For the most part, Republic was known as a studio that made B-movies...and mostly westerns. However, occasionally, they made an A-picture (such as "The Quiet Man") or a musical. However, their musicals generally lacked the polish and top actors you'd get at bigger studios like MGM or Twentieth Century-Fox. So, I was not surprised to see Virginia Bruce (a non-singing second-tier actress) playing the lead in this one. The only other name you might recognize is Edward Everett Horton...who is on hand to, as usual, play a comical supporting role. I would have liked more Horton in the story, as he's always wonderful to watch.
Nicky (Virginia Bruce) has written a mean and notorous book, "Why Marry a Latin?", and when the folks in Brazil realize who she is, she naturally gets the cold shoulder. She also plans on writing a book all about Brazil (one of the largest countries in the world) after only a two-week visit there! The only one who seems unaffected the furor about this woman is Miguel (Tito Guízar) and instead of telling her he's a famous song writer (who apparently wrote "Brazil", though in reality it was written by Ary Barroso, who is not in the movie). Instead, he poses as a tour guide and he escorts her all over Brazil as she works on her next hack job...I mean 'book'. But why? Why would Miguel give the time of day do this dopey authoress? And, does he realize she's probably planning on another mean book about the continent?
This is an okay film and it's mostly okay because it has a LOT of production numbers...too many. They often get in the way of the story and I was surprised how poor the choreography was on a few of them. Again, you must remember it's Republic...a studio not known for its musicals. With a few less of these song and dance numbers, the film would have worked better.
Overall, a mildly diverting film...nothing especially exciting but pleasant nonetheless. The only reason I watched it was curiosity, as Roy Rogers appears in the film as himself...which isn't surprising as he was Republic's biggest star at the time.
By the way, if you wonder why many US studios (such as Twenthieth Century-Fox, Republic and Disney) did Latin America-themed films all around this time, it's NOT a coincidence. During WWII, the US government tried to use a good neighbor policy to keep the Latin American countries on the side of the Allies or, at least, not siding with the Axis Powers. Part of it was asking Hollywood to feature the region in films such as "Saludos Amigos", "That Night in Rio" and "Carnival in Costa Rica".
