Directed by WILLIAM A. SEITER. Assistant director: Norman Deming. Screenplay by Michael Fessier & Ernest Pagano, and Delmer Daves, based on an original story and screenplay, "The Gay Senorita", by Carlos Olivari and Sixto Pondal Rios. Photographed by Ted Tetzlaff. Musical score by Jerome Kern. Musical director: Leigh Harline, assisted by Paul Mertz. Musical arrangements by Conrad Salinger. Musical arrangement of "The Shorty George", by Lyle Murphy. Xavier Cugat's specialty, "Chiu Chiu", by Nicanor Molinare. Other songs: "Dearly Beloved", "The Shorty George", "I'm Old-Fashioned", "Wedding in the Spring", "You Were Never Lovelier" and "These Orchids" by Jerome Kern (music) and Johnny Mercer (lyrics). Music recording by P.J. Faulkner. Dance director: Fred Astaire. Assistant dance director: Val Raset. Art direction by Lionel Banks and Rudolph Sternad. Set decoration by Frank Tuttle. Gowns by Irene. Costume supervision by Ray Howell. Film editor: William Lyon. Sound recording: John Livadary. Western Electric Sound System. Producer: Louis F. Edelman.Copyright 19 October 1942 by Columbia Pictures Corp. New York opening at the Radio City Music Hall: 4 December 1942 (ran two weeks). U.S. release: 19 November 1942. Australian release: 29 April 1943. 8,921 feet. 99 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Nightclub owner sends his daughter notes and flowers so that she will welcome a marriage proposal from a suitable young man.NOTES: Nominated for Academy Awards for Best Sound (won by Yankee Doodle Dandy); Scoring of a Musical Picture (won by Yankee Doodle Dandy); Best Song, "Dearly Beloved" (won by "White Christmas" from Holiday Inn).Songs and musical numbers: "Chiu Chiu" (Romay), "Dearly Beloved" (Astaire, reprized Hayworth dubbed by Nan Wynn), "Wedding in the Spring" (Brooks, Mara, reprized Romay), "I'm Old Fashioned" (Astaire, Hayworth dubbed by Nan Wynn), "The Shorty George" (Astaire, Hayworth), "You Were Never Lovelier" (Astaire, reprized as a dance by Astaire, Hayworth), "These Orchids" (Cugat). Astaire also had an important solo audition dance, arranged by Cugat and company from music by Raphael Hernandez, Noro Morales, J. Comacho, Franz Liszt and Gilbert Valdes.Deleted song: "On the Beam" (Astaire) by Kern and Mercer.VIEWER'S GUIDE: Suitable for all.COMMENT: A lightly entertaining piece of musical fluff with Hayworth looking exquisite in Irene costumes and Fred in fine vocal and terpsichorean form. We have to wait about 40 minutes for Fred and Rita to get together in a dance number but it is worth the wait. The songs are catchy, the sets pleasant and the script lightly amusing with Adolphe Menjou making the most of his opportunities (there is some splendid by-play between him and Gus Schilling). Seiter's direction is nothing special, but the film has an attractive sheen and although Adele Mara and Leslie Brooks are unintentionally obnoxious as a pair of empty-headed sisters, the film provides a lot of pleasantly light musical entertainment.Xavier Cugat tries his hand at acting and cartooning with the same ease he brings to his conducting — undistinctive but pleasant.But Fred and Rita are really magical.OTHER VIEWS: The brass at Columbia had forgotten all about the fact that I was a dancer until Fred Astaire, who knew my background, reminded them. When Fred came to Columbia to make "You'll Never Get Rich" (1941), they asked him who he wanted as a dancing partner. Fred asked for me! That surprised them, but Fred knew what he was about. He knew my work. The film was a huge success and as a result I was loaned out to Fox for "My Gal Sal" (1942), and then re-teamed with Fred for "You Were Never Lovelier". — Rita Hayworth. Rita danced with trained perfection and individuality. Of course, she knew through experience what this dancing business was all about. That was apparent the moment I started working with her. I enjoyed making both "You'll Never Get Rich" and "You Were Never Lovelier" because of Rita. — Fred Astaire.

Wealthy nightclub owner Eduardo Acuña (Adolphe Menjou) is worried that his daughter Maria (Rita Hayworth) will never marry because she is too picky about the kind of man she wants. So he sends her love letters and flowers from a fictional admirer, intending to find a man to fill that role later. Maria comes to believe dancer Bob Davis (Fred Astaire) is her admirer and falls for him. But Eduardo doesn't think Bob is good enough for her so he offers him a contract with his nightclub if he can make Maria fall out of love.Wonderful musical romantic comedy with the always delightful Fred Astaire and the stunning Rita Hayworth. She was rarely more gorgeous than she is here. The two had great chemistry and their dance scenes are very nice. The cast is a lot of fun. Menjou is terrific. Xavier Cugat is very funny. Loved Adele Mara and Leslie Brooks as Rita's sisters. They stole every scene they were in. Very charming and lovely movie. A must for fans of Astaire and Hayworth.

A true romantic comedy of 1942 was this film. It takes place in Argentina where Adolphe Menjou insists that his 4 daughters get married in the order of their age. When the eldest does marry, pressure is put on daughter #2, Rita Hayworth, a cold person, whose presence prevents daughters 3 and 4 from marrying their beaus.At this point, Fred Astaire enters the film as a New York dancer looking for work in Argentina when he blows all his money on the horses. Menjou has the idea of writing letters to his daughter, and then it is assumed that Astaire has been writing the letters.You don't have to have a doctorate to realize that love shall invariably develop between Hayworth and Astaire, but the dancing and music are awesome.Xavier Cugat stars as himself in this lively film, and the guy who plays Fernando, brings comic relief. Menjou is as crusty as ever, but is brought down to humility by film's end due to his writing getting him in trouble with his devoted wife, the latter thinks an affair by him is occurring!Fun to watch. Enjoyable to see.

Light and frothy Fred Astaire musical paired this time with the young and very lovely Rita Hayworth as his unlikely paramour. Amazing that surrounded by a horde of young hunks in their best bib and tuckers rich ingénue Hayworth falls for old hair-receding lantern-jawed Fred, but hey, hooray for Hollywood, go with the flow and accept this pleasant confection for what it is. Adolphe Menjou enters into the spirit of the piece with an endearing turn as Hayworth's crusty papa who of course eventually relents and accepts Fred into the family. The rest of the cast ditter and fritter about pleasantly, in their fine clothes and slight roles in a narrative replete with the customary ups and downs, coincidences and happy ending of every Fred musical ever made. The interior settings are plush befitting Menjou's part as the richest man, it would appear, in the whole of South America and the direction is brisk - I always find myself watching for the cuts in the dancing sequences, cleverly disguised as usual. The music I found a little ho-hum, all moon-in-June rhyming down Dingly Dell, certainly no Hart or Porter - type witticisms present here. Fred is Fred as usual, a little bit hammy, unbelievable, as I've indicated as Hayworth's love interest but great in his dance routines as ever (shame about his singing). Hayworth is best of all, alluring and sophisticated and already hinting here and there at the depths of future parts such as "Gilda" and "The Lady From Shanghai". Here she is captured, however, in her innocent youth, lighting up the screen, dancing well into the bargain opposite the maestro. In summary, not a movie on a par with the Fred and Ginger classics of the 30's but enjoyable on its own terms for all that.