Nancy Goes to Rio (1950)

the audience applauded

That was an excellent one.

People are voting emotionally.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

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".

This is a delightful early Jane Powell film. It reminds me a bit of Holiday in Mexico with the crush on the much older man not stopping spunky Jane! She's also as precious as she is in A Date with Judy. Young Jane couldn't help but light up the screen with her fun performances. It's Ann Sothern month on TCM and I'm not sure I'd have had the chance to see how delightful she is otherwise and am so grateful they have honored her. This is one of my favorites I've seen. Jane and Ann look very much like mother and daughter and both have lovely singing voices. I have to confess I skipped through the Carmen Miranda numbers (I think you either love her or you don't as a singer, but I liked her acting role) but I loved all the others. I particularly loved the chemistry with the tall, dark and handsome Barry Sullivan as a rare lead and Louis Calhern as the witty and fun grandfather. Lovely Technicolor and costuming, fine acting, good chemistry, the Brazilian influence on many of the musical numbers, and the precious romantic comedy script made a rainy afternoon just perfect!

This is a well-crafted musical, comedy and romance. It has an excellent selection of tunes and dance numbers. Jane Powell, Ann Sothern, Carmen Miranda and Louis Calhern all shine in their roles and musical performances. And Barry Sullivan gives an incomparable performance as he becomes immersed in the major comedy ploy of the film. "Nancy Goes to Rio" is a great piece of entertainment, from the music to the cast and acting, to the plot and humor. I can't spoil this — but the major humorous ploy somewhat into the film is so funny, I laughed out loud so hard that I had to stop the film and replay the DVD — and that happened several times as the ploy continued to develop through the rest of the film. I've not had that experience very often over the years with movies. Thinking about it afterward, I realized how well written and scripted this movie was to be able to carry on the comedy subplot so well for so long in the movie.The acting, singing, sets and script are all tremendous, and the very straight-faced hilarity just puts this film over the top. The color in the film is brilliant and solid, and the film quality is excellent for a 1950 movie. This was before the time of shooting on locations, but the stage sets for Rio locales and skyline were quite good and added to the film. I don't recall ever having seen this movie until I recently bought it to view and decide if I wanted to add it to my collection of musicals. I don't know how I missed it in the past, but I was happily surprised that I found this film. It's a true gem. Obviously not many folks have seen this film, from the low number of comments; so, it may not have made the TV movie reruns over the years. But if you enjoy good movies and like musicals and quality humor and entertainment, you won't want to miss renting or buying this film. I highly recommend "Nancy Goes to Rio" as a fun film for young and old alike. It just leaves one with a warm feeling of satisfaction at having seen something very funny, endearing and wonderful.

For practically the whole of Ann Southern's career she was predestined to be considered a competent, reasonably popular actress. In fact, she was considerably more than that and this film, until much later in her career, is the proof. The plot about an actress Mother (Southern) and her singing daughter (Powell) is two steps above hokey but the realization gives it status and sturdy performances in support carry the day. A subplot that has everything thinking the daughter might be with child was semi-shocking for the time but, today, might make one wonder what the fuss was about. The completely artificial looking sets-Rio as painted on a scrim-leave no doubt that this was filmed on the back lot.(And that illusion isn't helped by some included footage actually shot in Rio during Carnival.) But the singing and dancing are fun to watch, Jane Powell is in particularly good voice, and the thin plot just carries the day. But only just. Need I mention the happy ending? Did you think otherwise? So join Ann and the cast for a spurious adventure in Rio and remind yourself what good actors can do with very modest material.