Brazil
                 
Director: Joseph Santley
Year: 1944
Rating: 6.0
No. Not that Brazil. This one has a lot more singing and dancing. But sadly, no Carmen Miranda. How do you have a musical in Brazil and not have her show up with a huge basket of fruit on her head. Produced in 1944 it was probably part of the United States Good Neighbor Policy and to keep them as an ally. Brazil was the only country in South America that sent troops to fight in Europe. So the least we could do was make this sweet lullaby of a film in which the actors get no closer to Brazil than I do to the moon every night. It stars the great cheekbones of Virginia Bruce and the great Brazilian singer Tito Guízar. Hmmm? What? Not Brazilian? Mexican. Ok, but at least they speak the same language right. Oh. Portuguese. Ah, that explains all the obrigados rather than gracias. I guess it was difficult finding a Brazilian singer being such an unmusical country.  At least the songs were composed by Ary Barraso who is in fact a famous Brazilian composer and who wrote the famous song Brazil aka Aquarela do Brasil. In the film the character played by Tito is given the honor of composing that song and everyone stands up when he walks into a night club.

 

Nicky (Virginia Bruce) goes to Brazil to write a book about the country. She says she wants to know everything there is to know about Brazil before she writes a word - the history, the customs, the economy, the music. When asked how long she expects to stay, she replies two weeks. Enough time to get a good tan, dance the samba, visit Sugarloaf and have some Brazilian steak anyways. She learns that she is something of a pariah for her previous book "Why Marry a Latin" in which she isn't kind. She goes looking for a guide and finds a man singing to children on the sidewalk and he claims to be one. In fact, he is the composer of Brazil but pretends to be a down and out guide. He falls in love. She doesn't. He learns about her book and swears to make her love him and then he will brush her off. But not as the guide but as his twin brother the composer who speaks no English. Got that?

 

His best friend with whom he shares quarters is an American played by the wonderfully droll Edward Everett Horton. Horton was 56 at the time while Tito was 36. When Tito's character chases after Nicky, Horton's character does all he can to dissuade him. Tito pats Horton on the bottom at one point. Whether this was all an in-joke among the cast and crew I don't know but Horton was of course gay and though in the closet everyone in the business knew it - but I expect the audience did not. It just feels like they are having fun putting one over on the audience. And of all people - Roy Rogers (with Trigger) shows up at Carnival and sings a song. In the cast also are Richard Lane, Dan Seymour as King of Carnival and the dancing duo of Yolanda and Velez. A cute little musical that was clearly on the B roster - produced by Republic. Tito was a big star in Mexico but did the occasional film in Hollywood -  a few with Roy Rogers. In 1946 he was in The Thrill of Brazil - being a Brazilian again with Ann Miller and Yolanda and Velez again!  I hope I can find it!