Down Argentine Way (1940)

Great Film overall

Beautiful, moving film.

Absolutely the worst movie.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

According to the excellent documentary on Grable included on the DVD, she had been making films since 1929, and this one, made when she was 24, made her a star. For the next 10 plus years she topped popularity polls as she sang and danced in Fox technicolor musicals. Her looks and pizazz in this film reminded me of Lana Turner, before she too became a mega star. Betty is adorable. Women liked her and men said, "I want to marry a girl just like the girl that married Harry James." The boys in khaki didn't say that about Lana when she married Artie Shaw.Betty was primarily a dancer and her specialty number in the last few minutes, wearing an "Argentine" ruffled costume and shaking her shoulders with a bit of oomph at the close, showed her wow power. Down Argentine Way is a sure cure for the blues. Betty, as well as that dynamic dancing duo, the Nicholas Brothers, are guaranteed to banish drooping spirits and put a smile on your face.

... when it could just as soon have been called Down Upper Sandusky Way in terms of plot. What it was, of course, was at once a morale booster and a nod to its South American neighbours from the movie capital of North America if not the world. This was Carmen Miranda's first appearance outside the Latin American market and as such she has absolutely nothing to do with anything even faintly resembling a plot. C.Aubrey Smith lookalike Henry Stephenson is about as convincing as a South American horse-breeder as Michael Jackson would be as a gaucho but if things like this bother you then you're missing the point. Charlotte Greenwood weighs in with her trademark high kicks and there are more of the same from the Nicholas Brothers; leads Don Ameche and Betty Grable exhibit as much chemistry as an empty petri dish but score individually whilst Mack Gordon and Harry Warren turned in a score that was just about up to snuff. All in all a pleasant enough crowd-pleaser.

Despite it's paper thin plot or saran wrap plot, DOWN ARGENTINE WAY is kind of fun, especially seeing it in this day and age. The DVD is outstanding with the colors very bright and chic, the way Foxs' musicals have always been. This put Betty Grable on the map and she is a fine replacement for Alice Faye. Maybe better, since Betty was a much better dancer as a couple of numbers have been added to the plot because of her. Carmen Miranda doesn't really have a role. She is just featured in a couple of night club scenes. Looks like her scenes were added on and has no bearing on the plot. Don Ameche is fine with his very good accent. The real standouts are Charlotte Greenwood and especially the Nocholas brothers. They must be seen to be believed. Like Miranda, they have no bearing in the story, just a showcase for their amazing dancing. For these reasons alone, see this one. Now Fox needs to release THAT NIGHT IN RIO and THE GANGS ALL HERE on DVD, as well as some other Betty Grables.

Of its genre, one of the greatest musicals ever. Betty makes male hearts swoon (and that's not all)! Any questions as to why she was number one with our boys overseas? Carmen is a firecracker and the Nicholas Brothers have never been duplicated. This film was much more about the players than the meat of the film. Meat-wise just a bunch of fluff, but performance-wise and production-wise, excellent!