After six successful films at Universal, MGM borrowed the boys and stuck them in a very very very loose remake of a Wheeler & Woolsey musical comedy that had been based on a successful Ziegfeld Broadway musical comedy (which essentially launched the careers of Wheeler & Woolsey). The plot finds the boys being hired as detectives at a hotel on the Mexican border and getting involved with Nazi spies. John Carroll and Kathryn Grayson co-star in the love story part of the plot.
The film features none of the boys classic patented routines, but does have a number of funny bits...none of which are as funny as the classic stuff (the highlights being a spinning car lift, a washing machine and a donkey with Hitler's voice coming out of it). MGM was not really known for their comedies. In fact, the studio was pretty good at misusing the famous comedians they did bring under contract (but that's a discussion for another time). The only notable things in the film are Barry Nelson briefly appearing as a secret agent a dozen years before playing an Americanized James Bond on CBS and opera star Kathryn Grayson in her first leading role (she had appeared in a few films before this in cameos or supporting roles...here she has the title role and is third billed after Abbott & Costello).
Rio Rita feels like a step backwards for the boys. More akin to their first film One Night in the Tropics than their most recent films but with more musical numbers that are not as catchy or memorable (assuming one can remember any songs from that film), Rio Rita is a passable way to spend a Sunday morning, but not something that stands up to repeat viewings too often.
Rio Rita has appeared on VHS, Laserdisc (in a double feature with their second MGM film Lost in a Harem) and is available on MOD DVD-R from Warner Archive Collection (which also includes the trailer).
Next weekend: Back to Universal with Pardon My Sarong.
Until then...be seeing you.
No comments:
Post a Comment