Road to Rio

"Take a New Year Cruise to Rio with the Screen's Top Laughter Trio!"

1947 1h 40m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 46

ComedyAdventureMusicRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Scat Sweeney and Hot Lips Barton, two out of work musicians, stow away onboard a ship bound for Rio, after accidentally setting fire to the big top of a circus. They then get mixed up with a potential suicide Lucia, who first thanks them, then unexpectedly turns them over to the ship's captain. When they find out that she has been hypnotized, to go through a marriage of convenience, when the ship reaches Rio, the boys turn up at the ceremony, in order to stop the wedding, and to help catch the crooks.

“Take a New Year Cruise to Rio with the Screen's Top Laughter Trio!”

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Cast

Bing Crosby
Scat Sweeney
Bob Hope
Hot Lips Barton
Dorothy Lamour
Lucia Maria de Andrade
Gale Sondergaard
Catherine Vail
Frank Faylen
Trigger
Joseph Vitale
Tony
George Meeker
Sherman Mallory
Frank Puglia
Rodrigues

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Norman Z. McLeod
Writers: Edmund Beloin, Jack Rose
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

79 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Road to... Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Norman Z. McLeod, shot by Ernest Laszlo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Robert Emmett Dolan. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ellsworth Hoagland shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Bing Crosby and Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Take a New Year Cruise to Rio with the Screen's Top Laughter Trio!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0039776 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Norman Z. McLeod directs. Ernest Laszlo behind the camera. Robert Emmett Dolan scores. Ellsworth Hoagland cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

179 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Part of the "Road to... Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Norman Z. McLeod, shot by Ernest Laszlo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Robert Emmett Dolan. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Ellsworth Hoagland shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Bing Crosby and Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Take a New Year Cruise to Rio with the Screen's Top Laughter Trio!".
8IMDB entry: tt0039776 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 46 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Ernest Laszlo
Original score: Robert Emmett Dolan
Editing: Ellsworth Hoagland
Costume design: Edith Head
Makeup / hair: Wally Westmore
Runtime: 100 min · 1h 40m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Road to Rio (1947)

Part of

Road to... Collection

Road to ... refers to a series of seven comedy films starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour. They are also often referred to as the "Road Pictures" or the "Road Series." The movies were a combination of adventure, comedy, romance, and music. The minimal plot often took a back seat to gags, many of them supposedly ad-libed by Crosby and Hope during filming.

Also by

Norman Z. McLeod

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2020-02-04
★ 7/10
Hot Lips, Scat and the hypnotic shenanigan. Road to Rio is directed by Norman McLeod and written by Edmund Beloin and Jack Rose. It stars Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Gale Sondergaard and Frank Faylen. Music is by Robert Emmett and cinematography by Ernest Laszlo. Hope and Crosby star as two vaudevillians, who after setting a circus on fire, stow away on a liner bound for Brazil. Once there they encounter a distressed woman (Lamour) who is being coerced into an unwanted marriage by her scheming guardian. The fifth in the hugely popular "Road To" series of films, Rio follows the same trajectory as before. For fans such as myself this is OK, other film fans venturing in for a first time look may be a bit bemused by it all. In fairness this one does have a solid story at its core, with hypnotism the dastardly weapon of choice, while McLeod neatly blends the comedy and musical numbers and keeps the pace brisk. Hope gets some well written topical gags to deliver and Crosby croons whilst also getting to do a number with The Andrews Sisters. In support the wonderful Sondergaard turns in another one of her memorable villainess performances, and The Wiere Brothers form part of the narrative to produce great comedic results. With a blazing first quarter, a jovial middle section and a genuinely hilarious finale, Road to Rio achieves everything a "Road To" fan could wish for. 7.5/10

Production companies