Rio Rita

1942
Approved
1h 31m

IMDb RATING

6.0/10

1.3K

YOUR RATING

Bud Abbott, John Carroll, Lou Costello, and Kathryn Grayson in Rio Rita (1942)

Farce Slapstick Comedy Music War

Doc and Wishey run into some Nazi-agents, who want to smuggle bombs into the USA from a Mexican border hotel.Doc and Wishey run into some Nazi-agents, who want to smuggle bombs into the USA from a Mexican border hotel.Doc and Wishey run into some Nazi-agents, who want to smuggle bombs into the USA from a Mexican border hotel.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.0/10

1.3K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were under contract to Universal Pictures, and their films were so successful that MGM signed a three-film contract with them to take advantage of a clause in their Universal contract that allowed them to do one film a year for another company. This was the first one; Lost in a Harem (1944) and Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood (1945) were the others. However, each of the films was less successful than the previous one, and MGM canceled its agreement with Universal after the third film.

Goofs
When Wishy (Lou Costello) is hanging from the back bumper of the car, his feet disappear as he is trying to climb back up to the car.

Quotes
'Doc': Did you ever go to school, stupid?
'Wishy': Yeah and I came out the same way.

Connections
Featured in The Big Parade of Comedy (1964)

Soundtracks
Rio Rita
(1927)
Music by Harry Tierney
Lyrics by Joseph McCarthy
Played during the opening credits
Sung by John Carroll (uncredited) at the hotel
Reprised by the band at the hotel

User reviews18

Review

Featured review

7/10

Well Worth the Time for A & C Fans

Rio Rita used to run on TV along with the other Abbott and Costello features back in the 1970s, but it seemed to disappear in the video age. It has shown up recently on cable in what looks to me like a well restored version.

Bud and Lou get mixed up with Nazi spies while working at a ranch hotel in the desert. It's got some decent gags and some good songs, but I think most people will enjoy it because it looks good. There are good southwestern sets, good scenes of the Rangers riding along singing, and Bud and Lou are still in their youth. It's not the best Abbott and Costello movie you'll ever see. This was their first feature with MGM, and they were better with Universal, but I missed this one from the TV days, so I was happy to finally see it again.