Fiesta

Don Antonio Morales (Fortunio Bonanova) is a bullfighting legend who is thrilled by the birth of twin children. His daughter Maria (Esther Williams) grows to be a beautiful, headstrong woman, while his son Mario (Ricardo Montalban) becomes a gifted musician and promising matador. Their father insists that Mario concentrate on bullfighting, but Maria knows that Mario's heart is in his music, so she tries to help her brother follow his dreams, going to extremes to do so.

I was a bit torn on this one. The cast is generally likable, although I find John Carroll to be a bit weaselly. Montalban gets an "introducing" credit, and he has a lot of screen presence, and he shares a terrific dance scene with Charisse at the film's halfway point. Williams still finds a way to show up in a bathing suit, while Mary Astor is terribly wasted in a nothing role as the twins' mother. Bullfighting was still socially acceptable at this time, so it went over. Today it seems like a feature film built on the declawing of cats. The movie earned an Oscar nomination for Best Score (Johnny Green).

Leonard Maltin's mini-biography of Cyd Charisse contains a very accurate piece of text: "the producers saw to it that she made the maximum impact in the minimal amount of screen time." In FIESTA she has a painfully small role (roughly fifth or sixth billed in the credits), but when it comes time for her to do what she does best, she does not disappoint. The irony, of course, is that she more closely appears Latin (with enhanced Hollywood makeup) than does Esther Williams- and Williams has the dubious distinction of playing the twin sister (!) of Ricardo Montalban. This, of course, is not something to blame on the actors; it's simply one of those MGM premises you have to buy/accept right off the bat. Montalban's debut film shows him off very nicely as a passionate would-be toreador whose first love is composing music. The family seems to be socially prominent and the outdoor set pieces and colorful costumes enhance the south-of-the-border atmosphere quite nicely. But the highlights are undoubtedly from Montalban and Charisse playing young lovers who pause every fifteen or so minutes to dance: first in a sort of group flamenco in a local salon set to the music of "La Bamba," then in a rapturous formal duet (him in black suit and Mexican hat; her in a multi-tiered white gown). MGM must've liked them together as they paired them in no less than four different films in the late 40's: this one, THE KISSING BANDIT, MARK OF THE RENEGADE, and ON AN ISLAND WITH YOU, almost always in dance duets.

This film introduces Richardo Montalban and Cyd Charisse (to the American public). And it features much festive Mexican music. One of the highlights of the film is a dance where Charisse is electric--in my opinion outdoing some of the Rita Hayworth performances that preceded. Montalban strikes a dramatic figure on the dance floor, in the bull ring, and (surprisingly) at the piano. Other reviewers have wondered about his piano technique. It is just a guess, but I think he was a very good faker (not so good with the guitar). His timing is excellent and his fingering is even fairly credible. Just good enough to allow the director to linger on the keyboard more than directors usually do when non-pianists perform.

Yes the script is fairly predictable, but I found the film enjoyable. Esther Williams may not be at her best here, and the role certainly does not require a great range or dramatic power, but she is, as always, a beautiful breath of fresh air.

I am not a fan of bullfights. If all they did was tease the bull with a cape, bullfights might be purely artistic expressions of athleticism. But those portions of the fight that occur outside of the cape work are brutal and merely sad. Fortunately, this film only deals with the cape work. As such, I found the scenes in the ring interesting. How many times can you watch a bull charge at a cape before it become boring and repetitive? Usually, only a few times. But this film illustrates the variations in cape work and the daring of the matadors.

I've just seen "Fiesta" for the first time. I was especially intrigued by Montalban's piano playing, wondering if he was really playing. If he was, he was outstanding. But what really had me wondering was: in the scenes in the bullring, someone was really 'lidiando' (leading) the bull...who was it? I've seen many bullfights in Mexico around the time that this movie was filmed, and those were excellent 'faenas' (the actual movements with the cape while leading the bull) being executed, not fake. Whoever the real matador was, he deserved to be credited. Also, in one scene there was a group of singers who were dressed in clothing typical of 'estudiantinas' (university students whose specialty is singing in a particular Spanish style)...I wondered which group was performing and couldn't find them in the credits.

I've viewed this film over and over and my piano training says there's no trick photography in the scenes where Montalban plays Green's adaptation of El Salon Mexico. I'm sure the beat-up old piano is not the actual sound source, but Montalban is hitting all the right keys at the right time! His technique is well above average, and anyone who could even fake that well would have to be able to play well too. Yet there's no mention of musical skill or training in any of his bios, nor does he play in any later films. Can anyone shed some light on this mysterious aspect of the multi-talented Senor Montalban?