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 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.
This week’s musical: Road to Rio (1947) – Musical #813
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Director: Norman Z. McLeod
Starring: Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Gale Sondergaard, Frank Faylen, George Meeker, Frank Puglia, Robert Barrat, Nestor Paiva, Stanley Andrews, Harry Woods Themselves: The Andrews Sisters, The Wiere Brothers, Jerry Colonna
Plot: Vaudeville performers Scat Sweeney (Crosby) and Hot Lips Barton (Hope) travel the United States, and are frequently chased out of states after Scat woos women in each area. In one area, the duo’s act burns down an entire carnival. Fleeing the scene of their crime, Scat and Hot Lips stowaway on a ship to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where they meet wealthy Lucia Maria de Andrade (Lamour). Lucia’s finances and future nuptials are being controlled by her nefarious guardian, Catherine Vail (Sondergaard).
Lady Gaga and Brandon Flowers, lead singer of the Killers
I am always listening for classic movie information, facts or references. Imagine my surprise while listening to my two favorite musical artists, Lady Gaga and The Killers, when I ran across some classic film references.
I’m not talking about the old worn out “Bette Davis Eyes” where the whole song is dedicated to one actor, but these are subtle lyrics mentioning favorite actors.
It gives me joy that Lady Gaga and Brandon Flowers must have some respect for classic Hollywood. It seems so many of the people in Hollywood don’t care about the past or are unaware. Without the James Cagneys and Bette Davises, the actors in Hollywood wouldn’t have the freedom they exercise now.
• “The Ballad of Michael Valentine” by The Killers from the Sawdust album:
“But I’ve got a buzz like Marlon Brando straight faced with misery tonight”
“But I’ve got a buzz like Greta Garbo walking fowards in the sun”
• “Romeo and Juliet” covered by the Killers on the Sawdust album:
“There’s a place for us, you know the movie song”
-talking about “West Side Story”
•”A Dustland Fairytale” by the Killers on the Day & Age album:
“‘Moon River’ what you do to me, but I don’t believe you…”
-Mentions the theme from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”
The video seems to be modeled after “Rebel Without a Cause” or “West Side Story” with the switch blade gang fighting.
• “Speechless” by Lady Gaga from The Fame Monster album: “With your James Dean glossy eyes In your tight jeans with your long hair”
“I can’t believe how you looked at me with your Johnnie Walker eyes”
-I actually had to look up who Johnnie Walker was. He was an actor in the 1920’s and 1930s
and he died in 1949.
• “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga from The Fame Monster album:
“I want your psycho, Your vertigo stick, Want you in my rear window, Baby you’re sick”
-Huge Hitchcock reference talking about “Psycho,” “Vertigo” and “Rear Window.” I
heard in an interview that she was sighting imperfect film romances and saying that she
would take your imperfections and still love you anyways.
• “Dance in the Dark” by Lady Gaga from The Fame Monster album:
“Marilyn, Judy, Sylvia, Tellem’ how you feel girls!”
-Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland and I’m assuming Sylvia Plath
“Work your blonde (Jean) Benet Ramsey, We’ll haunt like Liberace, find your freedom in the music find your Jesus, find your Kubrick”
-Pianist Liberace and director Stanley Kubrick
Kim Novak, the Lavender Blonde
• “So Happy I Could Die” by Lady Gaga from The Fame Monster album: “I love that lavender blonde, the way she moves, the way she walks….”
-In her early days of acting, Kim Novak was publicized as the Lavender Blonde or the Lavender
Girl at Columbia studios. They tinted her blonde hair with lavender highlights, frequently
dressed her in shades of purple and forced her to decorate her apartment in the color, according to the book “Leading Ladies: The 50 Most Unforgettable Actresses of the Studio Era.”
Comet Over Hollywood 