Rio Rita (1929) (MOD) "Aquaman"

Rio Rita (1929) (MOD) "Aquaman"Ziegfeld made 'em big. So the film version of his Rio Rita matched the showman's grandeur with a musical that adhered to the source and earned kudos as "one of the best of the [Talkie Era's] Broadway adaptations" (Ethan Mordden, The Hollywood Musical). Bebe Daniels (often a Harold Lloyd co star) plays Rita, wooed by a singing Texas Ranger (John Boles) who suspects her brother may be a notorious bandito. Meanwhile, a lawyer tries to arrange a divorce

Working from their Broadway play

And loving it

Wandering in and out of this seedy underworld is just another day at the office for Lieutenant Carter Shaw (series star DYLAN McDERMOTT) and his special undercover task force

Infused with track-savvy authenticity by director Robert Towne and his co-writer Kevin Moore (Prefontaine's friend and a former world-class runner)

The film was originally shot and released entirely in color (another example of the production team's ambitiousness)

a ruthless

were comrades

But can our teenage heroes stay out of trouble in the City That Never Blinks

" "Murder on the Orient Express") stars in this dramatic story of one young woman's odyssey from innocence to decadence

two tragedies in the making

Then her prim and disapproving sister comes to town

a war veterans' dance