Released briefly as a Goodtimes VHS years ago, this Desi Arnaz B musical has seemed to have fallen off the face of the Earth. It's Desi without Lucy, and his as romantic and charming as ever, basically playing himself, involved in the same type of pratfalls that he would later have on his hit TV series. The leading lady here is Mary Hatcher, about as Spanish looking as Lucy would have been, joining Congo player Arnaz on the road to join a dance contest, chased by her maniacal mother, a hysterically funny Minerva Urecal, overemphasizing the negative characteristics of her character.
With several musical numbers (a few of which were heard on "I Love Lucy"), that's what you'll be searching out for in this sitcomish story that is an extension of the type of plots Desi would later be stuck in playing Ricky Ricardo. That makes this innocuous fun, nothing classic, but filled with a great Latin beat, even if some of the casting choices are questionable. Considering the year this was released in, I'm surprised that Columbia didn't consider doing this in Technicolor. The staging and choreography for the title song at least screams for it. But it's wonderful to see Desi doing his act so passionately even if it's just another musical programmer tossed out and forgotten among so many.
With several musical numbers (a few of which were heard on "I Love Lucy"), that's what you'll be searching out for in this sitcomish story that is an extension of the type of plots Desi would later be stuck in playing Ricky Ricardo. That makes this innocuous fun, nothing classic, but filled with a great Latin beat, even if some of the casting choices are questionable. Considering the year this was released in, I'm surprised that Columbia didn't consider doing this in Technicolor. The staging and choreography for the title song at least screams for it. But it's wonderful to see Desi doing his act so passionately even if it's just another musical programmer tossed out and forgotten among so many.