The first four Road pictures -- Singapore (1940), Zanzibar (1941); Morocco (1942), and Utopia (1946) -- were, IMHO, by far the best. The last two (Bali and Hong Kong; 1952 and 1962) definitely were running out of steam...but were still enjoyable. "The Road To Rio" was right there in the middle...not great, but really good.
Scat Sweeney and Hot Lips Barton, both out-of-work musicians, head for Louisiana and through their bumbling cause a fire at a circus. They escape a mob by stowing away on board a ship bound for Rio de Janeiro. Of course, they run into Dorothy Lamour (Lucia), who seems to have a split personality, but is actually being controlled by the hypnosis by her sleazy guardian, played deliciously by Gale Sondergaard. It's up to the boys to save Lucia from marrying Sondergaard's brother. Along the way, the boys gain the help of the Wiere Brothers, who were pretty funny guys who never seemed to make it big in movies. And then there's a cameo by Bob Hope's frequent sidekick -- Jerry Colonna -- which goes nowhere...but that's the gag.
Hope and Crosby had a chemistry together that has rarely been matched in Hollywood history, and it shows here.
The version I just viewed was the Kino Lorber Blu_Ray restoration, and the color in great with only occasional graininess making it slightly less than perfect.
Recommended.
Scat Sweeney and Hot Lips Barton, both out-of-work musicians, head for Louisiana and through their bumbling cause a fire at a circus. They escape a mob by stowing away on board a ship bound for Rio de Janeiro. Of course, they run into Dorothy Lamour (Lucia), who seems to have a split personality, but is actually being controlled by the hypnosis by her sleazy guardian, played deliciously by Gale Sondergaard. It's up to the boys to save Lucia from marrying Sondergaard's brother. Along the way, the boys gain the help of the Wiere Brothers, who were pretty funny guys who never seemed to make it big in movies. And then there's a cameo by Bob Hope's frequent sidekick -- Jerry Colonna -- which goes nowhere...but that's the gag.
Hope and Crosby had a chemistry together that has rarely been matched in Hollywood history, and it shows here.
The version I just viewed was the Kino Lorber Blu_Ray restoration, and the color in great with only occasional graininess making it slightly less than perfect.
Recommended.