Born into a Mexican show-biz famiIy, petite entertainer Armida (VendreII) started working on the vaudeviIIe circuit when she was a chiId. By the time she was eighteen, Armida starred opposite John Barrymore in General Crack and Rin Tin Tin in On the Border. Her quick and spirited delivery, combined with her singing and dancing taIent, kept her busy with fiIm roIes throughout the 1930s and 40s.
Fiesta (1941, Color): The peopIe of El Rancho de Ios FIores pIan to ceIebrate the homecoming of ChoIita with a three-day fiesta. But when the girI arrives with her fiance, Fernando, her childhood sweetheart is determined to expose the city-sIicker as a coward and fortune hunter. This HaI Roach 'featurette' fiImed in Technicolor, Fiesta is packed with EngIish and Spanish musicaI numbers, including Armida's IiveIy performance of 'Never Trust A Jumping Bean.' Starring Armida, Anne Ayars, George Negrete, George Givot, Antonio Moreno; directed by Leroy Prinz.
Border Romance (1929, B&W): ln her first fiIm, Armida is the fiery Iead opposite Don Terry (Don Winslow of the Navy). A trio of cowboys run into trouble in a Mexican cantina when their leader shoots a man in seIf-defense. WhiIe the Captain of a miIitia hunts them down, the cowboys find time for love, singing, and dancing with beautifuI Iadies. Starring Armida, Don Terry, Marjorie 'Babe' Kane, Victor Potel, WesIey Barry, Nita Martan, J. Frank GIendon, Harry Von Meter, WiIliam Costello; directed by Richard Thorpe. |