Marisol no Rio

This Spanish variation on THE PARENT TRAP with Marisol playing both the poor Madrid teenager as well as her estranged sister in Rio De Janeiro is one my favorite all-time films. A guilty pleasure to be repeated several times a year. Like GREASE, this may not be CITIZEN KANE but it sure makes time fly.

Extremely fun Marisol's recital with humor, emotion , enjoyable moments and a lot of songs , being accompanied by a great support cast , and including a luminous and brilliant cinematography . Furthermore , musical score responds appropriately to the ambient , originating a careful atmosphere . Overly sentimental musical comedy with bemusing and disconcerting incidents but with Marisol it Works . Marisol's fourth movie about a dysfunctional family saved by intelligence , wisdom and craftiness carried out by two twins , both , Marisol and Mariluz , played by actress Marisol herself . As it deals with twin sisters : Marisol and Mariluz , who live separately: Marisol is a girl with a kind heart , she lives with their mummy (Isabel Garcés) in the busy Madrid . Mariluz (Marisol herself) lives in Brazil with her wealthy uncle and tutor (José Marco Davo) , she has a good friend and assistant , the African little girl Copito (the charming , and humorous Joëlle Rivero who starred Tombola , too ) . Both of whom display a lot of fantasy , vitality , humor and overflowing , vivid imagination . Marisol's mother has desperately attempted to get money to see Mariluz in the metrópolis of Rio de Janeiro , so she and Marisol have worked in all kinds of places and at whatever means , but they never get enough cash. After spending time in useless jobs with little success , one day Marisol's mom decides to sell everything to get the money to go to Brasil and reunite the family . Once there a sensitive brotherhood and fraternity arises between them . Then , they find out that a very egoistic secretary doesn't like these peculiar relationships . Mariluz's governess Sandra (Gisia Paradís ) and her lover Arturo (Fernando Cebrian) have schemed a plot to get the twins' uncle's money. But now things to be changed , that's why Marisol and her mom have arrived in uncle's mansion , then the schemers must think of how to get them out of the way .

Sympathetic , attractive and enjoyable musical comedy with child prodigy Marisol giving a likeable double character ,providing a lot of chances of dancing , singing and musical numbers ; in addtiong featuring a fantastic supporting cast . Moving story proceeded with simplicity and delicacy, dealing with the teen Marisol as friendly and graceful Spanish/Brazilan girl . Marisol 's fun musical comedy with vitality, humor and vivid imagination Isabel Garces and Pulgarcito keep the plot moving between musical numbers.This is an amusing and funny comedy with musical numbers by the teen idol Marisol playing as a dreamy girl who goes Brazil , discovering another way of loving, enjoying and living , containing hilarious moments here and there . This is a fun , funny , attractive and agreeable movie dealing with the graceful Marisol who has a vivid imagination and a heart of gold . She is well accompanied by a fine plethora of secondaries as José Marco Davó , Gisia Paradís , Fernando Cebrián , George Rigaud , Angel Alvarez , José Thelman , Jose Orjas , Laly Soldevila , Adrián Ortega , Luis Induni , José María Caffarel , Rafaela Aparicio , Luis Barbero , Pilar Clemens ,Goyo Lebrero , among others .

Of course , Marisol steals the show as the splendid singer and dancer girl ; she is here a 16-year-old adolescent who even has a sweetheart played by José Thelman . Marisol is well supported by a fine support cast with special mention for regular Isabel Garcés playing her ordinary role , and full of familiar faces , along with a great number of cameos . The scenarios , designed by Enrique Alarcón , in which develop the deeds results to be adequate and well designed . Here Marisol sings some wonderful and popular songs , being especially known : Guajiras with Dance Director: Enrique Giménez 'El Cojo' and Sueño (dance) with Dance Director: Ramón Monra . The filmmaker Fernando Palacios as well as the famous producer Goyanes succeed in this picture , obtaining a great achievement , managing perfectly to the performers and taking advantage of them , giving the best of their acting . It's worthwhile mingle of music , choreography , comedy , sentimentalism and good feeling . Here Marisol gives a sympathetic acting in this heart-touching movie as a friendly girl and her twin . Can be said that she is perfectly adequate to his measure . Marisol was an appealing Spanish actress and singer . Spanish film studios were looking for a new child star to follow the steps of Pablito Calvo, and make popular and populist folkloric movies and they found Marisol . She was discovered by her future producer Manuel J. Goyanes in an exhibition of the "Coros y Danzas de Málaga" in TVE in 1959 . Her debut in cinema was in 1960 and she complemented her activity in cinema with records , recitals and TV-shows . Most of them were produced by Manuel J Goyanes , in fact , she was introduced to the movie business and discovered by this powerful producer in ¨Un Rayo De Luz¨ (1960) by Luis Lucia , who directed her in this first feature , where earned his famous name . He was widely known in Spain when she became a widely successful child star , following ¨Ha Llegado Un Angel¨, ¨Tombola¨, ¨Marisol Rumbo a Rio¨ which were big box-office hits in Spain during Franco's dictatorship , and she became Spain's most famous girl actress , outstanding his highly expressive face and eyes , charming eyes and innocent , angelical face . She was a milestone in Spanish "child prodigies" under Franco along with Joselito , Pili and Mili , Ana Belén and especially Pablito Calvo . And the producers trying to keep them as little kids for as long as possible . Due to false advertising by the studios that made their movies, and which wanted to make them appear younger than they really were , an obsession that haunted them through the whole of their careers . After the national and international hits as ¨La Nueva Cenicienta¨ , ¨La Historia De Bienvenido¨ and ¨Cabriola¨, and following other successful films as ¨4 Bodas Marisol¨, ¨Carola De Dia , Carola De Noche¨ . In some films Marisol was already a teenager, and looked more like a young woman than like a little girl . So, the producers decided to compress her breasts with a bandage under her clothes to make her look younger . In her films she often sings Flamenco Cante , Saetas , Soleadas , Bulerias , Habaneras and other Folkloric songs . After several movies and records , and already a big star as a singer and an actress in Europe, the next move was trying to triumph in America, there she also played , sang and danced to grant local box-office . His success even reached around the world . However, life was not too glamorous for Marisol, as she was treated almost as a sideshow act by his managers , not allowing him to become an ordinary teenager . She was forced to keep his childlike image up to the seventies ; however , thanks to Juán Antonio Bardém changed his acting style , playing thrillers as ¨La Corrupción de Chris Miller¨ and ¨Poder Del Deseo¨ , and subsequently directed by prestigious filmmakers as Carlos Saura in ¨Carmen¨ , ¨Bodas de Sangre¨ and Mario Camus¨ in ¨Dias Del Pasado¨. Her last movies were the notorious TV series ¨Proceso a Mariana Pineda¨ and ¨Caso Cerrado¨ and she was not successful anymore . Marisol married two times , to Carlos Goyanes and Antonio Gades . Fidel Castro was the best man at her wedding to Antonio Gades . She has three daughters from her marriage to Antonio Gades , on of them the known actress Maria Esteve . Disappearing from public life in 1985, when she was still high in her career, she left everything , returned to her homeland, Malaga, and has lived as a housewife since then for her own choice . Has received many invitations to return, but has declined all of them, even simple interviews on TV. Retired In Malaga from acting at early age to become a discreet person and was then discovered much later that she had become a housewife and is now a social and humanitarian activist.

Being well produced by a great producer Manuel J. Goyanes , Marisol's usual producer , and by powerful Francoist producer Cesareo Gonzalez that produced super-productions and often financed false but breathtaking historical spectacles . It contains a diverting screenplay from notorious writers as José María Palacio and Alfonso Paso . And atmospheric and catching musical score by Augusto Algueró , including marvellous songs . As well as an evocative cinematography by Antonio L Ballesteros . The motion picture was professionally directed by Fernando Palacios, being well and solidly paced. He was a good filmmaker who directed some acceptable comedies as El dia de enamorados, Juanito , Tres de la Cruz Roja, Vuelve San Valentin, Operacion embajada, Buscame esa chica, La familia y uno mas , Whisky y Vodka and this Marisol rumbo a Rio.

This must be the most enjoyable to see Marisol picture. Good edition, good songs. "Marisol rumbo a Rio" was made intended to set the end of Marisol's childhood. So we have the song "Muchachita". The plot is not really based in "The parent's trap", we have no parents to join here, and both sisters know the existence of each other before they met. There are spots of racism, of course, it was a common place in franquist Spain. Despite of it, there is lots of fun, a General Public must see for every researcher of the sixties hispanic cinema. The edition by José Antonio Rojo is another thumb up. Now, if something is not good in this movie, is the final scene. Some additional elaborations could have been appreciated. But this occasionally happens in good pictures (remember the tasteless final scene of the academy award musical "Oliver!").

• Peter Garner