Road to Rio (1947)

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.

Director:

Norman Z. McLeod

Writers:

Edmund Beloin (original story), Jack Rose (original story)

Stars:

Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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
Herbert Wiere	...	One of the Wiere Brothers) (as The Wiere Brothers)
Harry Wiere	...	One of the Wiere Brothers (as The Wiere Brothers)
Sylvester Wiere	...	One of the Wiere Brothers (as The Wiere Brothers)

Storyline

Scat Sweeney, and Hot Lips Barton, two out of work musicians, stow away on board a Rio bound ship, after accidentally setting fire to the big top of a circus. They then get mixed up with a potential suicide Lucia, who first thanks them, then unexpectedly turns them over to the ship's captain. When they find out that she has been hypnotized, to go through a marriage of convenience, when the ship reaches Rio, the boys turn up at the ceremony, in order to stop the wedding, and to help catch the crooks.

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Plot Keywords:

reference to kool cigarettes | ship | ocean liner | hypnotist | fortune hunter | 

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Taglines:

Take a New Year Cruise to Rio with the Screen's Top Laughter Trio! (3-sheet poster).

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Contains one of the earliest (and repeated) uses of the word 'groovy' in film, predating its 1947 use in advertising spots for the film 'Miracle on 34th Street'.

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Goofs

According to the thermometer next to the door, the temperature inside the ship's meat locker drops to below freezing, but Hot Lips and Scat never have white breath.

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Quotes

Hot Lips Barton: Gee, things grow fast in this country!
Scat Sweeney: Oh... tropics, you know.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits begin with the names of the stars (and their legs) doing a dance, with the rest of the credits swaying in time with the music.

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Connections

Featured in 100 Years of the Hollywood Western (1994)

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Soundtracks

William Tell, Overture
(Excerpts)
Written by Gioachino Rossini

User Reviews

Hot Lips, Scat and the hypnotic shenanigan.

Road to Rio is directed by Norman McLeod and written by Edmund Beloin and Jack Rose. It stars Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Gale Sondergaard and Frank Faylen. Music is by Robert Emmett and cinematography by Ernest Laszlo.

Hope and Crosby star as two vaudevillians, who after setting a circus on fire, stow away on a liner bound for Brazil. Once there they encounter a distressed woman (Lamour) who is being coerced into an unwanted marriage by her scheming guardian.

The fifth in the hugely popular "Road To" series of films, Rio follows the same trajectory as before. For fans such as myself this is OK, other film fans venturing in for a first time look may be a bit bemused by it all. In fairness this one does have a solid story at its core, with hypnotism the dastardly weapon of choice, while McLeod neatly blends the comedy and musical numbers and keeps the pace brisk. Hope gets some well written topical gags to deliver and Crosby croons whilst also getting to do a number with The Andrews Sisters. In support the wonderful Sondergaard turns in another one of her memorable villainess performances, and The Wiere Brothers form part of the narrative to produce great comedic results.

With a blazing first quarter, a jovial middle section and a genuinely hilarious finale, Road to Rio achieves everything a "Road To" fan could wish for. 7.5/10

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

Portuguese English

Release Date:

25 December 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Caminho do Rio

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Gross USA:

$4,500,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bing Crosby Enterprises, Hope Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1