5/5 "now we can be secretly engaged and tell everybody !!!"
  by Matthew G. Sherwin (last seen screaming at Amazon customer service)
You Were Never Lovelier boasts terrific song and dance numbers performed by Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth; and the acting is very convincing throughout the picture. The cinematography and the choreography shine--especially in those dance scenes. Fred Astaire is in excellent form here; and even if he isn't dancing with Ginger Rogers you'll see quite a match in Rita Heyworth! The script was well written and there's just enough comic relief (especially by Gus Schilling as Mr. Acuña's assistant) to make the film truly and completely enjoyable. The quality of the print is excellent, too.

When the action starts, we meet a famous American dancer who is temporarily down and out, Robert 'Bob' Davis (Fred Astaire); he is Buenos Aires, Argentina on vacation. When Robert loses just a bit too much money at the racetrack, Bob must find work fast--and he goes to a hotel in Buenos Aires owned by the stuffy and highly irritable Eduardo Acuña (Adolph Menjou). Unfortunately once again, Robert can't even get by Acuña's assistant, Fernando (Gus Schilling); and that certainly leaves Robert in a jam. How will he get to Mr. Acuña and apply for a job in the hotel nightclub with Xavier Cugat & His Orchestra?

At the same time, things are heating up in the Acuña household. The eldest of four daughters, Julia (Catherine Craig), is marrying--and now according to Acuña tradition the very independent minded second oldest daughter, Maria, must marry next. This causes much angst for Maria's two younger sisters, Cecy (Leslie Brooks) and Lita (Adele Mara) because they have already chosen the men they wish to marry--but their weddings cannot take place until Maria, who will not rush, gets married first. Through a few mistaken identities and misunderstandings, however, Eduardo Acuña unwittingly sets up the man he can't stand, Robert Davis, to pose as the fellow who has been sending dozens of beautiful orchids to Maria. In actuality, Eduardo has been sending those orchids to his daughter Maria all along, preparing her for a suitor that he himself deems worthy of Maria. Eduardo is callous, too--even when he sees that Maria has true feelings for Robert, he thinks nothing of telling Robert to get out of Argentina and fly home. Acuña wants Robert to break Maria's heart and tell her that he only wanted her for the job at Acuña's hotel nightclub, which, of course, is very far from true because Robert and Maria are in love.

What happens next is anybody's guess, although perhaps you can see the resolution coming anyway in spite of a few unexpected plot twists near the end of the film. In any event, prepare to be dazzled with superlative song and dance scenes; I won't forget them anytime soon! Xavier Cugat & His Orchestra are also featured brilliantly; I love their performances in this film as well. Look also for Barbara Brown as Eduardo's wife Delfina Acuña; and Isobel Elsom plays Maria Castro very well.

The DVD doesn't come with any extras. I would have liked something but I'm afraid we come up empty.

You Were Never Lovelier is a classic and the dancing is impeccable--after all, who can beat Fred Astaire at dancing? Rita Hayworth dances magnificently as well. I highly recommend this for fans of the actors in this movie; and of course people who enjoy classic movie musicals will not be disappointed.

3/5 not their finest hour?
  by R. Bagula (Lakeside, Ca United States)
I'm a big Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth fan, but their love scenes
here when compared to the Glen Ford ones are just flat.
The dance scenes are fine and the music is also very good.
Just the plot is contrived ( more than usual in musicals)
and there doesn't seem to be any chemistry between the older Astaire and Miss Hayworth who plays out of character a very good south American girl.
Worse with Brazilian music being so good,
there is just no native south American music,
just an Americanized big band.

4/5 Astaire and an Alluring Hayworth Dance to Jerome Kern and Rise Above the Predictable Shenanigans
  by Ed Uyeshima (San Francisco, CA USA)
This movie is appropriately titled, as it's hard to imagine a woman more breathtakingly beautiful than Rita Hayworth in the early 1940's. The fact that she was an accomplished dancer - reportedly Fred Astaire's favorite partner - only adds to her ethereal, otherworldly appeal. Their second and sadly last pairing in this lightweight 1942 confection hardly does justice to either star, but it's a pleasant enough romantic comedy highlighted by just two numbers where they dance together. Those unparalleled moments are worth slogging through the silly plot co-penned by Michael Fessier, Ernest Pagano, and Delmer Daves.

Directed by studio journeyman William A. Seiter, the film has American hoofer Bob Davis in Buenos Aires losing his savings at the racetrack. Looking for work, he seeks a chance to audition for hotel owner Eduardo Acuna. Enlisting the help of bandleader Xavier Cugat (Charo's future husband) and his orchestra, he fails to impress Acuna. However, through various plot machinations including mistaken identity and parental scheming, Bob meets and becomes smitten with Acuna's headstrong daughter Maria, who has decided she will never marry. This upsets her two giggly younger sisters who cannot marry their respective sweethearts until Maria marries. The resolution to this dilemma is predictable, but it is all wrapped in a soundtrack that combines Latin rhythms and sonorous songs by Jerome Kern. One of the composer's best, the über-romantic "I'm Old-Fashioned", provides the film's unequivocal high point as Hayworth lip syncs the classic chestnut to Nan Wynn's dusky alto and moves into a graceful pas de deux with Astaire peppered with a Latin-flavored interlude.

On the other end of the spectrum is the be-bop delight, "Shorty George" where a bobby-socked Hayworth tap dances with impressive abandon as she matches Astaire step for step. Astaire's artistry goes without saying, although Bob is pretty much like every hapless character he played in all those movies with Ginger Rogers. At 24, Hayworth is such a serene object of desire as Maria that it's no wonder Astaire's character is rendered speechless and asks her to turn around to avoid further embarrassment. Adolphe Menjou is his usual pompous blowhard as Acuna though hardly believable as an Argentinean, while Cugat seems far more at ease with a baton than with a script. Compared with their 1941 film, You'll Never Get Rich, this movie has a more fanciful tone without the wartime context, but the highlights are less frequent. This was Hayworth's favorite film, and apparently a fifteen-year-old Fidel Castro is among the extras. The 2004 DVD offers no additional features.

4/5 Lovelier
  by L. Miller (Minnetonka, Minnesota)
Ah, the grace and elegance of another time and place. Nobody does it better! I really needed this in these "interesting times."

5/5 Astaire & Hayworth - Oh, what beautiful chemistry
  by movieman56
Throughout the forties, Rita Hayworth proved she could play sultry temptresses (Blood and Sand, Gilda, The Loves of Carmen), yet be equally adept and endearing in musical comedies. Not many actresses could pull off both extremes convincingly, but Rita's authenticity permeated either role .

No wonder the major studios in Hollywood were vying for her services. They knew the young star had a special quality that lit up the screen. With a simple gesture, casual hair toss or even the subtlest dance move, Hayworth could generate enormous power, leaving other actresses in the dust.

Imagine how excited fans were in 1942, especially America's servicemen, - having one of their favorite pin-ups dance and emote with Fred for the second time in "You Were Never Lovelier".

Astaire had many famous partners in his long career, but no one registered the sheer thrill of dancing with him like Rita did. It was clear Rita adored Fred, and the feeling was mutual. Combining major star power, talent and truckloads of "it" factor, Fred and Rita radiated a genuine sense of joy, transforming already great routines into something timeless.

The two standout numbers are the romantic and elegant "I'm Old Fashioned", and the delightfully informal, yet intricate "Shorty George", featuring a casually clad Rita looking knockout gorgeous in her tennis outfit.

I've watched these routines over 100 times, and they never get tired. There's so much going on and lots to take in.

Astaire is a marvel. His crack timing and level of professionalism are astounding. Charismatic and surefooted, Fred never cheated and always maintained full control, displaying his rare ability to make complex routines seem casual and fun.

Then there's Hayworth. When it comes to pure screen charisma, Rita is unrivaled. Even today, nobody could touch her. A ravishing beauty with a rare, feline grace, Rita was captivating. Even her loose flowing hair seemed to be dancing; whipping and snapping back against her head after a quick turn, or slowly cascading down, finding a temporary home on a raised shoulder, framing her smiling, beaming face in exciting ways.

Hayworth's charm was extremely potent. Mysterious and thrilling all at once, and at times, startling, Rita creates a cinematic nirvana that acts like a drug; you're thrust into a world that is unreal, ecstatic and wonderful. We are only humbled by it.

Entranced, we attempt to analyze her appeal - but it's like trying to contemplate the universe. Hayworth's allure is undefinable, inexplicable, propelling her to another dimension - a dream-like, limbo that exists only in the sub-conscious, for only there can we gaze upon her beauty without losing our sanity.