Rio Rita

Bebe Daniels, with a ridiculous accent and a trilling voice to rival Jeanette MacDonald, is Rita, being romanced by mysterious gringo John Boles. Their operetta duets are fairly pretty and Bebe gets to wear some good costumes.

In another storyline interwoved with that of Rita are Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey (with little Dorothy Lee) in a comic divorce-based plot. Woolsey is the wise-cracking cigar-chomper with the glasses, Wheeler the little guy with the high voice and a nice line in song 'n dance.

Rio Rita is a fun early musical with primitive Technicolor bits and one Berkeley-esque overhead shot with the frilly girlies doing their thing round Wheeler. Dorothy Lee's voice reminded me of Helen Kane (the lady who introduced I Wanna Be Loved By You before Marilyn got her hands on it).

My favourite bit music-wise is the catchy 'Sweetheart, We Need Each Other'; otherwise the invisible girl only seen by the boys after quaffing some seriously strong plonk is a really funny bit.

And I did like the fact that for 1929 this wasn't as primitive as other early talkies I've seen. Good stuff (and an invaluable record of a Ziegfeld show of course).

Lovely old musical based on a smash 1927 Broadway show produced by Flo Ziegfeld.

Stale plot but it doesn't matter what with great leads by John Boles and Bebe Daniels. Nonsense about a bunch of vigilantes seeking the notorious "Kinkajou." But the songs are terrific and both Boles and Daniels have great voices. It must have been a big surprise to film fans to see Bebe Daniels in this film. She had been a star for a decade and emerged as the great singer. Their duet on "Rio Rita" is excellent.

Along for the ride (and from the Broadway play) are Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey (their film debut) who are very funny here. Contrary to general knowledge, they were NOT a vaudeville team. They had never even met before being hired for the Broadway production. But RIO RITA started a long and very funny teaming of the two in many films.

Dorothy Lee is also good in this film as the "boop-a-doop" voiced girl friend of Wheeler. Their duet on "Sweetheart, We Need Each Other" is a delight and when they break into a tap dance routine, they are just perfect. Lee (in her second film) is especially good, but I don't remember much dancing from her other films.

The existing 104-minute print is from the cut down 1932 re-release of the film. The original 140-minute version is not known to exist, although a complete print once existed at New York's Museum of Modern Art.

The pirate ship finale was filmed in 2-strip Technicolor and exists.

Also in the cast are Helen Kaiser as Mrs. Bean, Don Alvarado as Roberto, Georges Renavent as the general, Eva Rosita as Carmen, and Richard Alexander as Gonzales.

"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.

I think many of us make the mistake of reviewing films of the transition to sound era from the viewpoint of highlighting the inadequacies of the technology of the period as seen from today, I have recently seen an unrestored Video print of Rio Rita, the quality of which was excellent, the sound was excellent, the two strip colour finale as most will agree was stunning. I found Bebe Daniels characterisation to be endearing and entertaining, her accent didn't grate at all far from it, it fitted her role and she was in fine voice in her first talkie musical, John Boles performance was set very much in the stage style of presentation, he had a fine voice very easy on the ear. Rio Rita is a gem from the late 20's and deserves to be restored 100% to it's former glory when released,filmed head on for most of it's duration, rather like watching a stage show, I see it as a wonderful filmed record of what it was like to actually sit in the Ziegfeld Theatre perhaps and be a member of the first night performance of the show on stage, the nearest we will ever get to actually seeing a Ziegfeld show of the period, and partly in stunning two strip colour. The technical restrictions of the period, static camera's, etc work in the films favour for me, we have an opportunity to see a filmed stage show featuring some of the greatest stars of the period. I would like to suggest when watching film musicals of the late 20's, very early 30's, playing the soundtrack through an equaliser, then play it through your amplifier to good quality speakers, the results can be amazing, tinny soundtracks can suddenly take on a sound quality you had no idea was there! I recommend Rio Rita 8 out of 10 only because my copy though excellent isn't restored,a fully restored Rio Rita would be a wonderful to see and hear.

Most old films noted as "of historical interest only" are actually very entertaining. "Rio Rita" is not. It is one of the better examples of the "historically interesting" film. It's also helpful if you view it as a extravagantly filmed stage production. The 1927-28 stage musical, produced by Florenz Ziegfeld, was a colossal success. And, the too long film version was voted 1927's fourth "Best Picture", in the annual poll conducted by "Film Daily".

The opportunity to see "Rio Rita" on screen, in partial color, with popular Bebe Daniels (as Rita Ferguson) in her first speaking (and singing) role, proved irresistible at the box office. Ms. Daniels did not equal her 1920s silent successes, but extended her popularity into the early "talkie" era. Check out the debuting comedy team of Wheeler and Woolsey (with Dorothy Lee) in "Hips, Hips, Hooray!" for a better representation of their work.

***** Rio Rita (1929) Luther Reed ~ Bebe Daniels, Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey