Road to Rio (1947)

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.

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!

Four of the seven 'Road' movies, just over half the franchise, were made in the 1940s and this one, released in 1947, was the last of them. All seven are available on DVD in a handsome slipcase resembling one of those Louis Vuitton steamer trunks that you took with you on a world cruise if you were well-heeled and named Somerset Maugham or Noel Coward. One outlet was offering this set at a silly price and I snapped it up primarily for the songs, there are well over 20 in the seven titles of which a surprising number are very high quality or, dare I say it, high Standards. This one yields the standout ballad But Beautiful, the catchy You Don't Have To Know The Language, Appalachacola, Fla whilst Lamour gets one of the one-word title songs that were something of a trademark (in all she sang four; Constantly, Personality, Moonflowers and this one, Experience). Nobody went to these movies looking for a great plot and were quite happy to to find a pair of performers one jump ahead of the posse and watch Crosby set Hope up for another life-threatening stunt before meeting up with Lamour and the resident heavies. This time around it's Gale Sondergaard who's out to swindle Lamour and marry her off profitably. Frank Faylen, Nestor Paiva, the Andrews Sisters and the Wiere Brothers make up the numbers for one of the top three in the franchise.

Although Hope, Crosby and Lamour were teaming together for the fifth time in a Road movie, the format and style remain fresh, with a greater emphasis on song and a more rigid plot-line than in its four predecessors. The interplay between the three stars continues to be a delight, and Gale Sondergaard makes for a wonderful villain, whilst the Wiere Brothers almost steal the show as a trio of Rio street entertainers whom Bing and Bob persuade to impersonate the last three members of the five-piece all-American band that they have promised to deliver into Nestor Paiva's nightclub. There are a number of hilarious set-pieces, particularly with Hope cycling on a tightrope, and a rousing and manic climax. As a result of all these fine features, "Road to Rio" is only a notch down from my favourite Road picture, "Road to Utopia".