dougdoepke Lesser A&C romp. The boys are in Mexico, where they get mixed up with Nazi agents.This was the boys first production at MGM and frankly it looks like the big-budget studio wasn't sure how to duplicate the team's surging success over at Universal. That whirling car- lift is a heck of an effect, but is more impressive than funny. Then too, operatic singer Kathryn Grayson seems an odd choice for musical interludes in a knock-about comedy. In fact, it's a more high-profile supporting cast than usual, with John Carroll (Ricardo) getting as much screen time as A&C.There are, of course, some amusing bits as could be expected from the duo (mainly the puns), but the Nazi part is left sketchy without the menace it should have provided Costello's brand of comedy. This also looks like a try-out for the Volusia dancers. Their costumes are eye-catchers, but this is their only movie credit. Of the three MGM productions (Lost in a Harem, {1944}), and (A&C in Hollywood, {1945}), this one in my view is the least. All in all, they really did belong at low-budget Universal where there was less concern with prestige.

Doctor_Mabuse1 Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Kathryn Grayson.Director: S. Sylvan Simon.Abbott & Costello's three MGM films (RIO RITA, LOST IN A HAREM and ABBOTT AND COSTELLO IN Hollywood) are slicker, more polished and slightly more sophisticated in tone than their Universal series begun with BUCK PRIVATES. They also lack the brash energy that makes those films so enduring in entertainment value.Even so, one personally finds RIO RITA to be one of the better movies the classic comedy team were associated with. It must, however, be approached with the understanding that it is a Musical with comedy rather than the other way around. RIO RITA is an updated, entirely re-written version of Florenz Ziegfeld's comic operetta, previously filmed in 1929 with star comics Wheeler and Woolsey repeating their roles from the Broadway blockbuster. Bud and Lou receive first billing due to their great popularity, but the new production is a primarily a vehicle for pretty young soprano Kathryn Grayson (ANCHORS AWEIGH, SHOW BOAT, KISS ME KATE!) who was then being groomed for MGM stardom as an answer to Universal's Deanna Durbin. Hence the focus is on Grayson who performs several good songs (including two from the original show) and an operatic aria which displays her formidable vocal ability.Even more than A&C's other early movies, comedy takes rather a back seat to music and romance. Even the dated dramatic situation involving Nazis infiltrating a Western ranch, original to this version, is secondary to the charms of the leading lady. RIO RITA is, not unlike Abbott and Costello's introductory Musical Comedy film ONE NIGHT IN THE TROPICS, a matter of taste. Fortunately, it is a taste that can be acquired. Personally, one loves Musicals, is fond of Kathryn Grayson and is an admirer of Abbott & Costello; therefore one was thoroughly primed to enjoy this. The movie is recommended to all fans of the comedy team, but some may need several viewings, music and all, to come to terms with it.Rating: GOOD.

MartinHafer During the 1920-1940s, MGM made a ton of wonderful films. However, when it came to comedies (especially comedy teams), they really were inept. Here is the track record: With Laurel and Hardy, Hal Roach Studios released films through MGM and MGM didn't touch the productions. When they did a MGM films without Roach, it resulted in THE AIR RAID WARDENS and NOTHING BUT TROUBLE--two of their worst films.With Buster Keaton, he was a genius during the silent era. His first MGM film, the CAMERAMAN, was pretty good. But, then they soon began making sound films, they got the brilliant idea of pairing Keaton (a brilliant physical comedian) with Jimmy Durante (a loud and brash comedian). This mix naturally didn't work and they all but abandoned physical comedy. This effectively ruined Keaton's solo career.With the Three Stooges, the studio didn't know what to do. So, they let them go after making a few bizarre films, like DANCING LADY, where the Stooges played solo acts in a Clark Gable and Joan Crawford film.With the Marx Brothers, although A NIGHT AT THE OPERA and A DAY AT THE RACES were classics, soon the studio put them in insipid formulaic films like THE BIG STORE and AT THE CIRCUS. Gone were their wild and crazy earlier style of films and many believe their films with Paramount (DUCK SOUP, HORSE FEATHERS and others) were their best and most consistent films.With Abbott and Costello, after a long string of very successful films with Universal, they were "loaned out" (i.e., bought for several films) to MGM. This resulted in three rather bland films. MGM decided the team was a flash in the pan and returned them to Universal--after which, the team went on to make many very successful films.So, the fact that I wasn't impressed with RIO RITA is no big surprise--the MGM folks simply had no idea how to make this type of film and spent very little making it. This is very surprising that with the success of Abbott and Costello in their previous films. That MGM (a very high-class studio) would make such a cheap looking film was amazing and it was much cheaper than the films the team did with a much smaller Universal Studios. For example, in the bad segment at the garage near the beginning of the film, you can see the seam in the "sky" and the sound is terrible--like they are filming in a warehouse--which is what they seemed to be doing throughout the film. To make things worse, they used very cheap background paintings. Why, oh why, didn't they do any location shooting? The total effect is pretty claustrophobia-inducing though still watchable.Aside from bad sets, the film features a lot of singing--and awful lot of singing. I guess the studio saw it more as a Kathryn Grayson and John Carroll film instead of an Abbott and Costello one. MGM can't completely blamed for this, as all but one of their previous films at Universal had too much music as well. As to the humor, while Bud and Lou seem game, the routines aren't particularly good or inspired. Having them in a very contrived plot involving Nazi agents in Mexico(!) also didn't help.Overall, watchable but that's all. A definite comedown from their prior films.

sryder@judson-il.edu This was Bud and Lou's only film for MGM, which was their good fortune. It's surprising that Universal Studios, for which A and C were prime money-makers, would have lent them out. They must have sent someone to Universal in exchange. Most of the team's Universal films, no matter how silly the premise, were usually tightly constructed around their personalities and abilities, which were mostly a series of set pieces within a flimsy plot, except The Time of Their Lives, when they portrayed characters in the story line, without any of their routines. Many consider this their best film, though I don't agree, despite its departure from their formula. At any rate, MGM showed itself unable to use their talents to the foremost, as was the case in their use of the Marx Brothers in their three last MGM films. There are several excellent routines, but they are submerged in a tedious and unbelievable plot of romance and espionage. MGM was developing Kathryn Grayson (who does not get star billing) as a contract player, and would probably have taken advantage of A and C's box office appeal to showcase her. Unfortunately, her performance is quite wooden; though perhaps she could not do much with the material given. Later on she developed at least a degree of charm, if not strong acting talent, in some of MGM's large-scale musicals, especially Show Boat. If you are an A and C fan, make good use of your fast-forward.