Road to Rio (1947)

Scat Sweeney and Hot Lips Barton. AWESOME names.

“Who wants to work? We’re musicians!”

In the days of olde, men were men and comedians were funny. And no comedian was funnier than Bob Hope. He was also one of the most accomplished people I’ve ever seen. Listen to this: he was awarded honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II in 1998, he hosted the Academy Awards 18 times, he received 58 honorary degrees, it is said that he’s donated an estimated $1 billion to charity, and acted in more than 50 films. And I’m not nearly finished yet.

Believe it or not, America’s favorite comedian was born in Great Britain. He was born in 1903, and he jokes, “I left England at the age of four when I found out I couldn’t be king.”

Hope, like almost all legendary comedians, got his start in vaudeville. He then got a big break on Broadway in 1933, which led him to one of the most legendary entertainment careers of all time, a career that would last more than 60 years.

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It may seem odd to you that I’m starting with the fifth in the series of Road to… films. Get over it. My ways are mysterious.

No, I’m kidding. I’m starting with Rio because it’s always been one of my favorite comedies. The dialogue (especially the ad-libbed ribbing between Hope and Bing Crosby) is fast-paced and clever. The plot’s hectic, wildly unrealistic, and ultimately unexplained. It’s great fun.

The Road to… series was the most popular series of its time. It consists of seven films, all starring Hope and Crosby. They are, in chronological order: Road to Singapore (1940), Road to Zanzibar (1941), Road to Morocco (1942), Road to Utopia (1946), Road to Rio (1947), Road to Bali (1952), and Road to Hong Kong (1962).

This film is a perfect example of clever comedy without the use of sexual references or crass humor of any kind. This is real comedy. Hope you like it! *guffaws*

Synopsis

After accidentally burning down a circus, inept vaudevillians Scat Sweeney (Crosby) and Hot Lips Barton (Hope) stow away on a Brazil-bound ocean liner. Aboard the ship, they prevent a woman, Lucia (Lamour), from committing suicide. They soon become aware of Lucia’s sinister hypnotist guardian, who plans on using her dastardly powers to force her niece to marry a greedy fortune hunter. Scat and Hot Lips must use the mysterious “papers” to stop the wedding!

Information

Directed by Norman Z. McLeod;

Written by Edmund Beloin (story and screenplay) and Jack Rose (story and screenplay);

Starring Bob Hope as Hot Lips Barton, Bing Crosby as Scat Sweeney, Dorothy Lamour as Lucia Maria de Andrade, and The Wiere Brothers as Three Musicians;

Produced by Daniel Dare.

Facts

At 100 minutes, Rio is the longest of the Road to… films.

In the end scene, leading the calvary, Bob Hope’s long-time radio partner Jerry Colonna appears.

Road to Rio contains the last on-screen singing performance of the Andrews Sisters.

Disembarking from the ship, Scat tells sinister Catherine Vail (Gale Sondegaard), “I’ll listen for you on Inner Sanctum”. Radio’s “Inner Sanctum Mysteries” debuted in 1941 and featured gruesome stories and spine-chilling characters.

Hiding in the lifeboat, Bob Hope is polishing his trumpet and says “You happy little Grable fodder”. Heartthrob Betty Grable married trumpeter Harry James in 1943.

-luke