"Down Argentine Way" *** (out of ****)"Down Argentine Way" (1940) is a delightful, light-hearted excuse for a movie. Nothing really makes much sense about the picture. No real character development, some non-sense background and no major conflict is played out. But, in all honesty, are you really looking for that in a Betty Grable musical? The joy here is to listen to the songs and watch the dancing. Maybe, maybe, you can pay attention to the South American background. If you want more, watch another movie. But, be warned, you won't get to see Betty Grable.
As I have mentioned before the movie musical has a way of putting us in a good mood. We simply become happy watching others have a good time. And everyone in "Down Argentine Way" is having a good time. And thus so do we.
A lot of film buffs will cite this is the movie that made Betty Grable a star. She had been around in the business trying to break through. Mostly she was part of the chorus in a variety of musicals. One of her earliest roles was in the Eddie Cantor musical "Whoopee!" (1930). She also appeared in two Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers musicals; she does a duet with Edward Everett Horton to the tune "Lets Knock Knees" in "The Gay Divorcee" (1934) and plays Rogers' friend in "Follow the Fleet" (1936). But it wasn't enough to make her a star. In fact Gable thought about quiting acting. She felt her career wasn't going anywhere. She eventually found fame on the stage in a production of Cole Porter's "DuBarry Was A Lady" in 1939. She was a last minute replacement in this movie after Alice Faye suddenly became ill. "Down Argentine Way" became a hit and Grable got the attention she so rightfully deserved. For the rest of the decade she was consistently in the top ten. She appeared in one hit after another.
Besides her acting and singing however Betty Grable was known for one other thing. Her legs. She earned the nickname, "million dollar legs" after her legs were insured by Lloyds of London for that price. She also became a pin-up model during WW2 thanks to a very famous photo of her in a bathing suit.
In "Down Argentine Way" she plays Glenda Crawford, a young woman with a love for horses (in real life she and husband Harry James, the great trumpet player, actually did have a stable of horses). She and her aunt, Binnie Crawford (Charlotte Greenwood) would like to buy a horse from Ricardo Quintana (Don Ameche). But Ricardo has been given strict orders from his father, Don Diego (Harry Stephenson) not to sell his horses to anyone with the name Crawford. Don Diego once had an encounter with a man with the name Crawford involving a woman. And since that time has not forgiven the man. It turns out the man is Glenda's father and as a result Ricardo will not sell the horse to her. However that doesn't stop him from falling in love with her.
The rest of the film deals with Ricardo and Glenda trying to get his father to like her by not revealing her family name. And there is a sub-plot about horse racing. Though not much of it is really interesting.
Also in the cast is Carmen Miranda and the Nicholas Brothers. They all play themselves and add absolutely nothing to the film but why should that stop them from appearing in it? Miranda sings some of her best known songs including "South American Way" at the beginning and in a nightclub performance she sings "Bambu, Bambu". The Nicholas Brothers dance to the title song. They were very good dancers. They didn't have the polish of say Fred Astaire but they were great showmen. They could move their bodies in ways neither Astaire or Gene Kelly could. They never headlined a movie and probably aren't very well remembered today. Some have said their race (they were African American) prevented them from reaching greater stardom. However they did appear in several other films such as one with Gene Kelly and Judy Garland, the Cole Porter musical "The Pirate" (1948) and "Sun Valley Serenade" (1941).
The songs in the film were written by Harry Warren, who achieved great fame in the 1930s writing the music for several Warner Brothers musicals starring Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell. Some of his songs include "I Only Have Eyes For You", " You're Getting To Be A Habit With Me", "42nd Street" and "Lullaby of Broadway". Here the big number is "Down Argentine Way" which was nominated for an Oscar for "Best Song" and is sung by Betty Grable and Don Ameche in Spainish (the voice is dubbed) and danced to by them. Grable does a solo dance to it which is kind of impressive. I never really thought of her as a great dancer, for that watch Ginger Rogers or Eleanor Powell. But Grable was decent at it. It is a lot of fun watching her. Too bad she does show those million dollar legs though. We have to wait until the end of the film to see them.
"Down Argentine Way" though is the kind of film I like to see Grable in. She tried more serious roles on occasion, see her in the noir film "I Wake Up Screaming" (1941) with Victor Mature. It is not a bad film and she's not bad in it, but, she's not a femme fatale type. There was something about her looks which suggest something more sunny. These musicals suited her very well. Also see her in "Springtime in the Rockies" (1942) and "Moon Over Miami" (1941) with co-star Don Ameche again.
As for Don Ameche he is always good as the rich playboy type. See him in the Ernst Lubitsch comedy "Heaven Can Wait" (1943), which I have reviewed. He has good chemistry with Grable and we believe him when he says he becomes dizzy when he looks at Grable because of her beauty. Every man watching the film will probably have the same reaction.
For comedy there is Charlotte Greenwood, who appeared in several musicals with Grable. As the aunt she is on the prowl looking for a good man. And picks up one, a travel guide, Tito (Leonid Kinskey).
Some modern politically correct viewers may find some of the South American cliches offensive, insinuating all the men are latin lover types and others lazy and sleepy all the time. But, supposedly this film was made at the request of President Roosevelt to promote his Good Neighbor Policy. Latin America was chosen since during this time Americans knew a war was brewing in Europe. And you can't have people singing and dancing while a war is going on. But it makes for a nice diversion from reality for Americans.
Will today's audience enjoy this film? I surely hope so. Some might get mad at me for saying this, but, I'm sorry, they don't make 'em like this anymore. Hollywood could never duplicate this kind of good natured fun in a 1,000 years. The film is simply too light-hearted and carefree. Where could we find another Betty Grable? Where is there a composer like Harry Warren? This kind of talent isn't around anymore I'm sorry to say. That's what makes this film so special. It reminds us of better times.
The film managed to earn three Oscar nominations; "Best Song", "Best Cinematography" and "Best Art Direction". "Down Argentine Way" is a musical I hope all of you watch and hopefully will enjoy.
Posts
