I agree David it is a great film to watch and I believe the most financially successful of the Road films. It’s a pity Bing and the Andrew’s Sisters didn’t perform together in any other films but at least there’s this one. 
Cheers, Dave D. 

Yes, Road to Rio is very funny! I haven' t had Chicken Cacciatore in years! 

Jerry Colonna visited Australia in 1944 with Bob Hope's troupe as they took a break from entertaining US troops in the South Pacific. Ten years later he performed with Artie Shaw, Buddy Rich and Ella Fitzgerald in Sydney and Melbourne.

dgmprod wrote:

David Lobosco wrote:

dgmprod wrote:

I agree David it is a great film to watch and I believe the most financially successful of the Road films. It’s a pity Bing and the Andrew’s Sisters didn’t perform together in any other films but at least there’s this one. 
Cheers, Dave D. 

I'm always left wanting more of Jerry Colonna - I am friends with his son Bob and a few years back he filled me in on some interesting tidbits about the film.
 

Hi David that’s nice you’re friends of Jerry’s son. Any interesting things you can share? Always keen to find out behind the scenes stuff. 

Sorry I am so late responding to the post. For the most part Bob Colonna had nice things to say about Bing. He said Bing was rather quiet and did not need to be the center of attention unlike Bob Hope. Sometimes Bob said Bing seemed sad, and Bob knew in the 1950s about Bing's troubles with his son. He said both Bing and Bob were generous men, and after Jerry Colonna has a stroke in the 1960s, Bing and Bob would visit him or call.

By the way, Jerry Colonna's son suffered a stroke in 2021 and is currently in assisted living.
 

You were fortunate to see all those great performers, Ron. Your comments reminded me of an interview, by Australian presenter Bert Newton in the late ‘70s, with Stan Freberg.

Freberg spoke of touring Australia with Frank Sinatra, sometime in the 1950s.  He said that after a show at ‘Sydney Stadium’ (which, as you mention, was often used for boxing matches), he, Sinatra, the Lord Mayor of Sydney and several other local dignitaries were photographed in the dressing rooms. He thought no more about it.

Years later, re-discovering the photo, his eyes were drawn not to the participants, but to a sign on the wall above their heads - a sign he hadn’t noticed at the time. It said something like, “Fighters must not urinate in the showers.”
 

David Lobosco wrote:

dgmprod wrote:

David Lobosco wrote:

I'm always left wanting more of Jerry Colonna - I am friends with his son Bob and a few years back he filled me in on some interesting tidbits about the film.
 

Hi David that’s nice you’re friends of Jerry’s son. Any interesting things you can share? Always keen to find out behind the scenes stuff. 

Sorry I am so late responding to the post. For the most part Bob Colonna had nice things to say about Bing. He said Bing was rather quiet and did not need to be the center of attention unlike Bob Hope. Sometimes Bob said Bing seemed sad, and Bob knew in the 1950s about Bing's troubles with his son. He said both Bing and Bob were generous men, and after Jerry Colonna has a stroke in the 1960s, Bing and Bob would visit him or call.

By the way, Jerry Colonna's son suffered a stroke in 2021 and is currently in assisted living.
 

Very interesting to read these things about Bing and Bob Hope via Bob Colonna who I hope remains as well as can be expected.

​Would it be fair to say "Road to Rio" was perhaps the last truly great one of the series?
I too loved the Andrews Sisters performance in that - I think the best featured cameo from all the "Roads". 
 

Last edited by Ian Kerstein (31/10/2026 3:18 pm)

I find Rio and Utopia to be the pinnacle of the series, I think Utopia I like slightly more but it is quite close.

Aaron Tickner wrote:

I'd include Morocco with Utopia and Rio for a trifecta.

Had to use a horse-racing reference there. Bing would want to know it is Melbourne Cup Day here today. 

I agree. Those three I feel are the best of the Road movies. 
 

Ian Kerstein wrote:

I've yet to see " ... Utopia" but of the ones I've seen, " ...Rio" and " ...Morocco" I thought were the best.
" .. Hong Kong" easily the weakest but possibly has the best opening which promised far more than it delivered.. "Rio" had a real sophisticated, "screwball" maturity about it, flowed very well and was superbly paced. I thought Jerry Colona was put to wonderfully zany use and Gale Sondergaard such an effective villainess. I don't think the songs were quite as strong as "Morocco's" but whose complaining? They were wonderfully performed (Bing with the Andrews Sisters being the big bonus). 
Could this be the one which best showcased Dorothy Lamour?

Good points, Ian. Gale Sondergaard is very effective indeed. Such a shame she was blacklisted. 

If I tell you Dottie is equally well showcased in Utopia, will you watch the film sooner?
 

Blonde56 wrote:

I don't remember seeing Gale Sondergaardd in a road movie

Definitely in Road To Rio, Carmela.

Gale plays Dorothy Lamour's "aunt/guardian" who is trying to marry her off to some old goat to con Dottie out of her inheritance/fortune. 

Rio is the only time the villian is played by a woman. Quite a refreshing change. However, she has henchmen so that Bing and Bob have someone to play patty-cake with.