Flying Down to Rio (1933)

Aviator and band leader Roger Bond is forever getting his group fired for flirting with the lady guests. When he falls for Brazilian beauty Belinha de Rezende it appears to be for real, ... See full summary »

Director:

Thornton Freeland

Writers:

Cyril Hume (screen play), H.W. Hanemann (screen play),

Stars:

Dolores del Rio, Gene Raymond, Raul Roulien

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dolores del Rio	...	Belinha De Rezende (as Dolores Del Rio)
Gene Raymond	...	Roger Bond
Raul Roulien	...	Julio Rubeiro
Ginger Rogers	...	Honey Hale
Fred Astaire	...	Fred Ayres
Blanche Friderici	...	Dona Elena De Rezende
Walter Walker	...	Senor De Rezende
Etta Moten	...	The Colored Singer
Roy D'Arcy	...	One of the Three Greeks
Maurice Black	...	One of the Three Greeks
Armand Kaliz	...	One of the Three Greeks
Paul Porcasi	...	The Mayor
Reginald Barlow	...	The Banker
Eric Blore	...	The Head Waiter

Storyline

Aviator and band leader Roger Bond is forever getting his group fired for flirting with the lady guests. When he falls for Brazilian beauty Belinha de Rezende it appears to be for real, even though she is already engaged. His Yankee Clippers band is hired to open the new Hotel Atlântico in Rio and Roger offers to fly Belinha part way home. After a mechanical breakdown and forced landing, Roger is confident and makes his move, but Belinha plays hard to get. She can't seem to decide between Roger and her fiance Júlio. When performing the airborne production number to mark the Hotel's opening, Júlio gets some intriguing ideas...

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Plot Keywords:

brazil | rio de janeiro brazil | tap dancing | singer | flying boat | 

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Taglines:

Romance that soars to the skies on the wings of song!

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Portuguese

Release Date:

29 December 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

Carioca

Box Office

Budget:

$462,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The airplane that the character Roger Bond flies is a Monocoupe 90, designed in 1930 by Don Luscombe. It was capable of speeds of up to 100 knots (115 MPH - a very high-performance airplane for its day) but in no way could it reach Haiti from Miami without many fuel stops along the way. (If at all.)

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Goofs

Just after the flying sequence with the wing dancers there is a scene with characters sat on the terrace. The back projected image is to the wrong scale resulting in someone with an enormous head being next to the parapet.

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Quotes

Honey Hale: It's like looking for a noodle in a haystack.

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Connections

Featured in 100 Years at the Movies (1994)

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Soundtracks

"Orchids in the Moonlight"
(1933) (uncredited)
Music by Vincent Youmans
Lyrics by Gus Kahn and Edward Eliscu
Performed by Raul Roulien
Danced by Fred Astaire and Dolores del Rio with Ensemble

User Reviews

Historical For More Than One Reason

I gave this "Fred Astaire" comedy-romance-musical higher marks than normal because the romance, usually the sappy part of the Astaire films, doesn't dominate as it does most of his movies.

As usual, there are a number of interesting dance scenes including a spectacular Busby Berkeley-type production on the wings of airplanes. That scene has to be seen to be believed, not just for the uniqueness of it but for the bra-less women pictured! Yikes, it's not something you expect to see with a classic film - and you wouldn't see for another 35 years. It's pretty amazing.

I really shouldn't label this an "Astaire film " because Dolores Del Rio and Gene Raymond are the two stars. Astaire is a close third. Raul Roulien would be next while Ginger Rogers just has a small role.....but it IS noteworthy for being the first time all of us saw the famous Astaire-Rogers pairing.

The comedy in this film also is pretty good. The best parts of the film are the beginning and end. The fadeout segways in here reminded of silent films, which weren't that long removed from this.