Road to Rio [Blu-ray]

Director: Norman Z. McLeod, Norman McLeod Norman Z. McLeod

Overview

Road to Rio was the first of three "Road" pictures jointly produced by stars Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. On the run from the law again, musicians Bob and Bing stow away on an ocean liner. They try to come to the rescue of heiress Dorothy Lamour, who is doomed to an arranged marriage to caddish George Meeker. All gratitude and effusions for their assistance, Dorothy surprises Bob and Bing on their next meeting by slapping them in their faces and declaring "I hate you! I loathe you! I despise you!" The explanation? Dorothy is being hypnotized by her scheming aunt Gale Sondergaard, who has set up the marriage for mysterious mercenary reasons of her own. When Dorothy is "herself" again, Bob and Bing smuggle her off the ship and into their Rio de Janeiro hotel room. The boys plan to save Dorothy from her unwanted marriage by passing her off as a nightclub singer, and themselves as band leaders. Trouble is, they have no band. Enter the Wiere Brothers, three Rio street entertainers. Bob and Bing hire the threesome on the spot, unmindful that they have booked themselves into Nestor Paiva's nightclub on the promise that they're delivering an American band. Since the Wieres speak only Portuguese, Bing teaches each brother an American phrase by rote: "You're in the groove, Jackson," "You're Telling Me," and "This is Murder." Naturally, it isn't long before the boys' ruse is discovered, and this coupled with the newly hypnotized Lamour's threats to have Bob and Bing arrested, leaves our heroes broke and stranded once more. Still, they pose a menace to Sondergaard, thus she contrives a method of disposing of them. Hypnotizing them both, Sondergaard orders Bob and Bing to kill each other. They snap out of the spell just in time, but still there's the problem of rescuing Dorothy. And now there's a new angle: mysterious stranger Frank Puglia informs the boys that the only way to stop the wedding is to retrieve (pause; a furtive glance left; a furtive glance right) "The Papers." Said papers are in the possession of Sondergaard, obliging Bob and Bing to show up at the pre-nuptial festival in disguise (with Bob in drag). Managing to hypnotize Sondergaard's henchmen Frank Faylen and Joseph Vitale, Bob and Bing uncover the precious Papers, and Dorothy is saved. But how can those papers stop a wedding? We won't give away the surprise, nor will we tell you whether Dorothy ends up with Bob or Bing, nor even what the heck Jerry Colonna is doing in the picture leading a cavalry charge. Not the best of the "Road" pictures, Road to Rio is nonetheless one of the most memorable--and quotable (how many of your high school pals used to confound the teacher by declaring "You're in the groove, Jackson"?)

Product Details

Release Date:	07/04/2017
UPC:	0738329216023
Original Release:	1947
Rating:	NR
Source:	Kl Studio Classics
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound]
Language:	English
Time:	1:40:00
Sales rank:	22,033

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Bob Hope	Hot Lips Barton
Bing Crosby	Scat Sweeney
Dorothy Lamour	Lucia Maria de Andrade
Gale Sondergaard	Catherine Vail
Frank Faylen	Trigger
Joseph Vitale	Tony
Frank Puglia	Rodrigues
Nestor Paiva	Cardoso
Robert Barrat	Johnson,Johnson
Jerry Colonna	Cavalry Captain
Stone-Baron Puppeteers	Themselves
George Meeker	Sherman Malley
Stanley Andrews	Capt. Harmon,Actor
Harry Woods	Ship's Purser
Tor Johnson	Samson
Donald Kerr	Steward
Stanley Blystone	Assistant Purser
George Sorel	Prefeito
John 'Skins' Miller	Dancer
Alan Bridge	Ship's Officer,Ship's Officer
Arthur Q. Bryan	Mr. Stanton
Babe London	Woman
Gino Corrado	Barber
George Chandler	Valet
Paul 'Tiny' Newlan	Butcher,Butcher
George Lloyd	Butcher
Fred Zendar	Stevedore
Ralph Gomez	Roustabout
Duke York	Roustabout
Frank Hagney	Roustabout,Roustabout
Ralph Dunn	Foreman
Pepito Perez	Dignified Gentleman
Ray Teal	Buck
Brandon Hurst	Barker
Barbara Pratt	Airline Hostess
Tad Van Brunt	Pilot
Patsy O'Byrne	Charwoman
Raul Roulien	Calvary Officer
Charles Middleton	Farmer,Farmer
Albert Ruiz	Specialty Dancer
Laura Corbay	Specialty Dancer
The Stone-Barton Puppeteers	Guest
The Carioca Boys	Actor
Wiere Brothers	Musicians
LaVerne Andrews	Actor
Maxene Andrews	Actor
Johnny Burke	Composer
Robert Dolan	Composer

Technical Credits

Jack Rose

Edmund Beloin

Daniel Dare	Producer
Gordon Jennings	Special Effects
Paul K. Lerpae	Special Effects
Norman Z. McLeod	Director,Director
Jack Rose	Screenwriter
Edmund Beloin	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

The fifth in the "Road" series, Road to Rio is a bit more uneven than its predecessors, and a bit less zany in its humor. When Rio's humor misses its mark, it misses it by a wider margin than the earlier films -- but when it hits, it scores way up high on the laugh meter. As an excuse for anything other than gags and songs, the screenplay is fairly useless, but with Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour around to knock the gags and songs out of the ballpark, who cares? The star trio gets an able assist in the humor department from the strange Wiere Brothers and delightful singing support from the Andrews Sisters, and Gale Sondergaard is on hand to supply a dangerously sinister touch to the plot. Comedic highlights include Hope in drag, Hope on a high wire and the Wieres making use of their precious little English. Crosby is in golden voice on the haunting "But Beautiful" and his duet with the Andrews Sisters on the rhythmic "You Don't Have to Know the Language" is a gem. For her part, Lamour makes something special out of "Experience." Norman Z. McLeod's direction is fast and pointed, exactly what Rio requires. If Rio occasionally falls flat, its highs are more than enough to make it an entertaining little romp.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler