One of the most common complaints about this musical comedy is that it was filmed in B&W: a travesty of audience appeal with Carmen Miranda the female lead. Thus, it cries out for a colorized treatment to correct this important deficiency. Well, it's here, and can be watched free at YouTube. The down side is that some parts are a little fuzzy, and the colors are mostly unsaturated. Your alternative at YouTube is a slightly sharper Blu-ray B&W version. Remember that, after all her Fox WWII films were shot in Technicolor, her last 2, post-war, Fox films("Doll Face" and "If I'm Lucky" )were shot in B&W, as Fox decided to demote her from superstar status. Thus, shooting this project in B&W was extending a trend already established.
........Groucho Marx and Carmen: 2 superstars, were the leads, and were cast as a long term(10 years) romantic couple. Some reviewers complain that they aren't allowed to do their usual shtick, thus ruining the film. I did not detect this. The bulk of the screenplay revolves around Groucho's inspiration of making Carmen into a supposed French entertainer: Fifi , alternating with Carmen as her usual stage self. Fifi, with blond wig and veil across her lower face, and usually a harem-styled dress, seemed to be the more popular of the two, hence the pressure to continue the deception. However, Carmen soon got fed up with the constant rush to change her costume and singing style from one performance to another. Also, when a Hollywood agent became interested in Fifi, Groucho decided it was time to make Fifi disappear. Groucho has Carmen fake a raucous cat fight with Fifi, in her dressing room, for the benefit of others outside the door. For a time , Groucho was suspected of having murdered Fifi, despite his claim that Fifi and Carmen were the same person. But, eventually things work out for the best......A secondary romance pops up every now and then: between Copacabana manager Steve Hunt(Sleve Cochran) and his secretary Anne(Gloria Jean). Gloria was a well-established operatic-styled singer/actress for Universal, who is still around ,at 92. She was at her Hollywood peak in her mid-late teens, costarring with Bing Crosby in "If I Had My Way", and with W.C. Fields, in "Never Give a Sucker an Even Break". Thereafter, Universal cast her in a number of teen-oriented musical comedies, mostly opposite Donald O'Connor. Unfortunately, she was now being kept by Universal mostly as a backup, in case their star opera-styled singer Diana Durban, suddenly disappeared. Here, she only gets one song: "Stranger Things Have Happened", although I would say it's my favorite song in this film. Andy Russell is her male counterpart as a supporting singer/actor. He gets to solo or participate in several songs. He had a nice mellow voice, and would continue to be popular in his native Mexico. Groucho starred in one song and dance: "Go West, Young Man", backed up by the Copa Girls. Carmen had several numbers in her typical style, including Tico Tico No Fuba", and the finale "Let's Do the Copacabana": the latter with help from several other singers or dancers. In her Fifi persona, she did "Je Vous Aime" and "To Make a Hit with Fifi". The film begins with the Copa Girls singing together or individually, "We've come to the Copa".
Review of Copacabana
