It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Rio Rita (1942) – Musical #532

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
S. Sylvan Simon

Starring:
Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Kathryn Grayson, John Carroll, Patricia Dane, Tom Conway, Barry Nelson, Peter Whitney, Arthur Space,
Themselves: Eros Volusia, Eros Volusia Brazilian Dancers

Plot:
Rita Winslow (Grayson) runs the Hotel Vista del Rio, which is located in Texas on the border of Mexico. She eagerly awaits for famous singer Ricardo Montera (Carroll) to arrive for his visit. Rita and Ricardo had a brief romance years before. To help manage the hotel, Rita hired Maurice Craindell (Conway), who is also a Nazi spy and using his work at the hotel as a cover. A bumbling pair Doc (Abbott) and Wishy (Costello) arrive at the hotel and unwittingly expose the Nazi spy ring.

Trivia:
• A version of the 1927 Florenz Ziegfeld Broadway show, “Rio Rita,” which was first made into a movie in 1929 with Bebe Daniels, John Boles and the comedy team, Wheeler and Woolsey. The story here is transformed for World War II.
• Only two of the songs from the original operetta were included in the film, “Rio Rita” and “The Rangers Song.”
• Kathryn Grayson’s third film and first starring role.
• The songs “Such Unusual Weather,” “Poor Whippoorwill” and “A Couple Of Caballeros” were written for the movie but not used.
• MGM was interested in buying film rights for to “Rio Rita” in 1938 with the intent of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy starring in the film. However, the film rights weren’t purchased until 1941.
• Opera singers Marta Eggerth and Risë Stevens were considered for the film
• Filmed in Palm Springs, California.
• The first of three films Abbott and Costello made under contract at MGM.
• During the filming of RIO RITA is when Lou Costello asked for their earnings to be split 60/40, as Costello had more screen time and physical acting than Bud Abbott, according to their biographer.

Notable Songs:
• “Rio Rita” preformed by John Carroll
• “Long Before You Came” performed by John Carroll and Kathryn Grayson
• “Ombres Légères” performed by Kathryn Grayson
• “The Rangers Song” performed by John Carroll and the chorus

Highlights:
• The Brazilian dancers

My review:
During World War II, filmmakers often added an enemy subplot to films, even in well-established series and remakes. Tarzan and Sherlock Holmes encountered Nazis and in THE DESERT SONG (1943), the Nazis were invading North Africa.

In the 1942 remake of RIO RITA, Nazis were also woven into the plot. The first time the story was introduced was in the Florenz Ziegfeld-produced 1927 Broadway show. The show’s plot revolved around a Texas Ranger going undercover to capture a Mexican bandit. Rita in the show was an Irish-American-Mexican girl who sings at a hotel. This same story was put on film for the first time in 1929 starring Bebe Daniels and John Boles. Comedic duo Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey appeared in both the Broadway show and the 1929 film.

MGM showed interest in retelling this story starting in 1938, but didn’t purchase the film rights until 1941. Waiting a few years allowed for a more interesting adaptation than the original story.

In this 1942 adaptation of RIO RITA, singing heart throb Ricardo Montera (Carroll) is visiting the Texas resort, Hotel Vista del Rio, which is run by Rita Winslow (Grayson). Rita is eager to see Ricardo, who she previously had a childhood crush when they met briefly. The person Rita has hired to manage the hotel, Maurice Craindall (Conway), is also a Nazi agent who is using the hotel to host his spy ring. In addition to Ricardo arriving at the hotel, bumbling ex-pet store workers, Doc (Abbott) and Wishy (Costello), unwittingly foil the Nazi plans.

RIO RITA is my type of movie vibe: Made in the 1940s, a luxury ranch resort, musical performances inspired by South American culture, and a World War II subplot with Nazi spies.

Sometimes the style of Abbott and Costello’s comedy isn’t my cup of tea, but they are a good time here.

Having seen both the 1929 and the 1942 version, the shift from Mexican bandits to the Nazi villains is refreshing, more interesting and feels like a more coherent storyline than the original early talkie musical.

While researching this film, I did see some complaints about the opera music, assuming this was strictly an Abbott and Costello film. While some Abbott and Costello super fans may turn their nose up to the music, lest we forget RIO RITA was a vehicle for budding musical star, Kathryn Grayson, who stars in the title role.

Later starring in major MGM musicals like KISS ME KATE and SHOW BOAT, this film is early in North Carolina-born Kathryn Grayson’s film career. In early her third film role, RIO RITA is also Grayson’s first starring role following a role in an Andy Hardy film and the drama, THE VANISHING VIRGINIAN. In my opinion, Grayson doesn’t have as much screen time and doesn’t sing as many songs as I would have liked.

John Carroll is capable in the male lead, and I often forget that he can sing. Carroll even dubbed James Ellison in a 1937 film. Carroll’s singing abilities weren’t often utilized. During World War II, he was one of the B-team who filled in for the actors who served in World War II. Esther Williams called Carroll a poor man’s Clark Gable in her autobiography. While he’s pleasant, I also felt he didn’t have nearly enough screen time in this film.

The majority of the screen time goes to the comedic duo of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. This was Costello’s return to MGM, where he previously had worked as a stunt man. This was the first of a three picture deal with the studio, according to Abbott and Costello biographers.

This was also a turning point the duo’s film career, which only began in 1940, when Costello asked for a larger portion of their earnings (60 to 40), because he made up much of their screen time and had to perform more difficult stunts, according to their biographers.

Their most entertaining scene is at the beginning involving a car jack. While they may take up too much of the film’s run time, Abbott and Costello are funny in this.

Interestingly, Abbott and Costello reenact a scene originated by Wheeler and Woolsey in the 1929 version. The scene involves drinking a substance that makes them hallucinate into seeing a woman undressing.

Outside of the comedic pair’s antics and the opera singing of Kathryn Grayson, a major highlight in the film is a dance performance by Eros Volusia and her Brazilian Dancers.

While RIO RITA could be a considered an oddity in the careers of everyone involved in this film, it’s great fun. In my mind, it has a little something for everyone.

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