Irving Cummings takes on a fun tour to Argentina. This is a happy musical that defies all logic as the writers Rian James and Ralph Spence appear to be telling us we're in Argentina, but taking us to Havana, by way of Rio de Janeiro. Talk about a confusion of styles!

Once the viewer gets over the jet lag caused by the disorientation, we are introduced to the Crawford girls, Glenda and Binnie and the Quintana boys, Don Diego and Ricardo. Both these families have grown apart by something that happened long ago in Paris, when Glenda's father stole Don Diego's girlfriend. They're horse people and we are shown the Argentine estancia that looks more like a Mexican hacienda, but we go along for the ride. There's even a fiesta in the town where Binnie makes a splash dancing and being admired by the locals. There are the inevitable night club hopping scene where Carmen Miranda and the Nicholas Brothers are headlining. We see everyone dancing the craze of those years, a Cuban rhumba!

Talk about a melange of styles!

The costume designer Travis Burton dresses Ms. Grable and Ms. Greenwood in creations that might have been popular back home, but no sophisticated Argentine women would have been caught wearing them. Otherwise how can Mr. Burton show Betty Grable in that "American Flag" shmatte? How about the typical Cuban rhumba dancer dress at the end?

The musical numbers are fine, but hello?, aren't we in Buenos Aires, a mild interpretation of a tango wouldn't have been out of place! Someone commented on Carmen Miranda's dancing, but in her two numbers she only shakes her hips and that's the extent of what she does. The amazing Nicholas Brothers fare better because they were the best in the business.

Betty Grable and Don Ameche are fine playing with the material they were given. Charlotte Greenwood, Henry Stephenson, Leonard Kinskey and J. Carroll Naish seem to have a great deal of fun with their characters. As a curiosity, we get a glimpse of Elena Verdugo, who later became famous for her television work, just for a moment.

The film is entertaining once we realize we have been taken for a mindless ride down the Argentine way.

'Down Argentine Way' is notable for being the American debut of Carmen Miranda and the film that made Betty Grable a star. This said, while the casting seemed unlikely initially (for example Alice Faye was intended for the character played by Betty Grable),they mostly come off well and 'Down Argentine Way' manages to entertain enormously.

Sure, while there is so much to enjoy for many it is also to see why others won't connect with it. One says that one shouldn't see a musical for its story, which in a way can be seen as true seeing as even in the classic musicals the story tended to be not as good as the rest of the respective films. Here though the story is thin on the ground, feeling stretched and has its implausible stretches.

The romance between Don Ameche and Betty Grable has many moments of endearing charm, but that Grable replaced an indisposed Alice Faye due to illness makes the chemistry not quite as natural as it could have been. This may have been that Ameche and Faye had worked together a few times before and Grable was in her film debut, so didn't know Ameche as well.

Harry Stephenson on paper couldn't have been a more unlikely and dubious choice for his role and in the final product is for me quite badly miscast. He is not being remotely believable as a Argentinian, which did to me took away hugely from the rest of his performance, with an accent that is phoney at best and comes and goes quicker than one can down a can of fizzy drinks.

On the other hand, 'Down Argentine Way' looks great, with gorgeous use of colour and lavish production design. The songs are lively and infectious, no standards but it's the quality of the music itself and the way it's used that matters more and 'Down Argentine Way' succeeds in those areas.

'Down Argentine Way's' script crackles with wit, energy and charm and the film is rarely dull due to so much being so good. Ameche is as ever suave and charming and Grable's beguiling performance deservedly made her a star.

With the exception of Stephenson the supporting cast work very well. Miranda is not in the film much and her scenes don't necessarily add much to the story and narratively may feel like padding, but she is absolute dynamite in her American debut and her two songs are two of the film's most catchy. J. Carroll Naish is amusing, the Nicholas Brothers dazzle with their athletic dancing and Leonid Kinsky succeeds in making buffoonery not annoying, but the best supporting turn comes from a note-perfect Charlotte Greenwood.

In summary, not great but hugely entertaining, foibles and all. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Although as of today I have reviewed more films on IMDb, very, very few of them have been musicals. It just happens to be a genre that I don't particularly like, though I am not saying they are bad movies--it just isn't my favorite type of film. Sure, I have a few exceptions, but by and large, I am NOT a musical fan. Because of this, that makes my giving DOWN ARGENTINE WAY very special indeed for me to give it an 8--almost a 9. There is just so much energy and so much to love with this film I couldn't help myself.

First, before jumping into the review, you've gotta admit that the casting in the film is very strange! If you read on IMDb about it, you will learn that some other actors (including some Hispanics) were originally scheduled to be in this production but odd things kept happening to force them to pick other actors. While much of the film is set in Argentina, Don Ameche and Henry Stephenson are cast as Argentinians!! While Ameche is able to do a credible accent and they very effectively dubbed someone else singing his songs in Spanish, Stephenson doesn't exactly look South American. Sure, there are plenty of light-skinned folks down there, but his accent came and went like the wind!! Often he forgot it entirely. Now some of the other actors did a better job, such as J. Carroll Naish--who always had a knack for playing almost any ethnicity. Russian-born Leonid Kinskey also did a credible job. Also, while she came by her accent quite naturally, why did they put a Brazilian (Carmen Miranda) in the film? Argentina is NOT the same as Brazil and the languages are very, very different. Now I am not complaining about her amazing singing--just how odd it was to see her in a movie set in a Hispanic nation.

As for the singing, I didn't mind the songs because some were especially nice. Carmen Miranda's two songs were catchy and cool (especially "Mamãe Eu Quero"),the Nicholas Brothers' dancing was amazing (though in one, they were singing in another language that I assume was dubbed) and the songs with Ameche and co-star Betty Grable were very nice as well.

The plot involves Don coming to America and almost selling a prize horse to Grable. However, when he learns that she is the daughter of a man who his own father hates, he calls off the deal and heads back home. He really wanted to sell it to her--after all, she's one hot tomato (that's "pretty" in 1940s lingo),but it's a point of honor and he must obey his father. However, Betty isn't to be ignored and travels to Argentina with her older and very hot-blooded aunt (who is awfully funny and does some amazing dancing at the end). Naturally, Betty and Don fall in love, but the father is still standing in their way to happiness. What ever will they do?! The film gets high marks for excellence all around. What I particularly liked is what Leonard Maltin described as the "picture postcard" look of the film. The Technicolor is wonderful and the set designers outdid themselves to introduce lots of great complementary colors (including a lot of pastels) to make the picture practically pop off the screen.