La Fiesta de Santa Barbara

By the time this short was filmed the Gumm/Garland Sisters act was all but disbanded as Judy was coming more and more to the spotlight. This was an early MGM experiment with 3 strip technicolor and they pulled out a lot of stops to have stars of MGM in this short. The Garland Sisters perform " La Cucaracha" in Mexican-type garb but they are rather hard to see as they (especially Judy) were filmed almost entirely in profile. You just don't get a good enough look at Judy here. It's fun history trivia, the first appearance by Judy on a "Hollywood" picture, but for a better early performance by Judy in a short, see her with Deanna Durbin in "Every Sunday".

Louis B. Mayer actually splurged for color in this Pete Smith short, La Fiesta De Santa Barbara. The short revolves around MGM's recreation of the famous celebration in Santa Barbara, California with a number of MGM's contract players and others making a brief appearance.

Seen in the audience are such luminaries as Robert Taylor, Gary Cooper, Gilbert Roland, Edmund Lowe, and a whole lot more. In her only film appearance with her sisters, Judy Garland appears with them under her real name of Frances Gumm singing La Cucaracha.

Highlight for me is Andy Devine fighting a couple of guys in a bull's costume as per the Hispanic tradition of the Fiesta. Capping the whole thing off in the end is Leo Carrillo riding in something very much like the native costume he wore when playing Pancho on the Cisco Kid. This is real though for Leo Carillo actually was a descendant of the earliest settlers in California.

It's a pleasant enough short, especially for those who like to stargaze.

One of the most pleasant surprises of this early 3-strip Technicolor short was that a ballet dancer that appears here was named Maria Gambarelli! I half wondered if Blake Edwards was naming the character played by Elke Sommer in A Shot in the Dark after this now-forgotten performer (though the spelling of the Sommer character's surname was actually Gambrelli). I watched this on YouTube mainly to see an early Judy Garland appearance as we watch her in profile with her two older sisters singing "La Cucaracha". That was the highlight for me which otherwise showed some dances (like that of Ms. Gambarelli) that were enjoyable and some lame comedy between Andy Devine as a great bull-fighter (yeah, right!) and Buster Keaton as a bull owner who provides one that is obviously a man in animal costume. Only funny part of those two is when they cry-with Buster providing handkerchief to "bull"-during the sad part of "La Cucaracha". Also lame was seeing Ted Healy without his stooges dealing with a crasher who keeps mistaking Healy for other movie stars. (Healy himself didn't know Zeppo had left The Marx Brothers since he puts "Four" between "The" and "Marx"!) Speaking of a Marx, it was interesting seeing Harpo without his wig though he is wearing a hat to hide his bald head. Also interesting was seeing Ida Lupino among the cowgirls in the beginning though I also recognized Toby Wing from her part in Murder at the Vanities last year (at least when announcer Pete Smith identified her). Oh, and Smith himself wasn't funny with his wise-guy narration. Other famous stars you may or may not recognize are also in cameos and not all are M-G-M contract players either! So with all that said, La fiesta de Santa Barbara is worth a look for anyone curious about Judy Garland's early film appearances or the early use of 3-strip Technicolor.

I just decided to watch all Judy Garland's movies. That's a short film so it's easy to look at but I don't really understand the plot. I rated 6 for all dances and songs.

Okay... I realize that the average film buff is more interested in Judy Garland's appearance (singing 'La Cucaracha' complete with the marijuana fumar' references) or the fact that this is one of MGM's earliest attempts at 3-strip Technicolor. But the bang for my TCM dollars is in seeing TOBY WING in that red cowboy shirt... she is the best argument I've ever seen for human cloning. There's also a protracted bit with Andy Devine and Buster Keaton (Was he happy to be out of Educational Pictures and back at MGM? Who can tell?) that involves bullfighting two guys in a cow suit, quick shots of folks like Gary Cooper, Warner Baxter and a very un-PC Leo Carrillo exhibiting a shocking lack of handgun safety. Also look for Ted Healy re-arranging a party crasher's nose (he's just not the same without the Stooges). For Toby Wing's appearance alone this is worth seeing... the typically hypo-nasal Ted Smith's least intrusive narrations and the production values make this a top notch mid-30's short.