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You won't be disappointed!

Admirable film.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Certainly, Eve Arden gets some great lines here, teasing Phillip Terry every step of the way, basically playing a "Lady in the Dark" type character (minus the necessary psycho analysis that Liza Elliott got in that Broadway musical) who takes a fashion photo tour around every Latin American country in existence to pick out the most beautiful women to headline their big Latino revue and beauty contest. She gets him there by promising him a vacation but all he does is work and try to get time alone with Arden's beautiful assistant (Audrey Long) while trying to avoid spitfire Isabelita who had him arrested on his last trip to Mexico to keep him from leaving the country (and her). It turns out that Isabelita isn't actually Mexican and keeps popping up in every single country to get a chance at the title, and obviously get Terry to her own alter. But for playboy Terry, it's Long's slap across the face after he makes advances to her that gets his blood boiling, and for nearly 90 minutes, you have to wait for the obvious conclusion even though she's engaged to an American in Brazil whom you don't meet until the film's last 20 minutes.All this is turns out to be a cavalcade of Latin music from around the world with major stops in Mexico, Cuba and Brazil. The bongos bong, the castanets click, and the maracas shake, and all this does is show audiences the feathery, fluttery outfits, the wild hats and the twirling fiery dances pretty much exist in all of these countries, whether or not that it is true in real Latin American culture. So in Mexico, there's a chance to hear "Guadalajara", and somebody other than Desi Arnaz/Ricky Ricardo does "Babalu" in Cuba. The film is elegant and pleasant to watch, but more stereotypical well meaning good will that came out of Hollywood (and in smaller cases Broadway) in the 1940's. Robert Benchley is droll as one of Arden's assistants who is the deadpan announcer for the big beauty contest (much like Benchley was in real life for any situation) and Ernest Truex is the Leon Errol like uncle to Long's fiancée (Marc Cramer). For wartime entertainment, it was pure distraction, but other than Arden and a few nice musical numbers, remains pretty innocuous.

The song Babalu was published in 1939 and the Broadway show was in 1940. Desi Arnez had a big name in the U.S. already and I don't think anyone else was up for the role. The movie was just a propaganda Latin American goodwill film one of many. RKO did not put any of there big stars because it was not a big film. The love stories in musicals was a normal type of story. The film is likable and I would watch it again. The stars don't seem to have the chemistry as love interest. It is interesting that all studios were making films that take place south of the American border but were filmed in there Hollywood studios except for a couple of examples.

There's few reasons to sit through this unfortunate example of Hollywood film-making. The first - and the only reason I began to watch it - was the uncredited debut of Jane Greer, one of my favorite actors of all time. She appears about 5 minutes into the film as Eve Arden's secretary, doesn't say much, swings her leg over the arm of a chair, is scolded by Eve Arden, finally speaks her insignificant lines in her unmistakable voice and departs never to be seen again. More the pity. Normally that would have been enough for me but for some reason I soldiered on, curious about the long list of Hispanic performers. Some were pretty good although the acts tended to be repetitious. After some research I found that this film launched the career of two others: Lita Baron (Lupita) would make 24 more, the last in 1979, and Alma Beltran, who appears briefly as Miss Guatemala. Her career spanned 87 films, the last in 2002. So there you have it. If one looks hard enough one can always find a reason to watch a lousy film. In retrospect I have to wonder why Hollywood would make this turkey. Released shortly after the allied victory over Germany it's difficult to imagine what possible propaganda value it could possibly have. Was it supposed to show some kind of solidarity with our neighbors to our south? I have no clue. In any case don't bother with this one other than as a somewhat ludicrous curiosity.

this movie is a romantic romp. eve Arden, Audrey long, Robert benchley and Phillip terry (joan Crawford's 4th husband) star in this romance set in various tropical settings. the best part is discovering b movie actress Audrey long. Audrey married Leslie charteris (author of the Simon templar "the saint" novels) in the early 1950's and evidently retired after a successful, approximately 10 year, career as a lead in mostly b movies. Audrey really shines in this movie and it really gives pause as to why she did not prosper in the film industry. like most actors and actresses, never getting the one great breakout role prevents them from stardom. she was a total babe. the rest of the cast is doing a very good job and the movie has a nice and varied Latin setting to complement the stars of the film. also look for Jane Greer in her first film role, in a small part.