Argentine Nights

Plot

The Andrews Sisters made their screen debut in Argentine Nights, but the stars of the show are the Ritz Brothers, in the first of their four Universal vehicles. The wafer-thin plotline finds the Ritz boys showing up flat broke in Argentina with an all-girl band. Despite their utter lack of funds, the zany trio tries to save a local hotel from the clutches of a con man. Highlights include the Ritz Brothers' famous "hero sandwich" routine (repeated by the two surviving brothers in 1975's Blazing Stewardesses) and a perversely hilarious climax in which the Ritzes are called upon to impersonate the Andrews Sisters (which may have given rise to Patty Andrews' oft-quoted observation "We looked like the Ritz Brothers in drag"). As a bonus for fans of the Superman TV series, nominal romantic lead George Reeves warbles the deathless tune "Amigo We Go Riding Tonight". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Review

With war breaking out in Europe, Hollywood needed to make sure that a market would continue to exist in South America. One of the means to achieve this lofty goal became known as the "good neighbor policy" and you'd be hard pressed to find better neighbors than the Ritz Brothers and the Andrews Sisters. This meeting of madcap minds was all but inevitable and in each their own way the two teams make the most of the opportunity. The generous folks at Universal also threw in a straight love story involving Constance Moore and future Superman George Reeves, but this particular segment of Argentine Nights may actually have threatened to undo what the Ritz Brothers and the Andrews Sisters so laboriously had achieved. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Cast

• The Ritz Brothers [Al, Jimmy, Harry] - Themselves
• The Andrews Sisters - Patty
• Constance Moore - Bonnie Brooks
• George Reeves - Eduardo
• Peggy Moran - Peggy

Anne Nagel - Linda; Kathryn Adams - Carol; Ferike Boros - Mama Viejos; Paul Porcasi - Papa Viejos; Al Ritz - Al; Harry Ritz - Harry; Jimmy Ritz - Jimmy; LaVerne Andrews - LaVerne; Maxene Andrews - Maxene

Credit

Albert Rogell - Director, Frank Gross - Editor, Hal Borne - Composer (Music Score), Sammy Cahn - Composer (Music Score), Saul Chaplin - Composer (Music Score), Ray Golden - Composer (Music Score), Sid Kuller - Composer (Music Score), Don Raye - Composer (Music Score), Vic Schoen - Composer (Music Score), Hughie Prince - Composer (Music Score), Hal Borne - Songwriter, Sammy Cahn - Songwriter, Saul Chaplin - Songwriter, Ray Golden - Songwriter, Sid Kuller - Songwriter, Hughie Price - Songwriter, Don Raye - Songwriter, Vic Schoen - Songwriter, Elwood Bredell - Cinematographer, Ken Goldsmith - Producer, Gladys Atwater - Screen Story, J. Robert Bren - Screen Story, Ray Golden - Screenwriter, Arthur Horman - Screenwriter, Sid Kuller - Screenwriter

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