I think many of us make the mistake of reviewing films of the transition to sound era from the viewpoint of highlighting the inadequacies of the technology of the period as seen from today, I have recently seen an unrestored Video print of Rio Rita, the quality of which was excellent, the sound was excellent, the two strip colour finale as most will agree was stunning. I found Bebe Daniels characterisation to be endearing and entertaining, her accent didn't grate at all far from it, it fitted her role and she was in fine voice in her first talkie musical, John Boles performance was set very much in the stage style of presentation, he had a fine voice very easy on the ear. Rio Rita is a gem from the late 20's and deserves to be restored 100% to it's former glory when released,filmed head on for most of it's duration, rather like watching a stage show, I see it as a wonderful filmed record of what it was like to actually sit in the Ziegfeld Theatre perhaps and be a member of the first night performance of the show on stage, the nearest we will ever get to actually seeing a Ziegfeld show of the period, and partly in stunning two strip colour. The technical restrictions of the period, static camera's, etc work in the films favour for me, we have an opportunity to see a filmed stage show featuring some of the greatest stars of the period. I would like to suggest when watching film musicals of the late 20's, very early 30's, playing the soundtrack through an equaliser, then play it through your amplifier to good quality speakers, the results can be amazing, tinny soundtracks can suddenly take on a sound quality you had no idea was there! I recommend Rio Rita 8 out of 10 only because my copy though excellent isn't restored,a fully restored Rio Rita would be a wonderful to see and hear.
