In Caliente

Pat O'Brien, part time critic and full time boozer, gets pulled away to Caliente in Mexico by his friend Edward Everett Horton to avoid getting married to gold digger Glenda Farrell. But it's out of the frying pan into the fire.

Dolores Del Rio has a Spanish dancing act that O'Brien savagely panned one night after attending her performance stewed to the gills. That hurt her career and when she sees him on her home turf, she's going to get a little vengeance. She and father/manager Leo Carrillo.

Of course if you can't figure out where this plot is going by now, you haven't seen too many old films. But the plot is just an excuse to string together four Busby Berkeley numbers, including the big hit that came out of the film, The Lady in Red.

Dolores Del Rio, what a beauty she was. Hard to believe anyone could have panned her dancing. She sang beautifully as well. When she got her first big break in American cinema in the silent version of Ramona, she recorded the title song and even though the screen was silent, her record sold quite a bit, such was the allure she conveyed.

Of course Pat O'Brien was his usual fast talking promoter, though slowed down a bit due to hangover. He didn't contribute anything musical here, but he's always a pleasure to watch.

Phil Regan did some vocalizing including the elaborate Muchacha finale number. The DeMarcos danced, Wini Shaw sang, and Judy Canova in her screen debut reprised a hillbilly version of The Lady In Red to a flustered Edward Everett Horton. It was quite a funny moment.

In Caliente is not the best of the Busby Berkeley Warner Brothers musicals, but it's still good entertainment.