Nancy Goes to Rio (1950)

A mother and daughter compete over the same singing role and, unbeknownst to each other, the same man.

Director:

Robert Z. Leonard

Writers:

Sidney Sheldon (screenplay), Jane Hall (based on a story by),

Stars:

Ann Sothern, Jane Powell, Barry Sullivan

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ann Sothern	...	Frances Elliott
Jane Powell	...	Nancy Barklay
Barry Sullivan	...	Paul Berten
Carmen Miranda	...	Marina Rodrigues
Louis Calhern	...	Gregory Elliott
Scotty Beckett	...	Scotty Sheldan
Fortunio Bonanova	...	Ricardo Domingos
Glenn Anders	...	Arthur Barrett
Nella Walker	...	Mrs. Harrison
Hans Conried	...	Alfredo
Frank Fontaine	...	Masher

Storyline

A mother and daughter compete over the same singing role and, unbeknownst to each other, the same man.

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Plot Keywords:

remake | actor shares first name with character | character name in title

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 March 1950 (USA)

Also Known As:

Voyage à Rio

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the marketplace, both MGM Records and Decca released versions of Carmen Miranda's pair of frolicsome movie songs, "Yipsee-I-O" (music and lyrics by Ray Gilbert) and "Ca-Room-Pa-Pa" (music and lyrics by Luiz Gonzaga, Humberto Teixeira and Gilbert). The MGM soundtrack album contained the prerecordings. For her last Decca session, Carmen was matched with The Andrews Sisters on each side of the single.

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Goofs

When Nancy returns to her room after the shipboard dinner, it is late at night, but whenever we see the ocean behind her, it is bright day.

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Crazy Credits

Miss Miranda accompanied by Bando da Lua

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Connections

Featured in Carmen Miranda: Bananas Is My Business (1995)

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Soundtracks

"Love Is Like This"
(uncredited)
Music by Pixinguinha
Lyrics by João de Barro (song "Carinhoso")
English lyrics by Ray Gilbert
Performed by Jane Powell

User Reviews

A riotously funny, clean, entertaining musical, comedy and romance

This is a well-crafted musical, comedy and romance. It has an excellent selection of tunes and dance numbers. Jane Powell, Ann Sothern, Carmen Miranda and Louis Calhern all shine in their roles and musical performances. And Barry Sullivan gives an incomparable performance as he becomes immersed in the major comedy ploy of the film.

"Nancy Goes to Rio" is a great piece of entertainment, from the music to the cast and acting, to the plot and humor. I can't spoil this — but the major humorous ploy somewhat into the film is so funny, I laughed out loud so hard that I had to stop the film and replay the DVD — and that happened several times as the ploy continued to develop through the rest of the film. I've not had that experience very often over the years with movies. Thinking about it afterward, I realized how well written and scripted this movie was to be able to carry on the comedy subplot so well for so long in the movie.

The acting, singing, sets and script are all tremendous, and the very straight-faced hilarity just puts this film over the top. The color in the film is brilliant and solid, and the film quality is excellent for a 1950 movie. This was before the time of shooting on locations, but the stage sets for Rio locales and skyline were quite good and added to the film.

I don't recall ever having seen this movie until I recently bought it to view and decide if I wanted to add it to my collection of musicals. I don't know how I missed it in the past, but I was happily surprised that I found this film. It's a true gem.

Obviously not many folks have seen this film, from the low number of comments; so, it may not have made the TV movie reruns over the years. But if you enjoy good movies and like musicals and quality humor and entertainment, you won't want to miss renting or buying this film. I highly recommend "Nancy Goes to Rio" as a fun film for young and old alike. It just leaves one with a warm feeling of satisfaction at having seen something very funny, endearing and wonderful.