Flying Down to Rio (1933)

An aviator and band leader who is always getting his group fired for his flirtatious behavior with the female guests soon finds himself falling for an engaged woman.

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:

airplane | nightclub | love triangle | tango | american abroad | 

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Taglines:

A musical extravaganza staged in the clouds!

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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

Filming Locations:

Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Box Office

Budget:

$462,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White (tinted) Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The role of Honey Hale was to be played by Dorothy Jordan, but she dropped out to marry the film's producer, Merian C. Cooper; the role was then given to Ginger Rogers. Source - Ginger: My Story.

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Goofs

Although it's supposed to be in flight, one of the planes in the big wing-walker sequence has a bad matte effect at the bottom of its wheels and visible tie down wires attached to its tail. The same mistake can be seen on the plane in at least three shots.

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Quotes

Fred Ayres: Nothing of the kind. He's landed us a job in Rio. Rio de Janeiro. The Hotel Atlantico. We'll be flying down any morning now.
Honey Hale: And swimming back in the afternoon. I'm taking my water-wings.

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Connections

Featured in 100 Years at the Movies (1994)

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Soundtracks

Carioca
(1933) (uncredited)
Music by Vincent Youmans
Lyrics by Gus Kahn and Edward Eliscu
Song performed by Alice Gentle, Movita and Etta Moten
Dance performed by Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, chorus

User Reviews

Debut of a great screen pair

If you watch "Flying Down to Rio" expecting it to be a Rogers and Astaire film, forget it - but it was their debut as a team, dancing the Carioca. This is a 1933 movie short on plot and, as is often the case with the early talkies, a little slow in parts due to the pace of the dialogue. It is nevertheless a fun movie, with Astaire doing some wonderful solo dancing and of course, his dance with Ginger, which sent them on their way to movie history.

The stars of the film are Dolores Del Rio and Gene Raymond. After bandleader Raymond meets del Rio in the U.S., he ends up in Rio where he competes for her attentions with her fiancé Julio (Raul Roulien), his best friend. The plot concerns the opening of a hotel in Rio and its planned takeover by another group. When the opening date is changed, the owner cannot get another performing license, so all seems to be lost. Thus the number "Flying Down to Rio" with chorus girls doing maneuvers on the wings of flying planes. It's a spectacular part of the film, though in spots you can really seek how fake it was. It doesn't really matter - it was early film-making where, without the use of computers, artistry and imagination were needed instead, and much was accomplished.

There are some interesting editing experiments noticeable as well, particularly during a big nightclub scene. It was precode, so some of the numbers are pretty darn steamy.

Dolores del Rio was surely one of the most stunningly beautiful women ever to appear on screen. Growing up, I remember seeing Sunday supplements with articles and photos about her current life - it was a good 30 years after this film - and her beauty remained awesome without the plastic surgery techniques available today. She was a true, fantastic beauty, and this film really showcases it.

This isn't the most wonderful musical you'll ever see but it's important nonetheless: It launched Rogers & Astairs, it's an interesting example of early editing, and it's precode. And if you watch it with the wonder that the depression audiences must have had, you'll enjoy it even more.