Flying Down to Rio

I enjoyed watching this movie. The only thing that I did not like is that Amazon did not give me the option to buy the movie on a DVD. I had to watch it on my computer.

A wonderful, pre-censorship, movie from the early 1930's. Astaire and Rogers steal the show.

Great old-time entertainment - the flying scenes are hilarious!

Flying Down to Rio is a great treat for those who love the lavishly choreographed dance sequences that Hollywood did so well back in the days when studios functioned like factories and every player was a cog in the wheel. In fact, the whole point of Flying Down to Rio is the dance numbers (and, to a lesser extent, the forgettable songs). It's a romantic comedy, of sorts, but the plot is a tired old thing (even by 1933 standards) and mostly serves as background noise for the real stars of the show--the fabulous dancers and musicians!Dolores del Rio (who I'd never seen in a film before) stars as a spoiled Brazilian rich girl who gets herself ensnared in a love triangle with her fiancee (Raul Roulien), to whom she was promised as a child, and a typically boisterous, blonde American bandleader (Gene Raymond). Misunderstandings and jealousies abound, while second bananas, Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire scheme, crack wise and cut some mean rugs. The whole enterprise culminates in a perfectly sublime finale with Ginger and a gaggle of chorus girls and acrobats shaking their groove thangs on the wings of a fleet of planes maneuvering high over Rio de Janeiro (yes, check your brain at the door). On the basis of this scene alone, I'm awarding this 4 stars instead of 3.The acting is about what you'd expect of froth from this time period. Dolores del Rio, looking A LOT like a Latin Joan Crawford, delivers a very mannered performance. She's gorgeous and elegant but seems a little brittle for this type of fluff. Her boyfriends (Roulien and Raymond) are more "believable", at least in the Hollywood sense of the word. When he's crooning to del Rio in the moonlight, Roulien reminds me a little of Desi Arnaz. And hunky Raymond seems both resourceful and empty-headed in the peculiarly American way certain heroes were played in movies back then.More fun are Astaire and Rogers, who first demonstrated their remarkable chemistry in Flying Down to Rio, a precursor of great things to come for the pair. I also really like Ella Moten as the Carioca singer, and the familiar faces of Eric Blore and Franklin Pangborn stand out in small comedic roles. There are, quite literally, dozens (if not hundreds) of uncredited dancers, perfectly costumed and choreographed, who absolutely shine whenever they're onscreen.No complaints at all about the nicely-done Warner Archive DVD, and the poster art on the cover is an art deco delight in itself.

Great music & ginger wears sexy dresses dances great with Fred Astaire who is amazing as always! Love the movie a fabulous classic!!🙏🦋 Tink

Tap Dancing 💃 Dancing 🕺 ♥️ 🎶 ✨️ 😍

This film reached theaters in 1933, and was a huge success. It was a fast moving extravaganza which included a bevy of beauties doing follies routines, not on a theater stage, but ostensibly on the wings of a flotilla of flying machines, high above the ground. This air show was the artistry of the movie studio stunt magicians decades prior to high tech. Movie audiences got all the leg show they wanted, and more. The tempo of latin music was infectious then, as it still is now.Romance, laughs, and "Who'll get the girl?" are part of the mix of the plot. Finally, this was the movie debut of the dynamic dancing duo of Rogers and Astaire, as was amply displayed when they danced the Carioca. So throw your cares to the wind, relax, and enjoy this show.

This is a beautifully remastered release of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers first Hollywood pairing. The lighthearted, downright silly (though not offensive) plot actually concerts the romantic entanglements of Gene Raymond, as a Roger Wolfe Kahn-like wealthy youth who prefers bandleading to Wall Street, and lovely Dolores Del Rio, as an upper-class Brazilian girl. Both of them are attractive performers -- but the moment Fred and Ginger take the floor for the enormous "Carioca" production number, all else is forgotten.The sparkling score, by Vincent Youmans and Gus Kahn and Edward Eliscu, includes "Music Makes Me," "Orchids in the Moonlight," "The Carioca." and. of course, "Flying Down to Rio."The sound and the picture are excellent, a huge improvement over tinny, scratchy versions which were once all that were available.