Flying Down to Rio (1933)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Thornton Freeland

Writers:

Lou Brock (story)
Anne Caldwell (play)
(more)

Release Date:

29 December 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

A musical extravaganza staged in the clouds!

Plot:

Aviator and band leader Roger Bond is forever getting his group fired for flirting with the lady guests...

Plot Keywords:

Dancer | Rio De Janeiro Brazil | Nightclub | Tap Dancing | Dance

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Dolores del Rio	...	Belinha De Rezende (as Dolores Del Rio)
Gene Raymond	...	Roger Bond
Raul Roulien	...	Julio Ribeiro
Ginger Rogers	...	Honey Hale
Fred Astaire	...	Fred Ayres
Blanche Friderici	...	Doña Elena de Rezende
Walter Walker	...	Señor Carlos De Rezende
Etta Moten	...	The Carioca Singer
Roy D'Arcy	...	Member Greek Gambling Syndicate
Maurice Black	...	Member Greek Gambling Syndicate
Armand Kaliz	...	Member Greek Gambling Syndicate
Paul Porcasi	...	The Mayor
Reginald Barlow	...	Alfredo Vianna, The Banker
Eric Blore	...	Mr. Butterbass, Asst. Hotel Manager
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Franklin Pangborn	...	Hammerstein - the Hotel Manager
Luis Alberni	...	Rio Casino Manager (uncredited)
Rafael Alvir	...	(uncredited)
Alyce Ardell	...	Maid (uncredited)
Carmen Bailey	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Don 'Red' Barry	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Leon Beaumon	...	Undetermined (uncredited)
Eddie Boland	...	Airplane mechanic (uncredited)
Eddie Borden	...	Eddie, Yankee Clipper (uncredited)
Harry Bowen	...	Airport Mechanic (uncredited)
Sidney Bracey	...	Rodrigues, the Chauffeur (uncredited)
Mary Bracken	...	Dancer (uncredited)
The Brazilian Turunas	...	Musical Ensemble (uncredited)
Lucile Browne	...	Belinha's Friend (uncredited)
Alex Chivra	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Helen Collins	...	(uncredited)
Ray Cooke	...	Yankee Clipper Banjo Player (uncredited)
Gino Corrado	...	Messenger (uncredited)
Sue Curtis	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Grace Davies	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Armand Delmar	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Amapola Del Vando	...	(uncredited)
Henry De Silva	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Joe Dominguez	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Juan Duval	...	Dancer (uncredited)
John Eberts	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Celeste Edwards	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Betty Furness	...	Belinha's Friend (uncredited)
Vina Gale	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Jack Gargan	...	Yankee Clipper (uncredited)
Alice Gentle	...	Singer, 'Carioca' number (uncredited)
Jack Good	...	Yankee Clipper (uncredited)
Margaret Harding	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Pauline High	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Shep Houghton	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Grace Walston Jester	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Harvey Karels	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Mary Kornman	...	Belinha's Friend (uncredited)
Perc Launders	...	Yankee Clipper (uncredited)
Martha La Venture	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Wallace MacDonald	...	Airplane Pilot (uncredited)
Francisco Marán	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Helen McAllister	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Rex Moore	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Laura Morse	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Edmund Mortimer	...	Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
Movita	...	Singer, 'Carioca' number (uncredited)
Clarence Muse	...	Caddy in Haiti (uncredited)
Margaret Nearing	...	(uncredited)
Manuel París	...	Man at Aviator's Club (uncredited)
Pedro Regas	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Jack Rice	...	Yankee Clipper (uncredited)
Ruth Riley	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Julian Rivero	...	Antonio, Billboard Worker (uncredited)
Adrian Rosley	...	Hotel Atlantico Manager (uncredited)
Audry Savage	...	Dancer on wing (uncredited)
Ruby jo Savage	...	Dancer on wing (uncredited)
Harry Semels	...	Billboard Worker (uncredited)
Barbara Sheldon	...	(uncredited)
Marla Shelton	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Mary Stewart	...	Dancer / Singer (uncredited)
Jerome Storm	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Eddie Tamblyn	...	Yankee Clipper (uncredited)
Carol Tevis	...	Blindfolded Blonde (uncredited)
Doris Toddings	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Alma Travers	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Joe Venuti	...	Violinist in Orchestra (uncredited)
Dick Webster	...	Band Member (uncredited)
Douglas Williams	...	(uncredited)
Howard Wilson	...	Yankee Clipper (uncredited)

Directed by
Thornton Freeland

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Lou Brock		story
Anne Caldwell		play
Erwin S. Gelsey		writer (as Erwin Gelsey)
H.W. Hanemann		writer
Cyril Hume		writer

Produced by
Lou Brock	....	associate producer
Merian C. Cooper	....	executive producer

Cinematography by
J. Roy Hunt

Film Editing by
Jack Kitchin

Art Direction by
Carroll Clark
Van Nest Polglase

Costume Design by
Walter Plunkett
Irene		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Mel Berns	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Philip Faulkner Jr.	....	sound recordist (as P.J. Faulkner)
George Marsh	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Don Jahraus	....	miniatures
Vernon L. Walker	....	special effects (as Vern Walker)
Harry Redmond Jr.	....	special effects (uncredited)
Harry Redmond Sr.	....	special effects supervisor (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
John Miehle	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Music Department
Max Steiner	....	musical director
R.H. Bassett	....	music arranger (uncredited)
Bernhard Kaun	....	music arranger (uncredited)
Eddie Sharpe	....	music arranger (uncredited)
Murray Spivack	....	music recordist (uncredited)
Max Steiner	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)

Other crew
Dave Gould	....	dance director
George Nichols Jr.	....	associate director (as George Nicholls Jr.)
Stanley Kramer	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Elizabeth McGaffey	....	research director (uncredited)
Hermes Pan	....	assistant dance director (uncredited)

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1933) (USA) (theatrical)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV)
• Cult & Classic (Brazil) (VHS)
• Turner Home Video (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

Portuguese | English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Certification:

Germany:o.Al. | UK:U

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

Joel McCrea was originally slated for the role of Roger Bond.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Waltons: The Bicycle (#1.22)" (1973)

Soundtrack:

Music Makes Me

Classic pre-code Talkie

There was a golden age of cinema lasting only four or five years - from the end of the silent era to the beginning of the Hays Code, the severe censorship rules which sought to turn cinema from naughty to nice, but in actuality sapped them of their truth and energy.

`Flying Down to Rio' is a classic pre-Hayes code talkie, and its characters have a quality of frankness which endears them to modern audience far more than many later films, whose stilted, conservative quality is somewhat alienating. You'd be surprised at what they could get away with in those days - it would be forty years before a film could get away with a line like that spoken by a starlet of her South American rivals - `What have those girls got below the equator that we haven't got?'

The film, about a love triangle between a Brazilian woman and two members of a swing band, is of course famous for two things - the slightly surreal sequence in which showgirls ride a biplane down to Rio in Busby Berkley-esque formation, and the debut of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers as a screen team. It's no wonder that audiences fell in love with the duo, whose `Carioca' is the highlight of the film.

They only made them like this for a little while - more's the shame!