Andalousie (1951)
Directed by Robert Vernay

Film Review

With its lavish production values and extravagant song and dance numbers, it is not hard to see why Andalousie, a hugely prestigious vehicle for the great Luis Mariano, was such a hit with mainstream cinema audiences when it was first released in 1951.  In fact it was the most successful French film of 1951 (strictly speaking, it was a Franco-Spanish production), attracting an audience of 5.7 million in France.  Filmed in sumptuous Gevacolor, it offered a welcome dose of colour to distract the cinema-going public from the drabness of everyday life at the austere start of the 1950s.

The film was a curious departure for its director Robert Vernay into the musical genre.  A one-time assistant to Julien Duvivier (on such films as Maria Chapdelaine and La Bandera), Vernay showed some artistic flair early into his directing career with Le Comte de Monte Cristo (1943) and Le Père Goriot (1945).  Subsequently, he concentrated his efforts on more mundane fare for a pretty undiscerning mainstream audience.  After the uncharacteristic flamboyance of Andalousie, he was content to helm prosaic little comedies like Sur le banc (1955) and Le Coin tranquille (1957).

As Vernay's film career waned, Mariano's went from strength to strength - audiences just couldn't get enough of him.  His 1951 triumph was immediately followed by an even more spectacular box office hit, Violettes impériales (1952), after which came La Belle de Cadix (1953), Le Chanteur de Mexico (1956) and Sérénade au Texas (1958), mostly under the direction of Richard Pottier.  Francis Lopez's suitably grandiose musical compositions - grand enough to rival those of any comparable Hollywood musical - gave Luis Mariano ample opportunity to live up to his reputation as one of the world's greatest divas of operetta, whilst taking our minds off his somewhat mannered style of acting. 

In common with Mariano's other musical extravaganzas, Andalousie is not a film that has aged particularly well.  Lacking in character depth and more preoccupied with its bloated sense of spectacle than anything else, it cannot help looking kitsch and superficial from today's vantage point.  Such criticism is probably misplaced - this is, after all, meant to be filmed operetta, a fairytale, not meaningful drama.

If the music and Mariano's charismatic presence leave you cold, the film still has once ace up its sleeve - its stunning location photography, which take in some impressively shot bull-fighting scenes.  It is this which perhaps makes the strongest impression on the spectator, thrusting upon us a visual feast that is richly endowed with the spirit of the sumptuous Spanish locations.

Film Synopsis

In present day Spain, Juanito is earning a modest living as a pottery merchant when he is suddenly plucked from obscurity and finds fame as a bullfighter.  Returning to his home village in Andalusia, he tells his devoted girlfriend Dolorès that he has one last tour, after which he will retire from his dangerous profession and settle down with her.  In return, he begs her to give up her dancing career.  During his stay in Madrid, Juanito meets a desirable cabaret performer named Fanny Miller and cannot help falling for her sensual charms.

When he fails to receive any letters from Dolorès, Juanito draws the conclusion that she has lost interest in him and decides there is nothing to stop him from pursuing a love affair with Fanny.  Little does he know that Dolorès has written to him, but her letters have been intercepted by Fanny.  After his tour, Juanito heads back home to Andalusia, convinced that, in spite of everything, Dolorès has remained true to him and will agree to be his wife.  Unfortunately, she seems to no longer have any feelings for her former beau...