Hokey almost beyond belief but also bright and colorful this can be enjoyed in a mindless way. The story is meaningless anyway since the picture serves merely as an excuse to highlight both Kathryn Grayson and Mario Lanza's voices and on that basis it succeeds well. As for the rest of the movie it provides a very young Rita Moreno one of her first roles of any size as Mario's wharf-side spitfire girl, she performs well and has a nice dance number with James Mitchell. David Niven does what he can to make something out of his nothing role as Kathryn's benefactor and his dignity does much to balance out the overacting hamminess of J. Carrol Naish's Uncle Nicky. The real reason to watch this though is a great deal of good music highlighted by the beautiful Be My Love.
Review of The Toast of New Orleans
