Main Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Kathryn Grayson, John Carroll, Patricia Dane
Release Year: 1942
Country: US
Run Time: 91 minutes
Plot
MGM's Rio Rita is an in-name-only remake of the 1929 RKO Radio musical blockbuster, itself based on the long-running Ziegfeld Broadway extravaganza. Bud Abbott & Lou Costello take over from the original film's Burt Wheeler & Robert Woolsey as the comedy leads, while Kathryn Grayson (in her first picture) and John Carroll replace the 1929 version's Bebe Daniels and John Boles. The original plot about an elusive bandit chieftan called the Kinkajou has been jettisoned in favor of an updated melange involving radio broadcasts and Nazi saboteurs. Abbott and Costello are cast as Doc and Wishy, two pet-store employees stranded in Texas. Hoping to return to New York, our heroes stow away in the trunk of the car owned by radio star Ricardo Montera (John Carroll), only to discover that Ricardo is on his way to his home town near the Hotel Vista del Rio, there to renew his acquaintance with childhood sweetheart Rita Winslow (Kathryn Grayson). Unbeknownst to Rita, her ranch become the headquarters for a nest of German spies, headed by hotel manager Craindall (Tom Conway), who've hidden their miniature shortwave radios in a crate of apples. Thanks to well-meaning Wishy, the message-receiving fruit is ingested by dogs and donkeys, leading to an unending stream of "talking animal" gags. Given jobs on the ranch, Wishy and Doc quickly run afoul of the Nazis, but Wishy saves the day with a bit of uncharacteristic quick thinking involving the local Texas Rangers. Only a few traces of the original Rio Rita remain, including two songs and the classic Wheeler - Woolsey "drunk" routine. The new songs by Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg are pleasant if unmemorable, attractively performed by Kathryn Grayson and John Carroll. When all is said and done, the film's greatest strength is Abbott & Costello, making the first of three visits to MGM. Highlights include such verbal exchanges as "Pike's Peak" and "Bet you ten dollars you're not there", and a handful of well-crafted slapstick routines involving an auto turntable, a gigantic washing machine and an elusive time bomb. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Aside from a couple of songs, there's little similarity between this Rio Rita and the earlier film or stage show. That will be of little concern except for musical theatre aficionados or fans of the earlier film version, neither of which is the target audience for this "remake," that audience being those who simply can't get enough of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Fans of the comedy team will find plenty here to entertain them, even if Rita is not one of their best vehicles. Director S. Sylvan Simon can't find the right tone, the right air of inescapable madness that shows Abbott & Costello off to their very best, and MGM is a trifle too stuffy, even when it lets its hair down, for these two. Still, there are a number of episodes that do come off very well, such as Costello's adventure with (and in) the washing machine. The plot concocted for the film keeps getting in way, and the supporting characters are given a bit too much screen time; but at least those players include Tom Conway, in fine form, and Kathryn Grayson, in fine voice. Not a classic, but fans could definitely do worse. (Non-fans should just stay away, as usual.) ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Robert Kalloch - Costume Designer, Gile Steele - Costume Designer, S. Sylvan Simon - Director, Ben Lewis - Editor, Victor Baravalle - Composer (Music Score), Herbert Stothart - Composer (Music Score), Herbert Stothart - Musical Direction/Supervision, George Folsey - Cinematographer, Pandro S. Berman - Producer, Warren Newcombe - Special Effects, John Grant - Screenwriter, Gladys Lehman - Screenwriter, Richard Connell - Screenwriter
Nazi spies have infiltrated the Hotel Vista del Rio, a resort on the Mexican border. They plan to use a radio broadcast by a famous guest, Ricardo Montera (John Carroll), to transmit coded messages to their cohorts. Doc (Bud Abbott) and Wishy (Lou Costello) are stowaways in Montera's car, who steal a basket of "apples" that turn out being miniature radios used by the spies. Rita Winslow (Kathryn Grayson), the hotel's owner and childhood sweetheart of Montera, hire Doc and Wishy as house detectives, who discover the Nazi codebook and give it to Montera. They are then kidnapped by the spies, and left in a room with a bomb set to explode, but manage to escape while Wishy plants the bomb in the pocket of one of the culprits. Meanwhile, the broadcast has already begun and Montera, refusing to participate in treason, fights the spies until the Texas Rangers arrive. The spies' escape by car is thwarted when the planted bomb finally explodes.
It was during filming that Abbott and Costello had their hand and footprints enshrined at Grauman's Chinese Theater on the night of Dec. 8, 1941. In addition, at the same time Abbott and Costello signed a new agreement regarding their partnership. Previously, any deal that they signed required Abbott to be paid $10 more than Costello. After the new deal signed on January 9, 1942, Costello would now earn 60 percent of their salary with Abbott taking only 40 percent.[1]
Joe Kirk, who later played Mr. Bacciagalupe in The Abbott and Costello Show, has a small role. (Kirk later became the Costello's brother-in-law).
