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".

After they made their last movie together-A Night in Casablanca and I emphasize it truly was their final one as a team since Groucho only appeared mostly separate from Harpo and Chico in Love Happy and all three were in separate segments in The Story of Mankind-Groucho did his first movie solo here. He's teamed with Carmen Miranda in which he's her agent. She also has to perform as two acts-one as her usual persona, the other as a French woman with a veil on her face. Now that I got that out of the way, I'll just say this was quite funny and pretty entertaining concerning the musical numbers which also included Andy Russell and Gloria Jean, both of whom perform their own renditions of "Stranger Things Have Happened". Oh, and Groucho himself performs-with his greasepaint mustasche as opposed to the hairy prop one he uses to play his character here-Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby's song, "Go West, Young Man" which looks and sounds like a number he could have performed in the movie he made with his brothers a few years back called Go West. In summary, Copacabana is no masterpiece but it's still quite entertaining if you're a fan of all of the above. P.S. Groucho's then-wife Kay Gorcey appears as a girl at the nightclub who tells her hubby how much the cigars cost to his consternation.

This is worthwhile motion picture entertainment. It shows off the considerable talents of Groucho Marx and Carmen Miranda, not to mention their highly unusual chemistry, and leads the casual classic movie viewer to an enjoyable experience.The budget of this independent United Artists release could have been larger, because a few of the sets do appear a bit chintzy, as if they have been constructed quickly and cheaply. But the lavish musical numbers are more than acceptable and convey great style and extravagance, more than countering the picture's other visual shortcomings.Particularly impressive is a charming dream scene that Gloria Jean performs with Steve Cochran (a much-underrated actor). And how can one not become an immediate fan of singer Andy Russell whose vocal talents are amply on display during the proceedings?

Copacabana showcases the unlikely pairing of Groucho Marx and Carmen Miranda in a musical melange concerning Carmen playing two different singers in the famous nightclub. The gags are fast and funny and the songs tuneful. Andy Russell and Gloria Jean are along to add to the music quotient and Steve Cochran is on hand to oversee the nightclub. The Copa gals are gorgeous and are given the opportunity to show off their personalities a bit. Louis Sobel, Earl Wilson and Abel Green, all real-life collumnists from the era make cameo appearances. This is definitely a forties musical with all the trappings. The musical numbers, choreographed by Larry Cebellos, are fun to watch, and look good in the restored black-and-white print. Purists may prefer a Marx Brothers comedy or a Carmen Miranda Technicolor musical from Fox, but this is a delightful way to spend an hour and a half. For me, the seemingly strange combination of Groucho and Carmen works and becomes a unique musical comedy experience.