Carnival in Costa Rica (1947)

So much average

Best movie ever!

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

I found the movie humorous, fun and enjoyable but I can easily understand why my grandparents found it offensive. Being Costa Rican I have heard how the sections of the movie that were filmed in Costa Rica caused great commotion at the time even though none of the main actors came to the country (at least for filming). When the movie finally opened in Costa Rica people were upset of how the people and the country had been misrepresented. Even though the movie exerts attitudes and prejudices towards Latin America, as well as ignorance over the social and cultural differences between Latin American countries and Spain it reflects the ignorance (or innocence?) of the 1940s. At the end, for all the cultural improprieties doesn't make "Carnival in Costa Rica" any less enjoyable.

Cesar was 40 when this movie was made, at least a decade and a half older than the character should be for an arranged marriage. It appears they tried to hide his age via makeup and hair dye, but these ruses are as convincing as happy, dirt-free coffee-pickers singing their way through a day of hot drudgery. Having said that, this movie, seen in January 2007 on the Fox Movie Channel, is surprisingly watchable. The costumes and dancing and songs are easy on the eyes. Cesar may be too old to play a young buck dealing with parents trying to arrange a marriage, but he is still the great Cesar Romero, of later fame as "The Joker" on Batman.

I saw this movie in 1947 when it first was released. Mainly because I was a young dance student at that time and I wanted to see the great Leonide Massine, famous because of his discovery by Serge Diaghilev and the Ballet Russe. He replaced the great Vaslav Nijinsky. He appeared in this film during his latter years, but even so you can see what a great dancer he was.Unfortunately, the producers of this film did not really understand or appreciate his fame and greatness, or give him proper credit. He could have been just another studio dancer. Vera Ellen had a hard time keeping up with him during their only dance sequence.Interesting that Massine, who came from Moscow and was a Russian trained in the Russina ballet, became such a wonderful Spanish dancer.This seems to have been his forte and shows well in this film. A pity that I was too young to ever have seen him on the stage. But his choreography is continually revived by ballet companies the world over.

This 20th Century Fox musical has several problems, including an uneven script and uninspired choreography. However, the flaws are countered with some strengths. The color photography and costumes are lovely. And the cast is good, especially leading lady Vera-Ellen and Celeste Holm.