Kid From Spain, The (1932)

Kid From Spain, The (1932)

“Mexico makes every man a great lover — a Casanova!”

Synopsis:
An expelled college student (Eddie Cantor) unwittingly abets a bank robbery and flees with his friend (Robert Young) to Mexico, where he pretends to be a famous bull fighter in order to elude a suspicious detective (Robert Emmett O’Connor), and falls in love with the blonde friend (Lyda Roberti) of Young’s girlfriend (Ruth Hall).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Bullfighting
  • Busby Berkeley Films
  • Comedy
  • Eddie Cantor Films
  • Leo McCarey Films
  • Mistaken Identities
  • Mexico
  • Musicals
  • Robert Young Films

Review:
This dated Eddie Cantor comedy was a big money maker for MGM, but hasn’t aged well at all. Other than a couple of innovative Busby Berkeley dance sequences (featuring several pre-fame starlets — if you blink, you’ll miss them), everything else about the screenplay is simply tiresome or offensive. Stereotypes abound — not just about Mexico and Mexicans (what’s up with Cantor being from Spain in the title, anyway?), but about African-Americans (Cantor does a blackface routine) and women (Cantor’s love interest is a complete ditz). Gregg Toland was cinematographer on the picture, but his innovative touch is only evident in a few scenes.

At least the final sequence — in which Cantor runs for his life from a ferocious, fence-jumping bull — is unlike any other bullfight you’ve ever seen on-screen.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Busby Berkeley’s “Goldwyn Girl” sequences

Must See?
No. Despite its historical significance as a popular Eddie Cantor film, it’s ultimately too tedious to recommend.

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One thought on “Kid From Spain, The (1932)

  1. First viewing. Skip it.

    Aside from a few minor ‘plus’ factors mentioned in the assessment given (which would include an occasional joke here and there that actually works), this is mostly one large yawn.

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