Masquerade in Mexico (1945) DVD-R

Starring Dorothy Lamour, Arturo de Cordova, Patric Knowles, Ann Dvorak, George Rigaud
Directed by Mitchell Leisen

Print: black/white
Runtime: 96 min.
Genre: comedy
Print Quality: B

The Technicolor musical Masquerade in Mexico is Mitchell Leisen's remake of his own
Midnight. Stranded in Mexico City without a dime, glamorous Angel O'Reilly (Dorothy
Lamour) is rescued by wealthy Thomas Grant (Patric Knowles). But Grant's motivations are
anything but altrustic. In order to get his wife Helen's (Ann Dvorak) mind off handsome
bullfighter Manolo Segovia (Arturo de Cordova), Grant passes Angel off as a Contessa at a
weekend party, reasoning that Segovia will switch his attentions to our heroine.
Screenwriter Karl Tunberg has added a jewel-theft angle to the original Edwin Justis
Mayer/Franz Spencer story, which improves things not at all. Masquerade in Mexico is
admittedly a handsomer production than Midnight, but the remake lacks the sparkle of the
original film's stars Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche, John Barrymore, Francis Lederer, Mary
Astor et. al.