka Boom Chick" in Rio. Then Carmen's boyfriend Martin enters while riding a car. After hordes of couples dance to Carmen's colorful spectacle, Baron Duarte and his wife Baroness (Alice Faye) arrive. Martin announces he is going to impersonate the Baron. In a musical number, he does it brilliantly. The Baron is very impressed and goes off to backstage to meet him and Carmen. While he is in backstage, Martin courts the Baroness and does another fine Duarte impression. But Martin doesn't know the Baron is in real financial trouble. A few days after that night in Rio, the Baron leaves for Buenos Aires. Martin is secretly hired by the Baron's associates to replace him, so his rivals in the airline business won't notice his absence. Martin not only replaces the Baron, he again courts and romances the Baroness. Many funny and ingenious complications follow.

"That Night in Rio" continues the trend started in "Down Argentine Way" - pleasant romancing in exotic Latin locales, galvanized by Technicolor and Carmen Miranda. Alice Faye was supposed to star "Down Argentine Way" but due to illness, the lead role went to Betty Grable. Now, Faye got her lead in "That Night in Rio". I don't think it is near "Hello, Frisco, Hello" (my favorite Faye musical) but there are a lot to enjoy in "That night In Rio".

Miranda especially is very funny. Her quarrels with Ameche, her Brazilian accent ("You is a low down, no good ham!"), and her dance numbers (particularly "Ay, yai, yai, yai, yai, I like you very much") are entertaining & rapturous.

Don Ameche is wonderful in this surprisingly fun dual role as both American entertainer and impersonator Larry Martin and the Latin Baron Manuel Duarte. As Larry he has a fiery sweetheart, his fellow entertainer Carmen (played by Carmen Miranda) whose English seems to disappear when her temper is in charge...which happens a lot as she is very jealous. As The Baron, he has a lovely but somewhat estranged wife the Baroness Cecilia Duarte.

This is a bit of a mad farce...but it's story, actors and romance really hold it together and in the end brought me pleasure and take this from a watch and delete to a fun must see. The story involves the Baron and his two business partners seeing Larry's impersonation of the Barron and coming up with the inspired idea to have him impersonate the Barron for real as he desperately tries to save his airline business. Inadvertently, Larry ends up providing more that one kind of help to the Barron and everything ends as it should.

This is a wonderful feel good movie that was a bit of a surprise to me. Initially, I wasn't sure that I was going to enjoy this film but the romantic storyline really won me over. I recommend this to all those romantics out there like me and to classic film fans this is a colorful and real look at a time period when Americans and Hollywood had an interest in the "exotic" or Latin. Oh! And did I mention it also has S. Z. Sakall?

"That Night in Rio" is a good comedy musical with Don Ameche as an American entertainer who is a look-alike for a prominent Brazilian. When he does an impersonation of Baron Manuel Duarte at the nightclub, he sets the stage for a later engagement when the baron's associates will require a stand-in while the baron is away.

That's the gist of this story, but much of the film is filled with song and dance numbers, with Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda, and Ameche singing. Miranda's numbers often include short but elaborate choreographed routines with several dancers in costume. The comedy occurs on two fronts, but there isn't much of it. The first is in the lover's feuding between Ameche's Larry Martin and Carmen. The second is in Ameche's substitute role as the baron, with Alice Faye, the Baroness Cecilia Duarte, and a business rival of the baron's, Machado (played by J. Carrol Naish).

This may be a familiar theme to movie buffs - it was in "Folies Bergere de Paris" of 1935 with Maurice Chevalier and Merle Oberon, "On the Riviera" of 1951 with Danny Kaye and Gene Tierney, and "Let's Make Love" of 1960 with Yves Montand and Marilyn Monroe. The plot is essentially identical for all of these films but the last. And, the original was the best one going into 1951 when "On the Riviera" was made. That is by far and away the best of all of these. It received two Academy Award nominations, and Danny Kaye won the best actor Golden Globe for his performance.

While this film can't hold a candle to either the 1935 or 1951 versions, it is entertaining. Those who especially like the beat and rhythm of South American music should enjoy this film. That overpowers the comedy and takes up much of the story.

Here's the best line in this film. Arthur Penna (S. Z. Sakall) is watching Larry Martin as he's impersonating the baron with the baron's wife, played by Alice Faye. Penna says to Felicio (played by Curt Bois), "It's hard to tell when he leaves off and she begins."