La Cucaracha

Pioneer Pictures followed Warner Brothers July 1934 color short "Service With A Smile" with its own Technicolor short film a month later in August 31, 1934's "La Cucaracha." The small Pioneer studio, affiliated with RKO, was formed to produce color movies. Two Whitney-family members, large stockholders in Technicolor, believed in the company's technology. At first having ambitions to produce the first color feature film using the new process, the Whitneys, along with Merian C. Cooper ("King Kong") as the studio's vice president of production, opted for the shorter musical. In "La Cucaracha," Steffi Duma stars as a jealous singer who hears a famous theatre owner is looking to audition her dancer boyfriend in a Mexican cafe. Her attempts to derail his chances are an excuse to display Technicolor's vibrant colors to the viewing public.

"La Cucaracha" gained fame as the Academy Award winner as the Best Short Subject in a Comedy. Its success at the box office spurred interest towards financing expensive feature films. Pilgrim had spent $65,000 on the 20-minute color short, far more than the normal $15,000 black and white movie at the time.

La Cucaracha (1934)

** (out of 4)

This Oscar-nominated film is rather short on story, which takes a backseat to the studio's use of Technicolor. The film tells the story of a Spanish singer (Steffi Duna) who is worried that her lover/dancer (Don Alvarado) is about to be taken away for a bigger gig so she goes out of her way to ruin his meeting with the producer (Paul Porcasi). This short is certainly very hit and miss because while the story is rather bland, the performances and look of the movie are top notch. I really enjoyed the visual look of the film and the print quality is still strong enough to show off the rather good looking colors. Just take a look early in the film at a greenish colored cape, which just looks marvelous. I also enjoyed all three of the main characters due in large part to the fun performances with Duna really sticking out with her beauty and charm. With that said, the story is pretty weak and the movie goes by at a snail's pace.

It's pretty lightweight, but "La Cucaracha" is fun to watch, and it is not without a couple of clever touches to go with the colorful setting, the likable characters, and the simple story. The early Technicolor still looks pretty good, and it has held up better than the sound (as the other reviewers here have mentioned, the sound is sometimes a bit muddled). It also has a good energy level and an upbeat feel to it.

Steffi Duna stars as a café singer in love with the dancer who also performs there. She becomes worried when a visiting impresario considers taking the dancer to the city to give him his big break, so she makes plans to disrupt his visit. Duna works well in the part, since she is attractive in a mischievous sort of way, and she makes the simple character believable. Paul Porcasi, so often cast in tiny parts, gets a chance to play a larger role here, and he is well cast as Martinez.

The story is somewhat predictable, but pleasant, and it has some funny moments. The whole movie works pretty well for a short feature of its era and genre.

If Technicolor was ever going to be used to good effect early on, then this scenario would seem to have been a good choice. The story is all largely predicable as impresario "Sr. Martinez" (Paul Porcasi) arrives at a café for a nice supper and to watch a dancer he hopes to sign up. The resident singer "Chaquita" (Steffi Duna) overhears his plans and sees an opportunity for stardom herself. That tees us up for some flamboyant Spanish dancing from "Pancho" (Don Alvarado) and a fine rendition of the old folk song "La Cucaracha" from Miss Duna. We get the impression that dancer and singer are a bit hung up on each other, and that "Martinez" is heading for a fall, but none of that really matters here as the whole thing is really about showing us just how bright and vital the colours and costumes are when lit properly and the dancing creatively choreographed.

I sought this out because I'm on a quest to understand the influence of Spanish-speaking filmmakers. I'm really impressed with the current crop wherever they live. Surely there's a literary tradition of folding behind this: Cervantes, Borges, Cortazar...

Now this isn't quite a Spanish film, it is by gringos and only references Spanish idioms. But it is interesting nonetheless.

It is the first film made with the three strip Technicolor process, so it is an audition of sorts. And the audition is for color and spice, if you will.

So the story centers on an audition and on spice, both wrapped in Spanish trappings. That allows our performers in the show within the show to be colorful, especially with greens and blues. Very nice.

The fellow that has to be pleased has an encounter with the girl who we are to receive as sexy. He blushes and a subtle red light is used on his face. Pretty good. The folding here is that the judge in the on screen audience likes the "color." And we are meant to as well.

Then there's a bit with two warring numbers, one the title song that mentions marijuana.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.