This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

A famous matador raises his son to be a bullfighter like him but the boy would rather be a musician. The son's twin sister, however, enjoys bullfighting and becomes quite good at it. Eventually the son grows tired of his pushy father and abandons the ring, which leaves his sister to save the family's honor by pretending to be her brother and fighting bulls herself.Middling semi-musical with Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalban as the unlikeliest pair of twins you'll ever see. I'm really not sure what MGM was thinking with this one. I can only assume they were hoping it would help make Ricardo Montalban a star. He does a fine job with what he's given. Esther is certainly nice to look at and plays her part well. They do manage to find a way to put Esther in a bathing suit for one scene, which I appreciated but thought amusing given how it was shoehorned in there. She also looks very cute in her matador outfit. Corny John Carroll plays Esther's boyfriend, a character named Pepe. There's a rather creepy subtext to the story as both Esther and Ricardo's love interests openly complain about the siblings' attentions toward each other. Fortunio Bonanova does well as the dad. Nice support from Mary Astor, Akim Tamaroff, and Cyd Charisse.The most interesting part of this film's plot is that it has a woman proving herself capable of being as good as a man in a masculine "sport" at a time when such a thing was not common in movies. Yeah they cop out a little in the end but it's still pretty forward-thinking for its time. The production was a very troubled one and, unfortunately, some of the bulls were actually killed during the making of this film. Despite some lovely Technicolor and solid MGM production values, it's just such a forgettable movie that I wouldn't bother unless you were an Esther Williams completist.

This film introduces Richardo Montalban and Cyd Charisse (to the American public). And it features much festive Mexican music. One of the highlights of the film is a dance where Charisse is electric--in my opinion outdoing some of the Rita Hayworth performances that preceded. Montalban strikes a dramatic figure on the dance floor, in the bull ring, and (surprisingly) at the piano. Other reviewers have wondered about his piano technique. It is just a guess, but I think he was a very good faker (not so good with the guitar). His timing is excellent and his fingering is even fairly credible. Just good enough to allow the director to linger on the keyboard more than directors usually do when non-pianists perform.Yes the script is fairly predictable, but I found the film enjoyable. Esther Williams may not be at her best here, and the role certainly does not require a great range or dramatic power, but she is, as always, a beautiful breath of fresh air.I am not a fan of bullfights. If all they did was tease the bull with a cape, bullfights might be purely artistic expressions of athleticism. But those portions of the fight that occur outside of the cape work are brutal and merely sad. Fortunately, this film only deals with the cape work. As such, I found the scenes in the ring interesting. How many times can you watch a bull charge at a cape before it become boring and repetitive? Usually, only a few times. But this film illustrates the variations in cape work and the daring of the matadors.

Movie designed to introduce Ricardo Montalban to American audiences. It's a drama--NOT a musical. There are a few musical numbers but that's it. This takes place in Mexico and has Montalban and Esther Williams playing twins. No--I'm not kidding! If you can swallow that you might like this. Their father is a great bullfighter and expects his son to be the same. However his son Mario (Mantalban) wants be a musician. His sister Maria (Williams) is better at bullfighting then him. You can probably guess the rest. EXTREME PLOT SPOILER IN THIS PARAGRAPH!!! Pretty forgettable as a drama. The situations are just silly, the dialogue pedestrian and you just KNOW how this is going to end. Also Williams isn't much of a dramatic actress. This film could have ended after an hour but this drags it out and gets REAL stupid during the second act. Williams has to bullfight in place of her brother--but nobody notices the difference! Seriously--everybody thought Williams was her brother???? Even for a 1940s movie that's pushing it.Still it's not completely terrible. It's done with the usual MGM gloss and is shot in bright Technicolor. Montalban, Williams and Cyd Charisse are so young and beautiful and so full of life that it rubs off on the audience. The dance sequences with Montalban and Charisse are just incredible--I never knew he could dance! Williams even has a (brief) swimming scene. There's also some good acting from Akim Taminoff as Chato and Mary Astor as Williams and Montalbans mother. So it's silly but enjoyable as a no brainer. The dancing scenes alone make this worth seeing. I give it a 6.

Leonard Maltin's mini-biography of Cyd Charisse contains a very accurate piece of text: "the producers saw to it that she made the maximum impact in the minimal amount of screen time." In FIESTA she has a painfully small role (roughly fifth or sixth billed in the credits), but when it comes time for her to do what she does best, she does not disappoint. The irony, of course, is that she more closely appears Latin (with enhanced Hollywood makeup) than does Esther Williams- and Williams has the dubious distinction of playing the twin sister (!) of Ricardo Montalban. This, of course, is not something to blame on the actors; it's simply one of those MGM premises you have to buy/accept right off the bat. Montalban's debut film shows him off very nicely as a passionate would-be toreador whose first love is composing music. The family seems to be socially prominent and the outdoor set pieces and colorful costumes enhance the south-of-the-border atmosphere quite nicely. But the highlights are undoubtedly from Montalban and Charisse playing young lovers who pause every fifteen or so minutes to dance: first in a sort of group flamenco in a local salon set to the music of "La Bamba," then in a rapturous formal duet (him in black suit and Mexican hat; her in a multi-tiered white gown). MGM must've liked them together as they paired them in no less than four different films in the late 40's: this one, THE KISSING BANDIT, MARK OF THE RENEGADE, and ON AN ISLAND WITH YOU, almost always in dance duets.