Kirpianuscus It could be one of many romantic films from the period. the lead obstacle are Rita Hayworth, Fred Astaire and, especially,Adolphe Menjou. the last, for me, is the key of a lovely sentimental comedy, his performance as the father looking for the perfect boy for the daughter , the rule of mariage in Latino-American societies and the move from the bitter rich man to the sensitive friend of a not comfortable American dancer are more than good points. sure, the moments Hayworth- Astaire are great. but predictable. the small detail remains, off course, for me, the adorable work of AdolpheMenjou.

TxMike As a kid growing up in the 1950s I had heard of Rita Hayworth but knew nothing about her or her acting. So I have been watching select DVDs of her movies. This one, with Fred Astaire, was made 4 years before her famous role as "Gilda". Astaire was already is his 40s, while Hayworth was just past 20. Still, they made a nice pair on screen.Hayworth was a trained dancer, and she does fine with Astaire, but when you watch the dance sequences in 1/8 speed slow motion is when you realize how much better Astaire was. He was one of a kind, and he made it look so easy.In this movie Fred Astaire is Robert 'Bob' Davis, nightclub singer and dancer who makes his way down to Argentina. His weakness is horse racing, and he finds himself broke when he happens on his old bandsman fiend, Xavier Cugat as himself, with his band, playing at a club called Acuna. So he sets out to get work there. But Adolphe Menjou as the difficult, hard-headed Eduardo Acuña, wealthy owner of the club, won't even give Bob the time of day, but Bob is persistent. But there is a much bigger issue, Mr Acuna's daughters. The two youngest ones have men and are ready to get married, but their family tradition is to have the daughters marry in order from eldest to youngest. The problem is with Maria, who just seems to cold to fall for a man.Rita Hayworth is that daughter, Maria Acuña. When dad hatches a plan which involves a fictitious anonymous admirer sending Orchids and notes every day, Bob accidentally gets in the picture as a delivery boy and Maria thinks he is the admirer. Dad does not approve of Bob, but his younger daughters are putting pressure on the situation. What is a dad to do? So the rest of the movie is to see who wins, will dad dispatch Bob back to New York, or will he and Maria get together in the end? Easy guess.I really enjoyed this movie. The story is all fluff, for sure, but it was great fun seeing the three lead actors. The production numbers are all fun, with songs by Jerome Kern. Now that I have seen several of her early movies it is easy to see why she became such a star.

Petri Pelkonen Fred Astaire is Robert "Bob" Davis, an American dancer looking for a job in Buenos Aires after spending all his money on gambling.Adolphe Menjou as Eduardo Acuna is the man he is looking for.But Bob isn't the man he's looking for.This grumpy nightclub owner starts to despise Bob.But Bob starts to like his daughter Maria.She is supposed to be the next of four sisters to get married, but she has no interest on that.Then her father comes up with a plan.He keeps sending romantic notes to his daughter and then later he should get a man to portray the sender of those notes.But one day Bob happens to deliver the note and orchids, and Maria seeing him from the window believes he is the secret admirer.His father wants Bob to act obnoxious to Maria, so she starts hating him.But you can't fight against your feelings...You Were Never Lovelier (1942) is directed by William A. Seiter.Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth shine again as the leading couple.This was their second and last picture they made together.The first was You'll Never Get Rich (1941).Both of these movies have many similarities and are equally good.This was one of Rita's favorite films of her own.Rita's singing was dubbed by Nan Wynn.Adolphe Menjou does quite splendid job as Eduardo.Isobel Elsom is terrific as Maria Castro.Douglas Leavitt plays Juan Castro.Leslie Brooks is lovely as Cecy Acuna.And so is Adele Mara as her sister Lita.Their characters both want to get married, but they don't happen to be the next in line.Catherine Craig plays the sister Julia, who did get married.Barbara Brown is great as their mother Delfina.Gus Schilling is quite funny as Fernando "Fernie", the secretary who hates his boss.Xavier Cugat performs with his orchestra.This movie represents the good old time entertainment.Movies like this took your mind off the war that was going on.Jerome Kern has done a great job in the music department.There is "I'm Old Fashioned", which became a hit.I really enjoyed watching the dancing of Fred and Rita to "The Shorty George".There is some wild energy there! As is in Fred's tap dancing.How did he do it?! Come and enjoy the singing and dancing of Fred and Rita!

gkaldis Fred Astaire does his most varied dancing with an American Beauty, Rita Hayworth in Buenos Aires in this wartime film. Two highlights of the film for dance aficionados are a Celtic wedding out of Brittany and a brilliant pairing of Astaire and Hayworth in a "tour De force" dance on a penthouse ballroom to the Jerome Kern song I'm Old Fashioned. Rita even sings the song beautifully before they really start to cut up the floor. The latter gave Jerome Robbins the idea for one of his most unusual ballets for the NY City Ballet company, I'm Old Fashioned, The Astaire Variations. He starts it with the clip from the film, You Were Never Lovelier, and the variations that follow are of the company and principals learning the steps, especially an infectious rocking back and forth and then moving forward pattern. The finale is of the entire cast of Principals and company dancers dancing the same steps as in the film in tuxes and ballroom gowns. This is a movie you want to see again and again as well as the Robbins ballet it gave rise to.