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 | brazil | 

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Taglines:

Romance that soars 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

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

In the "Flying Down to Rio" musical number, many of the girls on the airplane wings are wearing see-through tops. The Hays code, introduced in 1930, was not enforced until 1934.

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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

Bellhop: Tell the ol' sea lion the baby's hoofin' with a piccolo player.

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Connections

Referenced in The Band Wagon (1953)

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Soundtracks

Music Makes Me
(1933) (uncredited)
Music by Vincent Youmans
Lyrics by Gus Kahn and Edward Eliscu
Performed by Ginger Rogers

User Reviews

Fred and Ginger liven up a hackneyed plot

This movie is typical of its time in the 'two guys and a girl' storyline, this time over the alluring Doleres del Rio (scarily, she looked much the same as this as Elvis Presley's mother in 'Flaming Star' years later). Gene Raymond plays the conniving bandleader who chases her from Miami to Rio, with an impromptu island stop en route.

There are some nice touches (the ghostly 'consciences' of Raymond and del Rio for one, the back projection of orchids and palm trees showcasing her thoughts as her local hick boyfriend sings 'Orchids in the Moonlight') but of course the real interest of this movie is for two reasons - one, the clever and inventive acrobatic stuff with the girls tied to aeroplane wings etc over a new nightspot; and two, the first screen teaming of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, who light up the movie with 'The Carioca'. Fred may have been far from a looker but there is no denying his talent and there was certainly ample chemistry with Rogers for the teaming to work. They'd go on to brighter and better things through the 30s, but this film is fun.