Carmen Miranda Paper Dolls in Full Color

Book excerpt: Her name was Maria do Carmo Miranda Da Cunha, but to millions around the world she was known as the "Brazilian Bombshell" ... the very essence of Latin fun, verve and vitality. From her first American film appearance in a Betty Grable musical, "Down Argentine Way" (20th Century-Fox), 1940, to her final role with Martin and Lewis, "Scared Stiff" (Paramount), 1953, the irrepressible and irreplaceable Carmen Miranda sang and danced her way across the cinematic screen and into the hearts of an adoring public. Carmen was born in the small northern Portuguese town of Marco de Canavezes in approximately 1909. She was brought to Brazil as a young girl and it was there that she first entered show business. By 1939 she had made some four hundred recordings several Brazilian films, had become a household word throughout South America and a national idol in Brazil when she was "discovered" for the American stage. Her lively sambas, Carnival marches, unique stage presence, and highly demanding rapid-delivery numbers completely overwhelmed audiences. Hollywood immediately clamored for this four-foot, eight-inch dynamo of talent who wore three-inch platforms on her feet and an orchard on her head. Relive those exciting performances with a full-color Carmen Miranda paper doll figure and thirty-one gorgeous costumes from all fourteen American films, including: "Down Argentine Way, " 1940 "Week-End in Havana," 1941 "The Gang's All Here," 1943 "Greenwich Village, " 1944 "Doll Face, " 1945/6 "Copacabana," 1947 "Nancy Goes to Rio," 1948/50 "That Night in Rio," 1941 "Springtime in the Rockies," 1942 "Four Jills in a Jeep," 1943/4 "Something for the Boys ," 1944/5 "If I'm Lucky," 1946 "A Date withJudy," 1948 "Scared Stiff," 1953For film historians, nostalgia enthusiasts, or for a generation that has yet to discover the sheer joy of Carmen Miranda, noted artist Tom Tierney has accurately captured an extraordinary and unforgettable performer in all her mirthful and exotic splendor.