Lyrics by
Lorenz
Hart
Music by Richard Rodgers
Produced by Lou Brock For R.K.O.
Radio Picture
Directed by Leslie Goodwins and Jack
Hively
Starring: Maureen O'Hara and James
Ellison
Overview
Plot
|
A Texas oil millionaire after failing to secure oil lands in Argentina
seeks out a famous race horse in Buenos Aires and order his representative(James
Ellison) to buy the nag at any price. Ellison has an love affair with
Maureen O'Hara, the beautiful daughter of the prize horse's owner.
Overview
Overview
|
Rodgers and hart wrote
a dozen of songs for They met in Argentina; the producers in
Hollywood showed how impressed they were by dropping five of them
from the finished print. Maybe they were smart, at that; certainly
those that remained, including "Simpatica",
"Lolita", "North America Meets South America"
and "Amarillo", were no better than they had to be. But neither was
the picture, directed in black and withe by Leslie Goodwins, who later
specialized in "Mexican Spitfire" nonsenses featuring Lupe Velez,
and R.K.O. all-purpose director Jack Hively.
It was the sole Rodgers & Hart offering for the spring of 1941,
or indeed for over a year. "The reason, I'm afraid, was Larry" said
Rodgers.
Overview
Reviews
|
A dismal effort at trying to make a film that would appeal to both
South American and U.S. audiences. Hardly anyone cared too much for
it, as it barely made half of the $500,000 sunk into it. Yarn centers
around the efforts of Ellison, as a representative of a Texas oil
baron, to secure a prize Argentine race horse; instead, he winds up
falling for the horse-owner's daughter, O'Hara. The result is turbulent
romance and a headache for the audience. Vila, a popular star in Argentina,
was relegated to a small, subordinate role, which may have been a
serious mistake as far as South American reception was concerned.
Choreographer Veloz--of the well-known cinematic dance team of Veloz
and Yolanda--should have stuck to performing. Producer Brock, who
bore much of the credit for the successful south-of-the-border film
FLYING DOWN TO RIO (1933)--the first film to pair Fred Astaire and
Ginger Rogers--never again worked for RKO after this flop. The film
was plagued with production problems; codirector Hively had to fill
in for the originally assigned Goodwins, who became ill after production
began. That a South American market existed for U.S.-made pictures
was certain; Walt Disney's four-part cartoon feature SALUDOS AMIGOS
(1943) beat GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) as Argentina's biggest box-office
winner only two seasons after this one. Three-fourths of all the films
shown in Argentina were imports from the U.S. during 1941. RKO was
dilatory in its approach to this potential market; of the eight big
studios, it was tied with United Artists for the fewest releases screened
in Mexico, for example. Financial mogul Nelson Rockefeller, the power
behind the scenes at RKO during this period, was determined to open
up the market; he had many other interests in the region. This film,
with probably the worst of Rodgers and Hart's musical offerings, was
neither commercially nor culturally acceptable.