Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1920s: The Dawn of the Hollywood Musical

Wheeler & Woolsey - Together Again For The First Time

An interesting film for aficionados of film history

RKO Studios - 780 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Ramon Novarro in Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)

Bebe Daniels and Everett Marshall in Dixiana (1930)

Matt Moore, Owen Moore, and Tom Moore in Side Street (1929)

Robert Ames in The Voice of the City (1929)

Moon Carroll, Cyril Chadwick, John Davidson, Mary Forbes, Holmes Herbert, Gretchen Holland, Leila Hyams, Bertram Johns, Frank Leigh, Helene Millard, Conrad Nagel, Charles Quatermaine, and Margaret Wycherly in The Thirteenth Chair (1929)

Gene Tierney, Victor Mature, Phyllis Brooks, Walter Huston, and Ona Munson in The Shanghai Gesture (1941)

Charlotte Greenwood in So Long Letty (1929)

Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel in The Hoose-Gow (1929)

Helene Costello and Cullen Landis in Lights of New York (1928)

John Boles and Bebe Daniels in Rio Rita (1929)

How would you like it if I told you your Mexican divorce is no good.

Yeh, but that was yesterday. Today's Friday. Here's a wire that I just received from your first wife's lawyer in New York. Scan it, my boy, scan it.

Please arrest the bigamist. Oh, now, wait, look. Now, you know that isn't right. Now, she calls me a bigamist.

Yes now and that's what you are a bigamist. You married twice didn't you?

Well, that proves it. For of all the fools, you are the bigamist.

Don Alvarado, Bebe Daniels, Dorothy Lee, Georges Renavent, Bert Wheeler, and Robert Woolsey in Rio Rita (1929)

John Boles, Bebe Daniels, and Georges Renavent in Rio Rita (1929)

Lita Chevret, Bebe Daniels, Dorothy Lee, and Eva Rosita in Rio Rita (1929)

Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey in Rio Rita (1929)

Bebe Daniels

John Boles

Bert Wheeler

Luther Reed

Guy Bolton

Fred Thompson

Capt. James Stewart pursues the bandit &quot;The Kinkajou&quot; over the Mexican border and falls in love with Rita. He suspects, that her brother is the bandit.

Rio Rita

Maximum History, Minimal Entertainment

&quot;Rio Rita&quot; is a filmed stage play with a couple of outdoor scenes tossed in. Taken just as a movie it would be a near-flop, but as a historical document it is an essential part of Hollywood&apos;s rich past of musical motion pictures. It is also a rare look at a production overseen by Broadway showman nonpareil Florenz Ziegfeld, which most of us have never seen but can only read about.

Presumably, the spectacle&apos;s the thing with a Ziegfeld show, because Rio Rita&apos;s book is just plain goofy and as entertaining as oatmeal. The story is absurd and wanders about for 103 minutes and is saved only by musical interludes and by the comedy team of Wheeler and Woolsey, who are forced to work with some unfunny material but bring much-needed energy to the show. The music is very good, even though my DVD from Warner Archives collection omits the &quot;Kinkajou&quot; song and dance number. I have it on a CD recording and sounds almost like the show&apos;s best number - but I can&apos;t tell, since it&apos;s been left out.

Bebe Daniels was excellent but I found John Boles a lumpen and paunchy Texas Ranger, but with a good singing voice. The overall look of the show was somewhat primitive and static, except for the last 20-30 minutes which was shot in Technicolor. I gave the film a rating of 6, which I think is passable (historically speaking) - if you are a serious film fan you should really check it out and make up your own mind. It&apos;s what makes horse racing.

"Rio Rita" is a filmed stage play with a couple of outdoor scenes tossed in. Taken just as a movie it would be a near-flop, but as a historical document it is an essential part of Hollywood's rich past of musical motion pictures. It is also a rare look at a production overseen by Broadway showman nonpareil Florenz Ziegfeld, which most of us have never seen but can only read about.

Presumably, the spectacle's the thing with a Ziegfeld show, because Rio Rita's book is just plain goofy and as entertaining as oatmeal. The story is absurd and wanders about for 103 minutes and is saved only by musical interludes and by the comedy team of Wheeler and Woolsey, who are forced to work with some unfunny material but bring much-needed energy to the show. The music is very good, even though my DVD from Warner Archives collection omits the "Kinkajou" song and dance number. I have it on a CD recording and sounds almost like the show's best number - but I can't tell, since it's been left out.

Bebe Daniels was excellent but I found John Boles a lumpen and paunchy Texas Ranger, but with a good singing voice. The overall look of the show was somewhat primitive and static, except for the last 20-30 minutes which was shot in Technicolor. I gave the film a rating of 6, which I think is passable (historically speaking) - if you are a serious film fan you should really check it out and make up your own mind. It's what makes horse racing.

Capt. James Stewart pursues the bandit "The Kinkajou" over the Mexican border and falls in love with Rita. He suspects, that her brother is the bandit.

bappamtv

Rio Rita

🎭 Top Cast

🎬 Technical Specs

🏷️ Keywords

🎯 Categories

⭐ Featured Review

💡 Did You Know?

🎬 More Like This

📖 Synopsis