In the musical Yolanda and the Thief, Vincente Minnelli made the best of what he called an “insane” plot, with some of the most exciting and original cinematic uses of color, decor, and modern ballet to date. The story is set in a mythical South American state, where a young heiress, Yolanda (Lucille Bremer), believing she has a guardian angel, is convinced by a shady gambler (Fred Astaire) that he is the very same, in (all too) human form. Yolanda lives in the family mansion, converted from Spanish colonial baroque to neo-whimsy, a fantastic amalgam of romantic and religious symbolism, eccentric gadgetry, and sophisticated French surrealism. Hardly the place for a rogue's swindle, and Astaire dances in only to find the very thing that money can't buy.