Uriah43 After accidentally setting a circus on fire in Louisiana, two Vaudville performers named "Scat Sweeney" (Bing Crosby) and "Hot Lips Barton" (Bob Hope) secretly board a passenger liner headed for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. That night Scat meets a young woman in distress by the name of "Lucia Maria de Andrade" (Dorothy Lamour) and while attempting to console her divulges that he and Hot Lips Barton are stowaways. To his chagrin Lucia informs the captain of the ship which further compounds their misfortune. Fortunately, they manage to sneak off the ship and just happen to meet Lucia again who continues to display a split personality. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that I thought this was a delightful comedy which, in my opinion, was clearly one of the better "Road Movies" produced. I especially liked the chemistry between the three aforementioned actors and the addition of both the Andrews Sisters and the Wiere Brothers along with Jerry Colonna who appeared at the very end. In short, those who have enjoyed the previous "Road Movies" should appreciate this one as well. Above average

tavm With this-the fifth in the Road series-there are a couple notable firsts: the first time Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour are billed above the title instead of after and the first time that Hope and Crosby are profit participants in a series entry as the copyright is assigned to them while the beginning logo says "A Paramount Release" instead of "Picture". Anyway, after a not very funny beginning involving a circus and a bike on a tightrope, the fun comes fast and furious after the boys stowaway on a ship to the title city with Ms. Lamour on board. Also on board is Gale Sondergaard as the villainess with one of her henchman played by Frank Faylen-a player from my favorite movie, It's a Wonderful Life, of which I always like to cite when someone involved in that one is involved in something else. Of previous Road players, Nestor Paiva-who was one of the bad guys in Road to Utopia-and Jerry Colonna-Hope's sidekick on radio who was also in Road to Singapore-return here. Also good to see The Andrews Sisters do a number with Bing and The Wiere Brothers do both comedy and music well. It's also the second consecutive time that Bob ends up with Dottie though here, it's not as nicely settled in as last time... In summary, Road to Rio is another highly enjoyable Road movie. Next up, Road to Bali.

classicsoncall I just picked up the neatest 'Legends of Hollywood' DVD set featuring a cool catalog of pictures from the legendary Bob Hope. It's got two 'Road' pictures (Rio and Bali), and a nice assortment of additional films spanning Hope's career. Watching one, it's hard not to watch another immediately after, especially when he teams with iconic sidekick Bing Crosby, or in this case, with Dorothy Lamour along for the ride with both stars. I got a kick out of the name of Hope's character, 'Hot Lips' Barton, while the Bingster goes by Scat Sweeney. They're both on the run from a posse of jilted females left behind by Crosby's character, who tries to throw their angry fathers off the trail by dropping names like Bogart and Autry. I feel bad for younger viewers watching the film today who might not be able to make the connection, but for movie goers of the era, it had to be a blast to be 'in' on the joke.The film offers a neat bit with a comedy trio I'd never seen before - they're the Wiere Brothers, although Weird might have been more appropriate. In the picture, they don't speak English, so Scat teaches them each a single line that he hopes will get them by. It's done pretty effectively, and even though you can see the payoff coming from a mile away, it's still a lot of fun. Too bad they didn't show up in a few more Road shows.As usual, Dorothy Lamour turns up as a character unknown to the boys when the film begins; here she's an heiress who's villainous 'aunt', played by Gale Sondergaard, attempts to steal her fortune via an arranged marriage. Aunt Catherine employs a couple of toughs to bodyguard Lucia (Lamour); Frank Faylen and Joseph Vitale both get to mix it up with the boys along the way, usually getting the short end of the stick.Best line of the picture - "Well if she looks like Lamour, she can sing like Lamour, can't she?" Sing she can, in a tuneful little single titled "Experience". What I couldn't figure out though, was why nobody on board the SS Queen of Brazil complained when Crosby and Lamour sat right in front of the shipboard movie!

Scaramouche2004 Since the very first Road To.. Picture back in 1940, each subsequent entry in the series seemed to build on its wacky and manic content, with each becoming slightly more off the wall and crazy as the last.However when the fifth entry was released in 1947, for some reason things were toned down a tad, making the Road to Rio, although still funny and enjoyable appear to lack the quirkiness and zany antics of what had gone before.The banter and wise cracks between our two heroes is as good as ever, and the musical numbers up to par as well, but in spite of this, I always have a problem associating this film with any other in the series. It seems out on it's own; out on a limb.Maybe it's because unlike its predecessors, the gang are not lost in the untamed wild of somewhere or other, perhaps its the lack of talking animals, or perhaps it has more to do with the fact that this story actually has a plot; a real story you can follow instead of the more customary and formulaic half-hearted story onto which a few gags and songs had been pinned.Still the film is enjoyable and very funny, with The Andrew Sisters, Bing's other frequent stalwarts from radio and record, joining in on the fun for 'You Don't Have to Know the Language' and a delightful comic turn from The Weire Brothers as three local boys trying to pass themselves off as red blooded Americans, despite only knowing three slang terms in English which had been taught to them by Hope and Crosby just minutes before.As I said you will enjoy this entry very much but you will probably find this movie more akin to a Bob Hope 'My Favorite Blonde/Brunette' kind of comedy than anything so far seen in the 'Road To...' franchise