Argentine Nights (1940)
Director:
Albert S. Rogell
Writers:
J. Robert Bren (original story), Gladys Atwater (original story)Stars:
The Ritz Brothers, Al Ritz, Harry Ritz
The Andrews Sisters made their screen debut in Argentine Nights, but the stars of the show are the Ritz Brothers, in the first of their four Universal vehicles. The wafer-thin plotline finds the Ritz boys showing up flat broke in Argentina with an all-girl band. Despite their utter lack of funds, the zany trio tries to save a local hotel from the clutches of a con man. Highlights include the Ritz Brothers' famous "hero sandwich" routine (repeated by the two surviving brothers in 1975's Blazing Stewardesses) and a perversely hilarious climax in which the Ritzes are called upon to impersonate the Andrews Sisters (which may have given rise to Patty Andrews' oft-quoted observation "We looked like the Ritz Brothers in drag"). As a bonus for fans of the Superman TV series, nominal romantic lead George Reeves warbles the deathless tune "Amigo We Go Riding Tonight".
