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.

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.

Filming of Rio Rita began on November 10, 1941 and concluded January 14, 1942 and included location shooting near Palm Springs, California.

[3][4] During production of Rio Rita, Abbott and Costello had their hand and footprints enshrined at Grauman's Chinese Theater on December 8, 1941.

[1][5] This film, along with Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd, were released on DVD on April 1, 2011 by Warner Bros. on the WB Archive Collection.