Customer Reviews:
Wonderful Set.......2007-03-21
Despite the packaging - (disks pilled on top of each other so to get at the bottom disk you have to first remove the ones on top.) Very inconvientient to manage. Because of the packiaging I had to rate the set as a 4, but if I was just rating the transfers themselves I would have given it a 5. This is the best transfer of the movies included that I have ever seen. My Favorite Brunette and Road to Bali were especially good - video sharp and clear - sound acceptible for movies of this age. The color on Bali was especially good - others I've seen had very poor, washed out colors. I have been completely happy with this set and would not hesitate to recommend it.
Bob Hope Movie Collection.......2007-01-18
I enjoyed the movies but the case it came in was really terrible so many disc's in a very badly designed holder. I am afraid they will become scratched!
Great Set---Bad Packaging.......2007-01-17
If you're a fan of Bob Hope-then this is a great buy. Some Classics here including The Lemon Drop Kid, Seven Little Foys, 2 Road Movies ( Rio & Bali ) plus some of Hope's later-and lesser efforts, i.e. How to Commit Marriage etc.
Though not a fan of these later movies they're still interesting to watch, but it's the earlier stuff that makes this set well worth owning-and the price cannot be beaten.
The only drawback is that because of the budget price-tag the set is presented with five double-sided discs virtually stacked on top of each other making them easily damaged if not careful.
However, having said that, I'm very happy with this package at such a bargain price. Highly recommended.
Average customer rating:
- Great Fun with Bing, Bob, and Dottie!
- Hope and Crosby are great, and romantic moments are designed for Lamour...but let's not forget the wonderful Wiere Brothers
- One of the finest Bob Hope/Bing Crosby films
- The Road Show movies
- On the road with bob and bing
|
Road to Rio
Starring:
Bing Crosby ,
Bob Hope ,
Dorothy Lamour ,
Gale Sondergaard , and
Frank Faylen
Director:
Norman Z. McLeod
Manufacturer: Bci / Eclipse
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
 General
| Comedy
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Cons & Scams
| By Theme
| Comedy
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Buddy Films
| By Theme
| Comedy
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Love Triangle
| Love & Romance
| By Theme
| Comedy
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Classic Comedies
| Comedy
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
General
| Music Video & Concerts
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Comedy
| Kids & Family
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Boating
| Boating & Sailing
| Outdoor Recreation
| Special Interests
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
| Cruising & Racing
| Maintenance
| Navigation
Andrews, Stanley
| ( A )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Colonna, Jerry
| ( C )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Crosby, Bing
| ( C )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Faylen, Frank
| ( F )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Hope, Bob
| ( H )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Lamour, Dorothy
| ( L )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Meeker, George
| ( M )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Paiva, Nestor
| ( P )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Puglia, Frank
| ( P )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Sondergaard, Gale
| ( S )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Woods, Harry
| ( W )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Mcleod, Norman Z
| ( M )
| Directors
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
4-for-3 Comedy
| 4-for-3 DVD
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
4-for-3 All DVDs
| 4-for-3 DVD
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
DVDs Under $7.49
| Today's Deals in DVD
| Special Features
| DVD
| Video
All Deals
| Today's Deals in DVD
| Special Features
| DVD
| Video
General
| Comedy
| Today's Deals in DVD
| Special Features
| DVD
| Video
General
| Kids & Family
| Today's Deals in DVD
| Special Features
| DVD
| Video
( R )
| Titles
| Features
| DVD
| Video
Similar Items:
-
Road to Bali
-
The Road to Hong Kong
-
On the Road With Bob Hope and Bing Crosby Collection (Road to Singapore/Road to Zanzibar/Road to Morocco/Road to Utopia)
-
Bob Hope Tribute Collection - The Road Show Series (The Road to Morocco / The Road to Singapore / The Road to Utopia / The Road to Zanzibar)
-
Son of Paleface
ASIN: B00004YS6W
Release Date: 2000-11-21 |
Customer Reviews:
Great Fun with Bing, Bob, and Dottie!.......2007-07-27
"Road to Rio", along with 1942's "Road to Morocco", are considered the apex of the Crosby/Hope "Road" series, and for good reason; the music, comedy, and general silliness mesh perfectly...and for my money, "Rio" is TOPS!
The songs are first-rate, from the opening "Apalachicola, FLA" (with it's 'caboose' finale), to a wonderful Bing ballad, "But Beautiful", to a show-stopper with the Andrews Sisters, "You Don't Have to Know the Language", to a nearly risqué "Experience" from Dorothy Lamour...the comic routines feature Bing and Bob at their best, from a homage to the Marxes' barbershop routine from "Monkey Business", to a hypnotized 'duel'("I hate you, I loathe you, I despise you..."), to a silly finale dance number (with Bob in drag, of course)...and the one-liners are hilarious (Lamour: I don't know what came over me! I found myself saying things, and I didn't know why I was saying them!
Hope: Look, why don't you just run for Congress and leave us alone?).
Norman Z. McLeod was a superb comedy director, and he manages to maintain a semblance of plot midst all the craziness (which is a major reason this film 'works' better than, say, "Road to Bali"), and, for the second film in a row, BOB gets the girl (disapproving the myth that Bing always did, every picture).
From Hope on a high-wire, to Jerry Colonna leading a cavalry charge, "Road to Rio" is a winner, from beginning to end...Don't miss it!
Hope and Crosby are great, and romantic moments are designed for Lamour...but let's not forget the wonderful Wiere Brothers .......2007-06-02
Considering that The Road to Rio was the fifth in the series, that the formula was down pat, that the plot, as usual, was merely an excuse for spontaneous and not-so-spontaneous bantering by the two stars, that the money-to-effort ratio was by now very satisfying to nearly all concerned, and that Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, both at 44, were quickly reaching the point where their age was working against their image of happy-go-lucky, sex-on-their-minds, slightly dumb but well-intentioned good guys...well, this is one of the best in the series. There's no single thing that sets it apart. If we've watched even one other in the series, we know what's going to happen, like having a funny, loved uncle come to visit. I think that in The Road to Rio, the formula had reached a high gloss. The "spontaneity" of the back and forth between Hope and Crosby is quick, funny and friendly. The professionalism may be there, but it looks like they're still having fun making these movies. The jokes are corny and expected, as they were back in 1947, but Hope and Crosby give them a level of snap and comfort that make us smile. Their roles, Bing Crosby as Scat Sweeney, singer and slightly moth-eaten bon vivant, and Bob Hope as Hot Lips Barton, slow-witted but wise-cracking boy-man, are as comfortable to them and us as a pair of old slippers. They work their images both in the plot and in real life for every laugh they can squeeze. Says Scat Sweeney (Crosby) to Hot Lips Barton (Hope), "Swine!" Barton: "Pig!" Scat Crosby: "That's the same as swine." Hot Lips Hope: "All right. Ham!" Or this: Scat Crosby, "Are you admitting you're a dirty coward?" Hot Lips Hope, "No, a clean one!" These groaners were well aged at the turn of the century, but Hope and Crosby knew their stuff. Dorothy Lamour as the always exotic love interest is here, of course, providing a rationale for the two boys' raging hormones and the subsequent competition that provides much of the plot's backbone and laughs. Says Hot Lips Hope as he stares at Lamour's tight gown, "How'd you put that on...with a spray-gun?" And there are the many asides to the audience that was one of the trademarks of the series. When Hot Lips Hope finds himself hanging off a high wire, he starts screaming, "Help! Help!" Then he turns to the camera and confides in us, "You know, this picture could end right here."
But let's not just praise this highly polished piece of pleasurable, profitable professionalism. Buried in the movie is a uniquely eccentric and expert trio of brothers, Harry, Herbert and Sylvester. They were the Wiere Brothers, and a single description fails to do them justice. They were comics, dancers, gymnasts, singers, jugglers, players of all sorts of musical instruments and very funny men. They came to the States from Germany in the mid-Thirties after a successful European career in clubs and circuses. They were born to entertainers who moved around. Harry showed up in Berlin in 1906, Herbert appeared in Vienna in 1908 and Sylvester arrived in Prague in 1909. They soon were a part of their parent's act. In their early teens they organized their own routines.
I think Hollywood and America simply didn't know what to make of them. They made a handful of movies, only one of which really showcased their skills and appeal. They eventually settled down to a successful career in nightclubs and special appearances on television. In The Road to Rio they play three Brazilian street musicians. Scat Crosby and Hot Lips Hope encounter them while the two boys are trying to rescue Dorothy Lamour from a nefarious plot. We get a chance to see the brothers bandy schtick with Hope and Crosby. Unfortunately, they get only one chance to show us what they can do in performance, and that scene is chopped up and was severely edited. Still, it's better than nothing.
Their showcase spot was in the first movie they made when they came to America. That's Vogues of 1938, which starred Warner Baxter and a blonde Joan Bennett. We get a full routine from the Wiere Brothers, dressed in white tuxes, dancing eccentrically, bouncing and rolling, doing wonders with hats, playing violins and singing. They are funny, endearing and terrific.
One of the finest Bob Hope/Bing Crosby films.......2007-02-12
A really good, fun, mostly clean, movie. The Andrews Sisters were awesome!
Can't relay just how good the film really is. It just is.
The Road Show movies.......2007-02-12
For any fan of The Road Shows this is a must for your collection! Very good.
On the road with bob and bing.......2007-01-10
my favorite of all the road movies - replete with outrageous comedy, ad libs and great musical numbers, not to mention Dorthy Lamour, Gale Sondergaard, Jerry Colonna, the Andrews Sisters and the Weir Bros. Bob's romancing Dorothy to "moonlight Becomes You" is a cinema treasure! "Rio" outshines all it's predecessors and the last two - "Bali" and "Hong Kong" (which was painful). A definite treat!
Product Description
2 disc collector's set containing Road to Bali (1952, color) and Road to Rio (1949, B&W). Stars Bob Hope and Bing Crosby with cameo appearances by other Hollywood stars.
Customer Reviews:
Great movies, but I've seen better quality.......2007-04-13
I just got this dvd set with the Bob Hope Tribute Collection "The road show series" and have to say I am pretty disappointed with the quality. Both movies are pretty grainy and a few of the frames have glitches. I mainly got this dvd because of "Road to Rio". I already own a dvd with "My Favorite Brunette" and "Road to Bali"Road to Bali/My Favorite Brunette. I bought this set thinking the quality would be much better then the version I owned and boy was I wrong! First chance I get I'm buying the single version of "Road to Rio". On another note Bob Hope Tribute Collection has amazing quality and I highly recommend it!Bob Hope Tribute Collection - The Road Show Series (The Road to Morocco / The Road to Singapore / The Road to Utopia / The Road to Zanzibar)
STUNNING COLOR AND I LOATH YOU, I HATE YOU, I DESPISE YOU........2006-03-08
I bought this based on Yarbys review. Everything he said is correct. Where did BCI(Brentwood) get that print? The colors in "Bali" are stunning. On the title menu is a still of a dancer and she seems to floating on the screen. I can't praise the quality enough.
"Rio" is not perfect, just very good.
Get this set while you can.......2004-03-15
BCI (Brentwood) had done a wonderful job at transferring these two public domain "Road" movies. The color in "Road to Bali" is stunning...a few of the "big time" DVD companies would be wise to take a lesson from Brentwood.
The black and white "Road to Rio" is well done, though not quite as perfect as the color "Bali" ("Bali" was the only color movie made in the "Road" series). "Road to Rio" is transferred from a UCLA Archive edition of the movie. The sound needs to be turned up a little on this one...but that could be the result of the age of the movie and nothing more.
All in all, a wonderful addition to anyone's classic movie collection. No extras (outside of a Hope biography) and limited chapter marking...but it really doesn't matter.
Universal DVD.....are you paying attention? This is how to issue a DVD! No skips, no grain.
Average customer rating:
- Great Fun with Bing, Bob, and Dottie!
- Hope and Crosby are great, and romantic moments are designed for Lamour...but let's not forget the wonderful Wiere Brothers
- One of the finest Bob Hope/Bing Crosby films
- The Road Show movies
- On the road with bob and bing
|
Road to Rio
Starring:
Bing Crosby ,
Bob Hope ,
Dorothy Lamour ,
Gale Sondergaard , and
Frank Faylen
Director:
Norman Z. McLeod
Manufacturer: United American Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
General
| Comedy
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Classic Comedies
| Comedy
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Andrews, Stanley
| ( A )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Colonna, Jerry
| ( C )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Crosby, Bing
| ( C )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Faylen, Frank
| ( F )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Hope, Bob
| ( H )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Lamour, Dorothy
| ( L )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Meeker, George
| ( M )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Paiva, Nestor
| ( P )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Puglia, Frank
| ( P )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Sondergaard, Gale
| ( S )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Woods, Harry
| ( W )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Mcleod, Norman Z
| ( M )
| Directors
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
DVDs Under $7.49
| Today's Deals in DVD
| Special Features
| DVD
| Video
All Deals
| Today's Deals in DVD
| Special Features
| DVD
| Video
General
| Comedy
| Today's Deals in DVD
| Special Features
| DVD
| Video
( R )
| Titles
| Features
| DVD
| Video
Similar Items:
-
Road to Bali
-
The Road to Hong Kong
-
On the Road With Bob Hope and Bing Crosby Collection (Road to Singapore/Road to Zanzibar/Road to Morocco/Road to Utopia)
-
Bob Hope Tribute Collection - The Road Show Series (The Road to Morocco / The Road to Singapore / The Road to Utopia / The Road to Zanzibar)
-
Son of Paleface
ASIN: B00005QAQ3
Release Date: 2000-11-21 |
Customer Reviews:
Great Fun with Bing, Bob, and Dottie!.......2007-07-27
"Road to Rio", along with 1942's "Road to Morocco", are considered the apex of the Crosby/Hope "Road" series, and for good reason; the music, comedy, and general silliness mesh perfectly...and for my money, "Rio" is TOPS!
The songs are first-rate, from the opening "Apalachicola, FLA" (with it's 'caboose' finale), to a wonderful Bing ballad, "But Beautiful", to a show-stopper with the Andrews Sisters, "You Don't Have to Know the Language", to a nearly risqué "Experience" from Dorothy Lamour...the comic routines feature Bing and Bob at their best, from a homage to the Marxes' barbershop routine from "Monkey Business", to a hypnotized 'duel'("I hate you, I loathe you, I despise you..."), to a silly finale dance number (with Bob in drag, of course)...and the one-liners are hilarious (Lamour: I don't know what came over me! I found myself saying things, and I didn't know why I was saying them!
Hope: Look, why don't you just run for Congress and leave us alone?).
Norman Z. McLeod was a superb comedy director, and he manages to maintain a semblance of plot midst all the craziness (which is a major reason this film 'works' better than, say, "Road to Bali"), and, for the second film in a row, BOB gets the girl (disapproving the myth that Bing always did, every picture).
From Hope on a high-wire, to Jerry Colonna leading a cavalry charge, "Road to Rio" is a winner, from beginning to end...Don't miss it!
Hope and Crosby are great, and romantic moments are designed for Lamour...but let's not forget the wonderful Wiere Brothers .......2007-06-02
Considering that The Road to Rio was the fifth in the series, that the formula was down pat, that the plot, as usual, was merely an excuse for spontaneous and not-so-spontaneous bantering by the two stars, that the money-to-effort ratio was by now very satisfying to nearly all concerned, and that Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, both at 44, were quickly reaching the point where their age was working against their image of happy-go-lucky, sex-on-their-minds, slightly dumb but well-intentioned good guys...well, this is one of the best in the series. There's no single thing that sets it apart. If we've watched even one other in the series, we know what's going to happen, like having a funny, loved uncle come to visit. I think that in The Road to Rio, the formula had reached a high gloss. The "spontaneity" of the back and forth between Hope and Crosby is quick, funny and friendly. The professionalism may be there, but it looks like they're still having fun making these movies. The jokes are corny and expected, as they were back in 1947, but Hope and Crosby give them a level of snap and comfort that make us smile. Their roles, Bing Crosby as Scat Sweeney, singer and slightly moth-eaten bon vivant, and Bob Hope as Hot Lips Barton, slow-witted but wise-cracking boy-man, are as comfortable to them and us as a pair of old slippers. They work their images both in the plot and in real life for every laugh they can squeeze. Says Scat Sweeney (Crosby) to Hot Lips Barton (Hope), "Swine!" Barton: "Pig!" Scat Crosby: "That's the same as swine." Hot Lips Hope: "All right. Ham!" Or this: Scat Crosby, "Are you admitting you're a dirty coward?" Hot Lips Hope, "No, a clean one!" These groaners were well aged at the turn of the century, but Hope and Crosby knew their stuff. Dorothy Lamour as the always exotic love interest is here, of course, providing a rationale for the two boys' raging hormones and the subsequent competition that provides much of the plot's backbone and laughs. Says Hot Lips Hope as he stares at Lamour's tight gown, "How'd you put that on...with a spray-gun?" And there are the many asides to the audience that was one of the trademarks of the series. When Hot Lips Hope finds himself hanging off a high wire, he starts screaming, "Help! Help!" Then he turns to the camera and confides in us, "You know, this picture could end right here."
But let's not just praise this highly polished piece of pleasurable, profitable professionalism. Buried in the movie is a uniquely eccentric and expert trio of brothers, Harry, Herbert and Sylvester. They were the Wiere Brothers, and a single description fails to do them justice. They were comics, dancers, gymnasts, singers, jugglers, players of all sorts of musical instruments and very funny men. They came to the States from Germany in the mid-Thirties after a successful European career in clubs and circuses. They were born to entertainers who moved around. Harry showed up in Berlin in 1906, Herbert appeared in Vienna in 1908 and Sylvester arrived in Prague in 1909. They soon were a part of their parent's act. In their early teens they organized their own routines.
I think Hollywood and America simply didn't know what to make of them. They made a handful of movies, only one of which really showcased their skills and appeal. They eventually settled down to a successful career in nightclubs and special appearances on television. In The Road to Rio they play three Brazilian street musicians. Scat Crosby and Hot Lips Hope encounter them while the two boys are trying to rescue Dorothy Lamour from a nefarious plot. We get a chance to see the brothers bandy schtick with Hope and Crosby. Unfortunately, they get only one chance to show us what they can do in performance, and that scene is chopped up and was severely edited. Still, it's better than nothing.
Their showcase spot was in the first movie they made when they came to America. That's Vogues of 1938, which starred Warner Baxter and a blonde Joan Bennett. We get a full routine from the Wiere Brothers, dressed in white tuxes, dancing eccentrically, bouncing and rolling, doing wonders with hats, playing violins and singing. They are funny, endearing and terrific.
One of the finest Bob Hope/Bing Crosby films.......2007-02-12
A really good, fun, mostly clean, movie. The Andrews Sisters were awesome!
Can't relay just how good the film really is. It just is.
The Road Show movies.......2007-02-12
For any fan of The Road Shows this is a must for your collection! Very good.
On the road with bob and bing.......2007-01-10
my favorite of all the road movies - replete with outrageous comedy, ad libs and great musical numbers, not to mention Dorthy Lamour, Gale Sondergaard, Jerry Colonna, the Andrews Sisters and the Weir Bros. Bob's romancing Dorothy to "moonlight Becomes You" is a cinema treasure! "Rio" outshines all it's predecessors and the last two - "Bali" and "Hong Kong" (which was painful). A definite treat!
![Road to Rio [Region 2]](http://www.germanelectronics88.com/noimage.gif)
Average customer rating:
- Great Fun with Bing, Bob, and Dottie!
- Hope and Crosby are great, and romantic moments are designed for Lamour...but let's not forget the wonderful Wiere Brothers
- One of the finest Bob Hope/Bing Crosby films
- The Road Show movies
- On the road with bob and bing
|
Road to Rio [Region 2]
Starring:
Bing Crosby ,
Bob Hope ,
Dorothy Lamour ,
Gale Sondergaard , and
Frank Faylen
Director:
Norman Z. McLeod
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
General
| Musicals & Performing Arts
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Andrews, Stanley
| ( A )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Colonna, Jerry
| ( C )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Crosby, Bing
| ( C )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Faylen, Frank
| ( F )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Hope, Bob
| ( H )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Lamour, Dorothy
| ( L )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Meeker, George
| ( M )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Paiva, Nestor
| ( P )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Puglia, Frank
| ( P )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Sondergaard, Gale
| ( S )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Woods, Harry
| ( W )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Mcleod, Norman Z
| ( M )
| Directors
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
( R )
| Titles
| Features
| DVD
| Video
Similar Items:
-
Road to Bali
-
The Road to Hong Kong
-
On the Road With Bob Hope and Bing Crosby Collection (Road to Singapore/Road to Zanzibar/Road to Morocco/Road to Utopia)
-
Bob Hope Tribute Collection - The Road Show Series (The Road to Morocco / The Road to Singapore / The Road to Utopia / The Road to Zanzibar)
-
Son of Paleface
ASIN: B000085RK7 |
Customer Reviews:
Great Fun with Bing, Bob, and Dottie!.......2007-07-27
"Road to Rio", along with 1942's "Road to Morocco", are considered the apex of the Crosby/Hope "Road" series, and for good reason; the music, comedy, and general silliness mesh perfectly...and for my money, "Rio" is TOPS!
The songs are first-rate, from the opening "Apalachicola, FLA" (with it's 'caboose' finale), to a wonderful Bing ballad, "But Beautiful", to a show-stopper with the Andrews Sisters, "You Don't Have to Know the Language", to a nearly risqué "Experience" from Dorothy Lamour...the comic routines feature Bing and Bob at their best, from a homage to the Marxes' barbershop routine from "Monkey Business", to a hypnotized 'duel'("I hate you, I loathe you, I despise you..."), to a silly finale dance number (with Bob in drag, of course)...and the one-liners are hilarious (Lamour: I don't know what came over me! I found myself saying things, and I didn't know why I was saying them!
Hope: Look, why don't you just run for Congress and leave us alone?).
Norman Z. McLeod was a superb comedy director, and he manages to maintain a semblance of plot midst all the craziness (which is a major reason this film 'works' better than, say, "Road to Bali"), and, for the second film in a row, BOB gets the girl (disapproving the myth that Bing always did, every picture).
From Hope on a high-wire, to Jerry Colonna leading a cavalry charge, "Road to Rio" is a winner, from beginning to end...Don't miss it!
Hope and Crosby are great, and romantic moments are designed for Lamour...but let's not forget the wonderful Wiere Brothers .......2007-06-02
Considering that The Road to Rio was the fifth in the series, that the formula was down pat, that the plot, as usual, was merely an excuse for spontaneous and not-so-spontaneous bantering by the two stars, that the money-to-effort ratio was by now very satisfying to nearly all concerned, and that Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, both at 44, were quickly reaching the point where their age was working against their image of happy-go-lucky, sex-on-their-minds, slightly dumb but well-intentioned good guys...well, this is one of the best in the series. There's no single thing that sets it apart. If we've watched even one other in the series, we know what's going to happen, like having a funny, loved uncle come to visit. I think that in The Road to Rio, the formula had reached a high gloss. The "spontaneity" of the back and forth between Hope and Crosby is quick, funny and friendly. The professionalism may be there, but it looks like they're still having fun making these movies. The jokes are corny and expected, as they were back in 1947, but Hope and Crosby give them a level of snap and comfort that make us smile. Their roles, Bing Crosby as Scat Sweeney, singer and slightly moth-eaten bon vivant, and Bob Hope as Hot Lips Barton, slow-witted but wise-cracking boy-man, are as comfortable to them and us as a pair of old slippers. They work their images both in the plot and in real life for every laugh they can squeeze. Says Scat Sweeney (Crosby) to Hot Lips Barton (Hope), "Swine!" Barton: "Pig!" Scat Crosby: "That's the same as swine." Hot Lips Hope: "All right. Ham!" Or this: Scat Crosby, "Are you admitting you're a dirty coward?" Hot Lips Hope, "No, a clean one!" These groaners were well aged at the turn of the century, but Hope and Crosby knew their stuff. Dorothy Lamour as the always exotic love interest is here, of course, providing a rationale for the two boys' raging hormones and the subsequent competition that provides much of the plot's backbone and laughs. Says Hot Lips Hope as he stares at Lamour's tight gown, "How'd you put that on...with a spray-gun?" And there are the many asides to the audience that was one of the trademarks of the series. When Hot Lips Hope finds himself hanging off a high wire, he starts screaming, "Help! Help!" Then he turns to the camera and confides in us, "You know, this picture could end right here."
But let's not just praise this highly polished piece of pleasurable, profitable professionalism. Buried in the movie is a uniquely eccentric and expert trio of brothers, Harry, Herbert and Sylvester. They were the Wiere Brothers, and a single description fails to do them justice. They were comics, dancers, gymnasts, singers, jugglers, players of all sorts of musical instruments and very funny men. They came to the States from Germany in the mid-Thirties after a successful European career in clubs and circuses. They were born to entertainers who moved around. Harry showed up in Berlin in 1906, Herbert appeared in Vienna in 1908 and Sylvester arrived in Prague in 1909. They soon were a part of their parent's act. In their early teens they organized their own routines.
I think Hollywood and America simply didn't know what to make of them. They made a handful of movies, only one of which really showcased their skills and appeal. They eventually settled down to a successful career in nightclubs and special appearances on television. In The Road to Rio they play three Brazilian street musicians. Scat Crosby and Hot Lips Hope encounter them while the two boys are trying to rescue Dorothy Lamour from a nefarious plot. We get a chance to see the brothers bandy schtick with Hope and Crosby. Unfortunately, they get only one chance to show us what they can do in performance, and that scene is chopped up and was severely edited. Still, it's better than nothing.
Their showcase spot was in the first movie they made when they came to America. That's Vogues of 1938, which starred Warner Baxter and a blonde Joan Bennett. We get a full routine from the Wiere Brothers, dressed in white tuxes, dancing eccentrically, bouncing and rolling, doing wonders with hats, playing violins and singing. They are funny, endearing and terrific.
One of the finest Bob Hope/Bing Crosby films.......2007-02-12
A really good, fun, mostly clean, movie. The Andrews Sisters were awesome!
Can't relay just how good the film really is. It just is.
The Road Show movies.......2007-02-12
For any fan of The Road Shows this is a must for your collection! Very good.
On the road with bob and bing.......2007-01-10
my favorite of all the road movies - replete with outrageous comedy, ad libs and great musical numbers, not to mention Dorthy Lamour, Gale Sondergaard, Jerry Colonna, the Andrews Sisters and the Weir Bros. Bob's romancing Dorothy to "moonlight Becomes You" is a cinema treasure! "Rio" outshines all it's predecessors and the last two - "Bali" and "Hong Kong" (which was painful). A definite treat!
DVD:
- The Wackiest Ship in the Army
- The Woody Allen Collection, Set 2 (Shadows and Fog / September / Crimes and Misdemeanors / Another Woman / Alice)
- The Wrong Arm of the Law
- Three Stooges - Healthy Wealthy & Dumb
- Tickle Me
- Too Bad She's Bad
- Treasure Island
- Walking Tall
- What's the Worst That Could Happen? (Special Edition)
- Wildcats (Keepcase)
DVD
DVD
Bob Hope Tribute Collection - Sorrowful Jones / The Paleface Double Feature
Casanova's Big Night
Fancy Pants
