Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

Interesteg What makes it different from others?

Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

jhkp Like many of Joe Pasternak's MGM musicals of the era, Holiday In Mexico offers something for almost everyone. For the teens, there's a cute love story with youngsters Jane Powell and Roddy McDowall. For the grownups, there's Jane's daddy, Walter Pidgeon, in love with luscious songbird Ilona Massey. For those who like the classics, Jane, Ilona, and pianist Jose Iturbi perform a good selection (with Iturbi demonstrating his boogie-woogie skills, as well). Then there's the orchestra of Xavier Cugat to offer some Latin American beats. They're sorely needed, because there's very little Latin flavor in the picture.Yes, Holiday in Mexico seems to offer something for everyone. Everyone, that is, except those expecting a holiday in Mexico. True, it takes place in Mexico, but the picture's setting is the US Embassy (Pidgeon plays the Ambassador), and while, understandably, there are a lot of international accents and cultures represented (French, English, Spanish, Russian, Hungarian), it's also a little disappointing. I wanted Mexican settings. Mexican costumes. Mexican performers. Mexican anything. Likewise, most of the music is decidedly non-Mexican (Rachmaninoff, Victor Herbert, Shubert, etc.) It's weird.So what are the pluses? Well, the cast. If you don't like Jane Powell or Walter Pidgeon, you will not like the film, since one or the other, or both, are in almost every scene. I do happen to like Miss Powell, and Mr. Pidgeon, and the rest of the cast (though Roddy McDowall is not at his best. Seems to be in an awkward phase of puberty, or something). The story is, to be charitable, weak, but the actors do what they can with it. It all goes on for 128 minutes, it's in gorgeous Technicolor, and the costumes and sets, the orchestrations and vocal arrangements, are all wonderful. The singers and musicians, from Powell on down, are first rate.

bill-790 Randall Brandt is exactly right. This is a "Holiday in Mexico"? Produced by MGM at the height of its power, glory, not to mention financial resources, and yet the darned thing never gets outside a Culver City sound stage? Couldn't they at least have sent a camera crew to Mexico City to film some establishing shots in the major thoroughfares, parks, museums, etc.? Very disappointing.This might just as well have been titled "Holiday in Burbank." As to the story, it's flimsy at best. In its favor is the rich Technicolor photography which has never been equaled, plus some good musical numbers. The cast is good, with Walter Pidgeon in his most ambassadorial form as the father of the spunky young Jane Powell. Jose Iturbi and his sister play some great piano, as well!Worth viewing, though at 128 minutes it's a bit long. "Holiday in Mexico" is an example of how Hollywood used to view (or didn't view) other countries.

gwenearnold My husband and I had the pleasure of attending Jose Iturbi's concerts in San Antonio and Austin, Texas; also, my husband was fortunate to hear sister Ampara Iturbi while stationed on Trinidad during WWII, so I always rewatch these old films with great nostalgia. As an amateur pianist I did so enjoy all the music in this film. Calypso, boogie woogie, and classical...something for anyone who enjoys music. Yes, the plots of these old movies were always simplistic, but they make such good clean time-passers, particularly amid the sleaze presented to us on TV and in film today. I am so glad they have been preserved and that we have channels devoted to them. They take me back to happy times.

monkeyface_si If you have an hour and a half to kill and enjoy Jane Powell's singing and Walter Pidgeon's dashing good looks, this beats the heck out of watching this week's third installment of Dateline NBC. Seriously, the music is very good, the comedy is fast, and the sweetness is easy to take. Totally forgettable fluff, but an enjoyable way to pass time.