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5.8/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.8/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Rumba remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have a weird itch for 1930s dance floor melodrama, sure. Watch it. If you prefer movies that actually know what they want to be, skip it.
Fans of Carole Lombard will find plenty to stare at, but if you’re looking for a tight story, you might find yourself checking your watch before the first big dance number ends. The whole thing feels like it’s drifting in and out of focus.
There’s a moment about halfway through where Lombard is looking at Raft, and you can practically hear the script writers panicking. They clearly didn't know how to fill the space between the big musical moments, so they just let the actors stand in rooms and talk at each other.
It’s not bad, just kind of… flat. Like a soda left out on the counter for an hour.
The dancing is the point, obviously. George Raft moves like he’s trying to solve a puzzle with his feet, which is charming enough, I guess. But then the movie gets all serious about the "art" of the Rumba. It feels a bit like watching someone explain a joke they just told.
It’s miles away from the energy of something like Naughty But Nice, which at least had the decency to be consistently silly. Here, the film tries to pivot into drama, and it hits the floor hard.
That said, there's a certain charm to the sheer audacity of it. They really thought this would change the world, or at least change how we dance in ballrooms. 💃
It’s not a masterpiece. It’s not even really a great movie. But it exists, and sometimes that’s enough to keep you watching for 90 minutes. Just don't expect it to stay in your head past dinner time.