RIO RITA

US, 1942, 91 minutes. Black and white.
Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Kathryn Grayson, John Carroll, Patricia Dane, Tom Conway, Peter Whitney, Barry Nelson.
Directed by S. Sylvan Simon.

Rio Rita is of interest historically. It may not make much impact these days – except for fans of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, and possibly fans of Kathryn Grayson.

The film was based on a musical – and some of the songs remain, one sung by John Carroll about the land, the song Rio Rita, and also the ranger’s song. There is also an exotic song and dance routine emphasising Brazilian music.

However, these seem sometimes interruptions to the main thrust of the film. While there is a subplot about Nazi spies operating from a luxury hotel in Texas, which seems fairly farfetched in itself, the main thrust is Bud Abbott and Lou Costello comedy.

Tom Conway (George Sanders’ brother, The Falcon in so many movies) is the head of the Nazis. Peter Whitney is a tough who has all kinds of physical encounters with Abbott and Costello. In fact, the Nazi spy ring is given little treatment (the film was released in 1942 rather than later).

The film is a good example of Abbott and Costello comedy. Bud Abbott is Doc, fairly bossy concerning Lou Costello who plays Wishy. Abbott is the straight man, given sometimes to slapping Lou Costello. Lou Costello is short, podgy, and is the source of the comedy. Abbott and Costello were famous for their verbal repartee, playing on words, misunderstanding words, going round in circles with comments and reactions. This is in full swing in this film, some of the routines still amusing. There is also a fair amount of slapstick comedy – especially with Lou Costello being pushed around, but able to push others around when it suits him. There is also some parody of romance with Patricia Dane as an undercover secret agent.

The film was directed by S. Sylvan Simon who directed a number of these comedies at MGM, including Red Skelton’s Whistling in Dixie.