This is the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo as directed by Jean Negulesco for Warner Bros. and The Vitaphone Company. A narrator tells the story as various male and female dancers then do their thing in glorious Technicolor. The whole thing seems to be about 30 minutes long. This was one of the extras on the Warner Night at the Movies link of the In This Our Life DVD. The print was in good enough condition. Oh, and there are some people in animal costumes at the end. There's supposed to be ten lines for this review to be submitted on this site but I'm running out of things to say. Maybe I'll just mention some newsreel footage also on the disc that shows celebs like Laruel & Hardy and Desi Arnaz shaking hands with some government officials and traveling in Washington, D.C. that I also enjoyed watching. Okay, so on that note, I recommend Spanish Fiesta.
4 Reviews
Ole!
boblipton6 June 2022
The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo made a couple of shorts for Jean Negulesco at Vitagraph at this time; I haven't checked, but I imagine the troupe was 'resting' in the United States at the time. Léonide Massine gets the lead here, as she does in THE GAY PARISIAN. Good music, good dancing, nice Technicolor. What more do you want?
In crafting this ultimately unheeded warning to We Americans . . .
oscaralbert20 April 2017
Warning: Spoilers
. . . of the (Then) Far Future, Warner Bros.' always prophetic prognosticators of Doom thought Waaay outside of the box. Warner became the first U.S. movie studio to put the Ballet Russo De Monte Carlo onto film, when they recognized before anyone else that $PANI$H FIESTA was an allegorical forecast for the dire events of 2016. After some Election Rigging Foreplay, the main event of Russia's bloodless coup to capture the governmental seat of U.S. Power begins at 10:09 of this Two-Reeler Live-Action short. Ballet choreographer/lead dancer Leonide Massine plays Red Commie KGB Chief Vlad "The Mad Russian" Putin. With hair adorned by red gardenia, dancing in red heels, decked out in a frilly white skirt trimmed in red, topped off by a red vest, is the first Red U.S. "President," Don Juan Trump, played here by Tamara Toumanova. When Putin says "Jump!" Trump jumps. At about 13:50 the entire Trump\Kushner Crime Family Mob joins in the Felonious Fun, gyrating as they launder the $1 TRILLION-plus Putin and his seven oligarch buddies steal from the Russian People. At 17:00 a dozen human-sized rats pop up along the wall overlooking the dance floor to remind us that this is the biggest financial scam in World History.
Terrific Looking Technicolor
Michael_Elliott3 January 2011
Spanish Fiesta (1942)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "Capriccio Espagnol" is brought to life by MGM and The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. I'm not overly familiar with the original Spanish folk melodies but I somewhat enjoyed this glossy version from MGM. The biggest reason to watch this film is for its Technicolor, which really jumps off the screen and grabs you. I really loved the darkish tone that haunted the entire look of the picture and just keep your eyes on the floors and walls and the blue tone that they have. The costumes are all made out to where their full color will jump off the screen so the vibrant reds and terrific to look at as well. The "story" isn't all that bad with the cast doing a very nice job bringing it to life. The music as well is extremely good so those who are familiar with the subject will certainly enjoy this production.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "Capriccio Espagnol" is brought to life by MGM and The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. I'm not overly familiar with the original Spanish folk melodies but I somewhat enjoyed this glossy version from MGM. The biggest reason to watch this film is for its Technicolor, which really jumps off the screen and grabs you. I really loved the darkish tone that haunted the entire look of the picture and just keep your eyes on the floors and walls and the blue tone that they have. The costumes are all made out to where their full color will jump off the screen so the vibrant reds and terrific to look at as well. The "story" isn't all that bad with the cast doing a very nice job bringing it to life. The music as well is extremely good so those who are familiar with the subject will certainly enjoy this production.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
