This was a huge hit in 1929 and was one of RKO's first film releases. It was based on the successful Ziegfeld 1927 stage show that featured Wheeler & Woolsey, pairing them together for the first time. It also features two-strip Technicolor for the last thirty minutes. There you have it, film history-wise. As for the content of the film? Don't bother, it's terrible. In fact, almost unwatchable. Aside from secondary player Dorothy Lee, an 18 year-old (at the time) ball of personality, the rest of the cast is dull or obnoxious. Dull: leads Bebe Daniels and John Boles. Obnoxious: Wheeler & Woolsey. The story is antique: Rio Grande Mexican gal Rita and her impossible love for Ranger Boles. The music score is almost entirely forgettable and the staginess of the whole thing from dance numbers to solo vocals is quite obvious. Lastly, the comedy team of Wheeler & Woolsey are abominably bad, making one understand quickly how they've become forgotten. Their antics are painful to watch, especially since they're having such a good time being so unfunny. Obviously they're replicating their stage performance at a time when their material might have been considered enjoyable, thus they react as if what they're doing is just killing the audience. 75-plus years later and we're in a different comedy world, admittedly, but I see little in W & W's work in this film to invoke anything more than head scratching or annoyance. And most of their following films are no better. As I said, this film is only of interest for historians, unless you are very easily entertained.
