Man99204 This would have been a significantly better movie if MGM had built it around Carmen Miranda. The two numbers she does are the high points of the film - especially the second number set in a night club. I would rate the scenes with Miranda a nine. The rest of the movie has a rating of 4.Another bright spot in the movie is Ann Sothern - one of my all time favorite actresses. While Sothern is given top billing, the star of the movie is clearly Jane Powell who plays her 17 year old daughter. Powell made some wonderful movies - this is not one of them. She does have a lovely singing voice, but her acting style is very dated. In this movie, she come across as very mannered and artificial. The movie is top notch in terms of cast and production values. Any single clip from this movie is far more appealing than the entire movie. The problem is with the script, no amount of talent can overcome a muddled mess of a plot. Think of this as a G rated movie which tries, never successfully, to introduce "adult themes" into standard plot. Jane Powell, the beacon of American Virginity, is mistakenly thought to be pregnant. While this may have been shocking 1950, it makes for a very tired and stale plot point in 2016.The other problem with this film is that it does not fit into any one specific genre. It is not strictly speaking a musical. In the traditional musical the songs are related to the story line - they serve to advance plot points. In this film they take what appears to be an overly short "women's picture" and pad it out with songs. None of the songs are in any way related to the rest of the movie - they are just randomly spliced into the movie.I do recommend this movie- if only for the scenes with Carmen Miranda. You can fast forward through the tiresome bits where Jane Powell tries "acting".

Neil Doyle Sidney Sheldon wrote the screenplay based on an earlier film that starred Deanna Durbin, but this time tedium sets in rather early. In short, it's an uninspired remake designed to bring bubbly JANE POWELL, ANN SOTHERN, CARMEN MIRANDA, BARRY SULLIVAN and LOUIS CALHERN together for what is supposed to be a light-hearted romp.For a musical, there is too long a gap between dialog and songs and none of the songs are especially memorable. The sets are opulent, the costumes are tastefully designed with no expense spared on wardrobe, and the color is splendid. But the story is the one about a mother and daughter actress team who are both in love with the same man, unknown to each other, until the plot complications are straightened out.Whatever sparkle there was to the original B&W film has been dampened by a dull script, slow-paced direction and some coy performances from Sothern and Powell. Powell postures as a would-be actress but her artificial poses are contrived and obvious which makes Sullivan suspecting that she's a girl "in trouble" (when she's really rehearsing a part) seem a strain on credibility.Both Sothern and Powell are given the usual MGM glossy close-up treatment, but the silly plot defeats everyone.Rio is strictly a fabrication on an MGM sound stage. Only CARMEN MIRANDA's lively musical contributions make watching this worthwhile. That, and a nice, understated, low-key performance from the always reliable BARRY SULLIVAN saves the comic moments from being downright foolish.

britishdominion A so-so musical comedy, chipper and competently shot on the studio back lot far, far away from Rio. If there's any reason to watch this corny confection, it would be for the show-stopping number by Carmen Miranda in the nightclub. The hues alone are incredible! Everything is dripping in rich, over-saturated color - the costumes, the set - it's like an explosion at the Technicolor factory. The production designer and director were surely using the process to "wow" the audience used to common, flatter black and white films for so long, similar to the 3D process that would come along later. Inside this gem of a scene is Miranda's dance performance, which is really energetic and quite imaginative. If you ever wanted to test your TV screen color and balance, this scene from this piece of 50s flash might be the one to do that with. The rest of the film? Meh... hokum, but quaint.

ivan-22 Can't help liking a musical that features silly lyrics like: "Nancy goes to Rio - Me-oh, my-oh, me-oh" and "Keep the Latins guessing!". How crude - sometimes enjoyably crude - Hollywood's image of foreign lands and sounds! I lived in Sao Paulo for a year (1962), and I don't remember seeing any Latins. Instead, there were a lot of fellow human beings. The best song in the movie was written by a "Latin": Mexican genius Maria Grever, so sadly forgotten. She wrote American standards like "What a Difference a Day Makes". Jane Powell is great, as usual, and so is Scotty Beckett. His life was one of the saddest Hollywood tragedies, probably a case of undiagnosed depression. Yet he looks so happy and confident on screen, more so than most major stars. This silly musical is not as good as "A DATE WITH JUDY", but it will do just fine. Enchantment guaranteed.