Road to Rio (1947)

Director:

Norman Z. McLeod

Writers:

Edmund Beloin (original story and screenplay) and
Jack Rose (original story and screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

25 December 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

Si, Si ! It's the maddest, merriest "Road" picture of all! You'll See!

Plot:

Two inept vaudevillians stow away on a Brazilian-bound ocean liner and foil a plot by a sinister hypnotist to marry off her niece to a greedy fortune hunter.

Plot Keywords:

Ship | Ocean Liner | Hypnotist | Fortune Hunter | Sapphire

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Bing Crosby	...	Scat Sweeney
Bob Hope	...	Hot Lips Barton
Dorothy Lamour	...	Lucia Maria de Andrade
Gale Sondergaard	...	Catherine Vail
Frank Faylen	...	Trigger
Joseph Vitale	...	Tony
George Meeker	...	Sherman Mallory
Frank Puglia	...	Rodrigues
Nestor Paiva	...	Cardoso
Robert Barrat	...	Johnson
Stanley Andrews	...	Capt. Harmon
Harry Woods	...	Ship's Purser
The Wiere Brothers	...	Three Musicians
The Andrews Sisters	...	Andrews Sisters
Jerry Colonna	...	Colonna
The Stone-Barton Puppeteers	...	Puppeteers
The Carioca Boys	...	Carioca Boys
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dorothy Abbott	...	Show Girl (uncredited)
Rudolph Andrean	...	Specialty Dancer (uncredited)
Laverne Andrews	...	Laverne Andrews (uncredited)
Maxene Andrews	...	Maxene Andrews (uncredited)
Patty Andrews	...	Patty (uncredited)
Don Avalier	...	Maitre d' (uncredited)
Lucille Barkley	...	Pretty Girl (uncredited)
Rolando Barrera	...	Bellhop (uncredited)
Stanley Blystone	...	Assistant Purser (uncredited)
Al Bridge	...	Ship's Officer (uncredited)
Arthur Q. Bryan	...	Mr. Stanton (uncredited)
Dolores Castle	...	Aristocratic Brazilian (uncredited)
George Chandler	...	Ship's Valet (uncredited)
Martha Clemons	...	Bridesmaid (uncredited)
Charles Cooley	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Laura Corbay	...	Gertrude - Specialty Dancer (uncredited)
Gino Corrado	...	Ship's Barber (uncredited)
Delmar Costello	...	Peasant (uncredited)
Lionel Dante	...	Bellhop (uncredited)
Hal K. Dawson	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Tom Dugan	...	Barker (uncredited)
Ralph Dunn	...	Meat Delivery Foreman (uncredited)
Rene Dussaq	...	Maitre d' (uncredited)
Jane Everett	...	Specialty Dancer (uncredited)
Franklyn Farnum	...	Ship Lounge Extra (uncredited)
Frank Ferguson	...	Texas Posse Member (uncredited)
Robbie Franks	...	Flower Girl (uncredited)
Jeanne Gail	...	Girl (uncredited)
Jack Gargan	...	Steward (uncredited)
Norma Gentner	...	Passenger / Hula Dancer (uncredited)
Ralph Gomez	...	Roustabout (uncredited)
Frank Hagney	...	Roustabout (uncredited)
Eddie Hall	...	Sideshow Audience Member (uncredited)
Bert Hanlon	...	Barker (uncredited)
Sam Harris	...	Ship Lounge Extra (uncredited)
Brandon Hurst	...	Barker (uncredited)
Tor Johnson	...	Sandor (uncredited)
Lorna Jordon	...	Carnival Girl (uncredited)
Donald Kerr	...	Steward (uncredited)
Tommy Ladd	...	Specialty Dancer (uncredited)
Pat Lane	...	Assistant Purser (uncredited)
George Lloyd	...	Butcher (uncredited)
Babe London	...	Woman (uncredited)
John Mallon	...	Second Stampman / Maitre d' / Barker (uncredited)
Charles Middleton	...	Farmer (uncredited)
John 'Skins' Miller	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Frederic Nay	...	Barker (uncredited)
William Newell	...	Meat Stamper (uncredited)
Paul Newlan	...	Butcher (uncredited)
Patsy O'Byrne	...	Charwoman (uncredited)
Stênio Osório	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Byron Poindexter	...	Specialty Dancer (uncredited)
Barbara Pratt	...	Airline Hostess (uncredited)
Pepito Pérez	...	Dignified Gentleman (uncredited)
Renee Randall	...	Pretty Girl (uncredited)
Marquita Rivera	...	Lead Singer and Dancer (uncredited)
Julian Rivero	...	Brazilian Manservant (uncredited)
Victor Romito	...	Brazilian Pilot (uncredited)
Raul Roulien	...	Cavalry Officer (uncredited)
Albert Ruiz	...	Max - Specialty Dancer (uncredited)
Rudolph Silva	...	Specialty Dancer (uncredited)
George Sorel	...	The Prefecto (uncredited)
Ray Teal	...	Buck (uncredited)
Rudolph Valentino	...	Bellhop (uncredited)
Kathyrine Valk	...	Spectator (uncredited)
Bonnie Vallarino	...	Specialty Dancer (uncredited)
Arthur Vallee	...	Peasant (uncredited)
Tad Van Brunt	...	Pilot (uncredited)
Joe Whitehead	...	Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Harry Wiere	...	One of the Wiere Brothers (uncredited)
Sylvester Wiere	...	One of the Wiere Brothers (uncredited)
Duke York	...	Roustabout (uncredited)
Kay Young	...	Girl (uncredited)
Fred Zendar	...	Stevedore (uncredited)

Directed by
Norman Z. McLeod

Writing credits
Edmund Beloin		(original story and screenplay) and
Jack Rose		(original story and screenplay)
Barney Dean		contributor to dialogue (uncredited)

Produced by
Daniel Dare	....	producer

Original Music by
Robert Emmett Dolan		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Ernest Laszlo		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ellsworth Hoagland

Art Direction by
Hans Dreier
A. Earl Hedrick		(as Earl Hedrick)

Set Decoration by
Sam Comer
Ray Moyer

Costume Design by
Edith Head

Makeup Department
Wally Westmore	....	makeup supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Oscar Rudolph	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Harold Lewis	....	sound recordist
Walter Oberst	....	sound recordist
Howard Beals	....	sound (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Farciot Edouart	....	process photography
Gordon Jennings	....	special photographic effects
Paul K. Lerpae	....	special photographic effects (as Paul Lerpae)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eugene Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Johnny Burke	....	lyrics by: new songs
Robert Emmett Dolan	....	musical director
Joseph J. Lilley	....	vocal arrangements
Troy Sanders	....	music associate
Jimmy Van Heusen	....	music by: new songs
Samuel Hoffman	....	musician: theremin (uncredited)
George Parrish	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Edward H. Plumb	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Van Cleave	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)

Other crew
Billy Daniel	....	dances staged by
Bernard Pearce	....	dances staged by
Louis Oliveira	....	technical advisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures (as A Paramount Release)
• Bing Crosby Productions (uncredited)
• Hope Enterprises (uncredited)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1947) (USA) (theatrical)
• Paramount Films (1948) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Paramount (1949) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Allied Artists (1963) (USA) (TV)
• Brentwood Home Video (USA) (DVD)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1975) (USA) (all media)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Shout! Factory (2010) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #12478) | UK:U | West Germany:12 | Netherlands:AL (original rating) (1948)

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

This film contains the last on-screen singing performance by The Andrews Sisters, who share with Bing Crosby the saucy Latin-swing hit, "You Don't Have to Know the Language" (music by Jimmy Van Heusen, lyrics by Johnny Burke). This number was revived splendidly by Lena Horne on two RCA Victor albums: "Songs by Burke and Van Heusen" (released in 1959), and "Lena at the Sands" (recorded live in Las Vegas, November 3-5, 1960).

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Throughout the film Frank Faylen's character is called "Harry" but on the closing credits he's listed as portraying "Trigger".

Quotes:

Hot Lips Barton:[Looking at the bicycle on the high wire he has to ride] You want me want me to ride that thing?
Scat Sweeney:Why not?
Hot Lips Barton:Up in the stratosphere?
Scat Sweeney:Oh, you
[mumbles]
Scat Sweeney:...
Hot Lips Barton:Who do you think I am - Mr. Jordan?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America: Would Ya Hit a Guy with Glasses?: Nerds, Jerks & Oddballs (#1.1)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

APALACHICOLA, FLA

Hope and Crosby are great, and romantic moments are designed for Lamour...but let's not forget the wonderful Wiere Brothers

Considering that The Road to Rio was the fifth in the series, that the formula was down pat, that the plot, as usual, was merely an excuse for spontaneous and not-so-spontaneous bantering by the two stars, that the money-to-effort ratio was by now very satisfying to nearly all concerned, and that Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, both at 44, were quickly reaching the point where their age was working against their image of happy-go-lucky, sex-on-their- minds, slightly dumb but well-intentioned good guys...well, this is one of the best in the series. There's no single thing that sets it apart. If we've watched even one other in the series, we know what's going to happen, like having a funny, loved uncle come to visit. I think that in The Road to Rio, the formula had reached a high gloss. The "spontaneity" of the back and forth between Hope and Crosby is quick, funny and friendly. The professionalism may be there, but it looks like they're still having fun making these movies. The jokes are corny and expected, as they were back in 1947, but Hope and Crosby give them a level of snap and comfort that make us smile. Their roles, Bing Crosby as Scat Sweeney, singer and slightly moth-eaten bon vivant, and Bob Hope as Hot Lips Barton, slow-witted but wise- cracking boy-man, are as comfortable to them and us as a pair of old slippers. They work their images both in the plot and in real life for every laugh they can squeeze. Says Scat Sweeney (Crosby) to Hot Lips Barton (Hope), "Swine!" Barton: "Pig!" Scat Crosby: "That's the same as swine." Hot Lips Hope: "All right. Ham!" Or this: Scat Crosby, "Are you admitting you're a dirty coward?" Hot Lips Hope, "No, a clean one!" These groaners were well aged at the turn of the century, but Hope and Crosby knew their stuff. Dorothy Lamour as the always exotic love interest is here, of course, providing a rationale for the two boys' raging hormones and the subsequent competition that provides much of the plot's backbone and laughs. Says Hot Lips Hope as he stares at Lamour's tight gown, "How'd you put that on...with a spray-gun?" And there are the many asides to the audience that was one of the trademarks of the series. When Hot Lips Hope finds himself hanging off a high wire, he starts screaming, "Help! Help!" Then he turns to the camera and confides in us, "You know, this picture could end right here."

But let's not just praise this highly polished piece of pleasurable, profitable professionalism. Buried in the movie is a uniquely eccentric and expert trio of brothers, Harry, Herbert and Sylvester. They were the Wiere Brothers, and a single description fails to do them justice. They were comics, dancers, gymnasts, singers, jugglers, players of all sorts of musical instruments and very funny men. They came to the States from Germany in the mid-Thirties after a successful European career in clubs and circuses. They were born to entertainers who moved around. Harry showed up in Berlin in 1906, Herbert appeared in Vienna in 1908 and Sylvester arrived in Prague in 1909. They soon were a part of their parent's act. In their early teens they organized their own routines.

I think Hollywood and America simply didn't know what to make of them. They made a handful of movies, only one of which really showcased their skills and appeal. They eventually settled down to a successful career in nightclubs and special appearances on television. In The Road to Rio they play three Brazilian street musicians. Scat Crosby and Hot Lips Hope encounter them while the two boys are trying to rescue Dorothy Lamour from a nefarious plot. We get a chance to see the brothers bandy schtick with Hope and Crosby. Unfortunately, they get only one chance to show us what they can do in performance, and that scene is chopped up and was severely edited. Still, it's better than nothing.

Their showcase spot was in the first movie they made when they came to America. That's Vogues of 1938, which starred Warner Baxter and a blonde Joan Bennett. We get a full routine from the Wiere Brothers, dressed in white tuxes, dancing eccentrically, bouncing and rolling, doing wonders with hats, playing violins and singing. They are funny, endearing and terrific.