Discuss Flying Down to Rio
Discuss → Movies → Flying Down to Rio → General
Smashing start (1933) to the iconic Astaire-Rogers partnership
posted by genplant29STAFFMOD on December 7, 2017 at 12:58 AM
Overall, this movie is generally strictly average, as the three actual primary leads, Dolores del Rio, Gene Raymond, and Raul Roulien, are no big deal talent wise (well, I'll give it to Roulien that he was a good singer), and their romantic triangle storyline is routine and unentertaining. But when it comes to the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers scenes (either them separate or together), also any musical numbers, and particularly the entire fantastic extended "Carioca" segment, this movie becomes a definite winner. That scintillating, irresistible "Carioca" certainly is a major showstopper, and fully worth the price of admission, as is the memorable Astaire-Rogers shared dances that occur during it. Throw in the great Etta Moten singing during part of the proceedings, and the dazzle factor only increases!
This movie also is memorable for the "Flying Down to Rio" number with showgirls dancing atop the top wings of multiple flying biplanes, ditto the movie's sometimes quite saucy Pre-Code content that would have never been permitted to slip through just a year later when the Production Code became strictly enforced.
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Reply by VinTinKin
on December 7, 2017 at 8:50 AM
Great review. Agree all the way around. "The Carioca" actually did become a national dance craze, as many a 1930's would present.
Gene Raymond probably also would have agreed because during at least one interview, he has said that RKO rushed him through many films in those days, and soon after "...Rio," he completed four before his vacation, during which he traveled to NYC and saw long lines around city blocks.
When he asked the driver what was going on, the driver pointed to a front of the lines, a theater, with its marquis reading, "Now playing: Flying Down to Rio."
Well, Gene expressed great surprise that the film was making quite a splash with audiences, but now we know exactly what they did, and you sum it up very well.
Ginger and Fred's "Honey and Fred" do deserve great appreciation for their handling wonderful chemistry along with great talent in song, dance and comedy, as also clearly evident.
Rarely do we see their characters getting along well throughout an entire musical, and some say that this is because Phyllis Astaire was so jealous of Ginger that she rewrote scripts to cause most of Ginger's future characters to dislike Fred's except in dance. Sort of like, "Hands off, Miss Rogers, whoever you are."
Gene also had tremendous vocalist talent in his musicals with the lovely and very talented Ann Sothern. Those two reportedly did not get along well off camera, and both were said to resent RKO for billing them together in five pictures. He would soon marry the lovely Jeanette MacDonald and was said to begrudge Nelson Eddy a time or two along their famous career paths and beyond.
Reply by catmydogs
on December 7, 2017 at 3:23 PM
I love this film. Orchids in the Moonlight. Flying Down to Rio. Carioca. Music Makes Me.
All classic songs! Astaire is never better than when he plays the slightly overgrown adolescent. Rogers is never better than when she is playfully saucy. I've seen almost all of Astaire's musical films. The RKO films are my favorite, although some of the MGM films are quite good (I love Royal Wedding).
Reply by genplant29
on December 9, 2017 at 12:56 AM
Excellent comments, Vin and cat.
Another notable thing about this movie is that it was so successful that it proved instrumental in the rescue of RKO from bankruptcy, when things had, till this, become financially dire for the studio. RKO and Warner Bros. have always easily been my favourite studios of the 1930s and '40s.
Regarding Rogers and Astaire, it certainly is true what is so often said about them, that she gave him sex appeal (which he didn't otherwise have), and he gave her class. They definitely were magical together - an ideal pairing made in Hollywood heaven!
Reply by genplant29
on February 15, 2020 at 9:01 PM
Here's a clip (the clearest I'm able to find) of Fred and Ginger's main featured part of the considerably lengthier overall "Carioca" number. This was the specific dance performance (not to mention also the undeniably winning acting throughout that film and the personal chemistry with one another) that Astaire and Rogers became such a world-famous co-starring partnership directly because of.
To see a lot more (though still it's not complete) of the "Carioca" number, here's a low-resolution copy, that, regardless of the poor picture quality (in the movie itself, everything is beautifully crisp and entirely crystal clear), makes evident how terrific that part of this movie is. I can't imagine anyone not finding that thoroughly entertaining and irresistible.
Etta Moten, who's featured in the beginning portion of that, is the wonderful singer who also so memorably sings a key part of "Remember My Forgotten Man" (hear/see Etta from the 2:18 point) in Gold Diggers of 1933. (Again, that video clip doesn't show the number in its entirety, though covers the important vocal part.)
Incidentally, I love Flying Down to Rio's super-cool stylized poster!
Reply by bratface
on February 16, 2020 at 12:18 AM
Here's the 'dancing on the wings' scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKvVV5orMBM