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Rio Rita (1942 Film)
''Rio Rita'' is a 1942 American comedy film directed by S. Sylvan Simon and starring Abbott and Costello. It was based upon the 1927 Flo Ziegfeld Broadway musical, which was previously made into a 1929 film also titled '' Rio Rita'' that starred the comedy team of Wheeler & Woolsey. Kathryn Grayson (in her first starring picture) and John Carroll replace the 1929 version's Bebe Daniels and John Boles. Plot Nazi spies have infiltrated the Hotel Vista del Rio, a resort on the Mexican border. They plan to use a radio broadcast by a famous guest, Ricardo Montera, to transmit coded messages to their cohorts. Doc and Wishy are stowaways in Montera's car, who steal a basket of "apples" that turn out being miniature radios used by the spies. Rita Winslow, the hotel's owner and childhood sweetheart of Montera, hire Doc and Wishy as house detectives, who discover the Nazi codebook and give it to Montera. They are then kidnapped by the spies, and left in a room with a bomb set to explode, b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pandro Berman
Pandro Samuel Berman (March 28, 1905July 13, 1996), also known as Pan Berman, was an American film producer. Early life Berman was born to a American Jews, Jewish family in Pittsburgh in 1905. His father Henry was general manager of Universal Pictures during Cinema of the United States, Hollywood's formative years. Career Berman was an assistant director during the 1920s under Malcolm St. Clair (filmmaker), Mal St. Clair and Ralph Ince. In 1930, he was hired as a film editor at RKO Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures, then became an assistant producer. When RKO supervising producer Henry Hobart (producer), Henry Hobart walked out during production of the ill-fated ''The Gay Diplomat'' (1931), Berman took over Hobart's responsibilities and remained in the post until 1939. When David O. Selznick became chief of production at RKO in October 1931, Berman managed to survive Selznick's firing of most of the staff. Selznick named him producer for the adaptation of Fannie Hurst's short sto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bebe Daniels
Phyllis Virginia "Bebe" Daniels (January 14, 1901 – March 16, 1971) was an American actress, singer, dancer, writer, and producer. She began her career in Hollywood during the silent film era as a child actress, became a star in musicals such as '' Rio Rita'', and later gained further fame on radio and television in Britain. Over the course of her 50-year career, Daniels appeared in 230 films. Early life and career Daniels was born Phyllis Virginia Daniels (Bebe was a childhood nickname) in Dallas, Texas. Her father was a travelling theater manager, Scottish-born Melville Daniel MacNeal, who changed his name to Danny Daniels after a disagreement with his own father over his ambition to change from the medical profession to show business. Her mother was Phyllis de Forest Griffin, born in Colombia of an American father and a Colombian mother, a stage actress who was in Danny's travelling stock company when their child was born. At the age of ten weeks her father proudly carried ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King Baggot
William King Baggot (November 7, 1879 – July 11, 1948) was an American actor, film director and screenwriter. He was an internationally famous movie star of the silent film era. The first individually publicized leading man in America, Baggot was referred to as "King of the Movies," "The Most Photographed Man in the World" and "The Man Whose Face Is As Familiar As The Man In The Moon." Baggot appeared in over 300 motion pictures from 1909 to 1947; wrote 18 screenplays; and directed 45 movies from 1912 to 1928, including '' The Lie'' (1912), '' Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman'' (1925) and ''The House of Scandal'' (1928). He also directed William S. Hart in his most famous western, ''Tumbleweeds'' (1925). Among his film appearances, he was best known for ''The Scarlet Letter'' (1911), '' Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' (1913), and '' Ivanhoe'' (1913), which was filmed on location in Wales. Early life He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of William Baggot (1845–1909) and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norman Abbott
Norman Abbott (July 11, 1922 – July 9, 2016) was an American vaudevillian, actor, producer and television director. Abbott was born in New York City, where his uncle, comedian Bud Abbott, and his mother raised him. His early experience in entertainment was as a vaudeville performer, including summers working the 'borscht circuit" in resorts in the Catskill Mountains of New York. In the early 1940s, he and Pat Costello (brother of Lou Costello) worked as stand-ins for the better-known act during filming of '' Who Done It?'' (1942). During World War II, Abbott served as a member of the original United States Navy SEALs team. After the war, Abbott became a dialog director on the Abbott and Costello films and was mentored by the team's director, Charles T. Barton. Abbott later directed episodes of ''The Jack Benny Program'', '' Leave It to Beaver'', ''Get Smart'', ''The Munsters'', ''Welcome Back, Kotter'', '' Dennis the Menace'', and ''Sanford and Son''. Abbott's obitua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eros Volúsia
Heros Machado (1 June 1914 – 1 January 2004), known as Eros Volúsia was a Brazilian dancer and actress. Her dancing style blended classical ballet to Afro-Brazilian dancing traditions. Volúsia participated in several movies in Brazil and Hollywood, among them the 1942 film Rio Rita, starring Abbott and Costello. Biography Volúsia was born in Rio de Janeiro, in 1914; her parents were the poets Gilka Machado and Rodolfo Machado. Volúsia entered the ballet school in 1928, where she studied under Maria Olenewa. She also attended the umbanda ''terreiro'' of João da Luz, where she had her first contact with Afro-Brazilian dances. In 1929, Volúsia made her first presentation at Theatro Municipal, dancing samba barefooted. She would make another presentations in the following years, invited by cultural salonists like Paschoal Carlos Magno. In the spirit of Brazilian modernism Volúsia researched Amerindian and African dances in order to create a "national dance" (bailado nacion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mitchell Lewis (actor)
Mitchell Lewis (June 26, 1880 – August 24, 1956) was an American film actor whose career as a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player encompassed both silent and sound films. Born in 1880, Lewis appeared in more than 175 films between 1914 and 1956, although many of the roles in his later films were uncredited. He played supporting roles, such as Sheihk Idrim in 1925's '' Ben Hur'' in the silent era and Ernest Defarge in ''A Tale of Two Cities'' (1935) in the sound era, but his career would diminish to small uncredited roles like the Captain of the Winkie Guards in '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939). His last film was ''The Fastest Gun Alive'', starring Glenn Ford and Broderick Crawford, which was released shortly before Lewis' death in 1956. Mitchell also served as one of the original board members of the Motion Picture Relief Fund, now known as the Motion Picture & Television Fund. Selected filmography * ''The Million Dollar Mystery'' (1914, Serial) - Gang Leader * ''Zudora ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joan Valerie
Joan Valerie (born Helen Vlahakis; July 15, 1911 – January 30, 1983) was an American actress, who appeared mainly in B movies in the late 1930s and 1940s. Early years Born in Sparta, Wisconsin, Valerie was the daughter of Michael Vlahakis. She was a 1931 graduate of Rhinelander High School. She participated in local play productions in her hometown and was active in theatrical productions at Morningside College. In 1932, Vlahakis was runner-up for the title of "Miss Wisconsin." In 1934, Vlahakis was selected from a group of 44 women as Morningside College's "most beautiful girl," Miss Morningside. Film Valerie initially changed her name to "Helen Valkis" for acting purposes. She was discovered by Darryl F. Zanuck on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse. In 1928, she was the leading lady in ''Yukon Trails'', a Rex Pictures production that was filmed in Valerie's hometown, Rhinelander, Wisconsin, with an all-local cast. Vlahakis's performance as the lead in Edward Elsner's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eva Puig
Eva Puig (1894–1968) was a Mexican film actress.McLaughlin p.282 Partial filmography * ''The Crime of Dr. Forbes'' (1936) - Mrs. Luigi (uncredited) * '' Rancho Grande'' (1940) - Mama Fernandez (uncredited) * ''Forty Little Mothers'' (1940) - Mama Lupini (uncredited) * ''I Want a Divorce'' (1940) - Peppy's Mother (uncredited) * '' North West Mounted Police'' (1940) - Ekawe * ''The Texas Rangers Ride Again'' (1940) - Maria * '' Romance of the Rio Grande'' (1940) - Marta * '' Bowery Boy'' (1940) - Woman (uncredited) * ''Ride on Vaquero'' (1941) - Maria (uncredited) * ''Singapore Woman'' (1941) - Natasha * ''Hold Back the Dawn'' (1941) - Lupita * '' Mob Town'' (1941) - Mrs. Minch (uncredited) * ''Below the Border'' (1942) - Aunt Maria * '' Rio Rita'' (1942) - Marianna * ''Vengeance of the West'' (1942) - Maria * '' Undercover Man'' (1942) - Rosita Lopez * '' The Lone Star Ranger'' (1942) * '' Arabian Nights'' (1942) - Old Woman (uncredited) * ''The Cisco Kid Returns'' (1945) - Señor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Space
Charles Arthur Space (October 12, 1908 – January 13, 1983) was an American film, television and stage actor. He was best known as Doc Weaver, the veterinarian, in thirty-nine episodes of the CBS television series ''Lassie''. Early years Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Space first delved into acting at Douglass College. Career Space began his career in summer stock theater and eventually began appearing on Broadway. His Broadway credits include ''Three Men on a Horse'' and ''Awake and Sing''. He made his film debut in the 1941 crime drama ''Riot Squad'' opposite Richard Cromwell. The following year, Space appeared alongside Abbott and Costello in '' Rio Rita''. He also had roles in ''Tortilla Flat'' (1942), ''Our Vines Have Tender Grapes'' (1945), ''The Fuller Brush Man'' (1948), and ''The Fuller Brush Girl'' (1950). In the early 1950s, Space appeared in various film serials including ''Government Agents vs. Phantom Legion'', ''Canadian Mounties vs. Atomic Invaders'', and ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barry Nelson (actor)
Barry Nelson (born Robert Haakon Nielsen; April 16, 1917 – April 7, 2007) was an American actor, noted as the first actor to portray Ian Fleming's secret agent James Bond. Early life Nelson was born in San Francisco, the son of Norwegian immigrants, Betsy (née Christophersen) and Trygve Nielsen His year of birth has been subject to some debate, but is listed as 1917 on both his 1943 Army enlistment record and his 1993 voter registration records. Career With MGM, Nelson made his screen debut in the role as Paul Clark in ''Shadow of the Thin Man'' (1941) starring William Powell and Myrna Loy, with Donna Reed. He followed that with his role as Lew Rankin in the film noir ''Johnny Eager'' (1942) starring Robert Taylor and Lana Turner. During his service in the United States Army Air Forces in World War II, Nelson debuted on the Broadway stage in Moss Hart's play ''Winged Victory'' (1943) in the role of Bobby Grills. His next Broadway appearance was as Peter Sloan, playwright, i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Whitney
Peter Whitney (born Peter King Engle; May 24, 1916 – March 30, 1972) was an American actor in film and television. Tall and heavyset, he played brutish villains in many Hollywood films in the 1940s and 1950s. Early years Whitney was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, but grew up in California. His schools included the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London. He studied drama at the Pasadena Playhouse. Career Whitney was often a supporting character actor credited at least in the top ten actors appearing in several Hollywood classic feature films, such as '' Destination Tokyo'' (1943), ''Action in the North Atlantic'' (1943), '' Mr. Skeffington'' (1944), ''Murder, He Says'' (1945) (in which he played a dual role), ''The Big Heat'' (1953), '' In the Heat of the Night'' (1967), ''The Ballad of Cable Hogue'' (1970), and others before becoming well known for his work in television. In the 1958–1959 season, Whitney had a co-starring role as Buck Sinclair, a former ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Conway
Tom Conway (born Thomas Charles Sanders, 15 September 1904 – 22 April 1967) was a British film, television, and radio actor remembered for playing private detectives (including The Falcon, Sherlock Holmes, Bulldog Drummond, and The Saint) and psychiatrists, among other roles. Conway played "The Falcon" in 10 episodes of the series, taking over from his brother, George Sanders, in ''The Falcon's Brother'' (1942), in which they both starred. He also appeared in several Val Lewton films. Early life Conway was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. His younger brother was fellow actor George Sanders. Their younger sister, Margaret Sanders, was born in 1912. At the outbreak of the Russian Revolution (1917), the family moved to England, where Conway was educated at Bedales School and Brighton College. He travelled to Northern Rhodesia, where he worked in mining and ranching, then returned to England, appearing in several plays with the Manchester Repertory Company and performing on BBC ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
