The Thrill of Brazil (1946)

Best movie of this year hands down!

The Worst Film Ever

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

While this move is entertaining has some good performances, much of the script pulled word for word from His Girl Friday. But having Keenan Wynn talk about his dimple is very different than Cary Grant. They changed the story from a newspaper setting to a show biz one. Most importantly, this version allows for scenes for Ann Miller to dance, and does not allow for the ad libs that Cary Grant and Rosalind Russel did in the original. While this movie has its moments, it does not hold a candle to the original. Not sure way they copied the script, other then to save money. However it is nice to see some normally supporting actors, like Wynn, in lead positions.

You need energy to keep up with "The Front Page" and "His Girl Friday," from which "Thrill of Brazil" stole the story. You need a frontal lobotomy to sit through TOB.I don't like manic movies. The Marx Brothers always give me headaches. For me, pacing is important and "Thrill of Brazil" has none. You are never allowed to take a deep breath and regroup, but are kept listening to the hue and cry of dialogue, singing and dancing.The music is eminently forgettable, with little charm and less enjoyment. After seeing the fourth, or was it fifth, dancing number with the same rhythm, same costumes, same dance steps... well, ho-hum.I wish I could say something - ANYTHING - nice about this movie. The actors had a hard row to hoe and, unfortunately, didn't acquit themselves well. Keenan Wynn was just plain loud. There was no charm to his portrayal, no attractiveness to his character. He was so oily and slimy and underhanded, I wished for someone to shoot him within the first 20 minutes.I wouldn't waste your time. I'm sorry I wasted mine.1 out of 10 only because there was no 0.

A goofy Columbia musical: let's remake Hawks' HIS GIRL Friday as a musical, only instead of Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell and Ralph Bellamy, we'll have Keenan Wynn, Evelyn Keyes and Allyn Joslyn, and instead of it being about newspapers and death, it will be about --- nightclub producers! Sounds like a waste of time, doesn't it? Well, despite the undeniable talent of the people involved -- as well as that of director Sylvan Simon, yes it is. Except for the musical numbers and those are standouts. The songs aren't much, decent but forgettable, but dance director Nick Castle knew how to choreograph a dance number so well that they were lifting them five years later for MGM musicals. And then, of course, there's Ann Miller. When she starts tapping, the movie becomes not just good but great.But there's too much time between the musical numbers. Worthwhile, but not great.

The script of this film appears to have been a re-write and musical version of "His Girl Friday", which pre-dated "Thrill of Brazil" by six years. Instead of a newspaper, the backdrop is a nightclub owned by the lead character.Basically, boy wants girl back, "befriends" her fiancé, hires short thug to steal fiancé's wallet, takes counterfeit money from thug, and gives fiancé the fake money, all the while trying to keep girl involved in a new show at the club. Girl thinks boy gave up on her, re-formats and makes show a success, fiancé is arrested with counterfeit bills, girl realizes boy still loves her, girl breaks down in romantic reconciliation with boy and declares intent to return wallet to fiancé and to return fiancé to hometown.Oh yeah, boy also gives job to dumb schlep to keep quiet about finding the wallet, which results in discussion about schlep's wife. About the only original concept is the music and its rather insulting portrayal of Brazilians.Other than that, Ann Miller's dancing is great, and Keenan Wynn succeeds in propping up the story line as the oily impresario.