I am easily distracted and today's distraction was a Technicolor movie from 1953 starring Lana Turner and Ricardo Montalban. Called Latin Lovers, the film depicts Hollywood's version of the title--and they do a right fine job of it with Ricardo. This clip of him dancing the samba in Rio with Miss Turner--speaks for itself. Oh, first he dances with Rita Moreno, the brunette, and then Lana, the blonde. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8q7Z_cJGdnI
http://www.amazon.com/Lovers-Poster-Ricardo-Montalban-Calhern/dp/B002S7ABB6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1375067411&sr=8-2&keywords=latin+lovers+ricardo
While he didn't do his own singing here, he has in other movies. This song from the same Latin Lovers is called A Little More of Your Love. It actually is the scene prior to their dancing. With his over-the-top masculine mannerisms, all I can say is, "Chick-a-boom, chick-a-boom, chick-a-boom, boom, boom!" By the way, when you watch him singing this entire song in English, you may find it odd that Lana then says something to him in Portuguese and when he answers her in English, she says, "But you speak English!" Duh! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNR5_0PUUfI
Ricardo, born in Mexico, was 6 feet tall and 33 years old at the time of this movie. Lana was 32. He was married to actress Loretta Young's younger sister, Georgiana, for 63 years and they had four children. His back was badly injured during filming of Across the Wide Missouri and plagued him the rest of his life. He died at 88.
In my research online, I found a quote by Mr. Montalban concerning his definition of debonair: "To me it means love of neighbor ... To always be considerate of others' feelings, to practice good manners ... Of course, you must know how to treat women ... A gentleman must not dress up too much or too little ... He should try to make everyone around him feel comfortable. Just modest ... No, no, you cannot buy debonair ... It has nothing to do with possessions ... Whatever it is, it has to be completely natural. You cannot be aware of it or else it disappears. I never tried to be debonair. I am who I am." Source: Dan Neil. "A Gentleman, Naturally." Los Angeles Times Magazine. 11/6/2005. pg I.11.
Thank you to YouTube.com, Amazon.com and Dan Neil for this online info.
