1954 - Copacabana Palace, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 

In 1954, a group of a dozen Hollywood stars went to the Argentine and Brazil filmfestivals.

Here are some excerpts from an article Bob Thomas wrote about this trip after talking to Ann Miller.

"You have never seen such adulation," she reported breathlessly. "The Latins treated us like miniature kings and queens. The police work was wonderful in Rio. If it hadn´t been, we would have been crushed to death"... The stars were shepherded southward by the State Department as a good will gesture. "The Latins were wild about Mary Pickford, Jeanette MacDonald and Irene Dunne, who are big names down there," she observed. "And it´s a funny thing -- those three were the least complaining of the whole gang. The younger stars were always getting tired or sick or beefing about something. But Mary and Jeanette and Irene just took everything in a stride. We had trouble keeping up with them."...The biggest crush came in Rio, she said. "For three days and three nights, nobody sleeps. You can hear the samba beat whereever you go, all times of the day and the night"... On the return trip, Ann and Irene Dunne were grounded in Lima on a hot night. One of Ann´s most vivid memories is of herself and Miss Dunne drinking from coconuts and dipping their tootsies in the hotel´s swimming pool.

(Excerpts from "Film Stars Get Enthusiastic Welcome in South America", Corpus Christe Times, March 22. 1954)

This group consisted of: Edward G. Robinson, Jeffrey Hunter, Barbara Rush, Mary Pickford, Gene Raymond, Walter Pidgeon, Ann Miller, Ava Gardner, Fred MacMurray, Jeanette MacDonald, Robert Cummings and,of course, Miss Dunne. The troupe was in Rio during the time of Carnival, and I assume Irene is pictured here searching for some in between relaxation.