James Hitchcock Although it was made more than eighty years ago, "Flying Down to Rio" remains famous for two things. The first is for being the first screen pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, although they are not its main stars. Top billing goes to Dolores del Río and Gene Raymond, who play two sides of a love triangle. Raymond plays Roger Bond, an American bandleader who takes his orchestra to Rio in pursuit of Brazilian beauty Belinha. The third side of the triangle is Julio, Belinha's long-standing fiancé. I won't reveal which of the men ends up with the girl, but anyone familiar with the conventions of Hollywood romantic comedies of the period will be able to work out the answer from what I have just written. Astaire has a relatively minor role as Bond's assistant Fred Ayres and Rogers an even smaller one as singer Honey Hales, although she was billed above him for the only time in their careers. (In 1933 Astaire was better known as a Broadway star). The film is sometimes described as "pre-Code", which is technically correct as the Production Code did not come into force until the following year. That description, however, might be misleading to those who have come to associate the words "pre-Code" with something racy, as there is little here which would have troubled the Hays Office had the film been made after 1934, except that they might have insisted upon slightly less revealing costumes for the showgirls. It goes without saying, for example, that, although Brazil has a large black population, Belinha and Julio are both white. (Indeed, no black Brazilians feature at all). Code or no Code, no Hollywood studio in the thirties was going to make a rom-com in which a white bandleader falls for a black woman. This is the sort of musical in which the singing and (even more importantly) the dancing take precedence over the story. Apart from the love-triangle, the only significant plot element is a crooked scheme by a shadowy group of gangsters to put Belinha's father, a hotel and nightclub owner, put of business by ensuring that he does not get a public entertainment licence. This element, moreover, is really only a plot device to set up the second thing for which the film is famous, its celebrated closing scene. Roger and Julio are both enthusiastic aviators and they persuade the local flying club to organise a stunt whereby the club's showgirls will dance on the wings of their planes as they fly past the club. As the entertainment will not actually be taking place on club premises no licence will be needed. Although some of the songs in the film, such as "Orchids in Moonlight", became popular hits at the time, none are particularly memorable. As I said, the plot is pretty flimsy and there are no outstanding acting performances. The famous wing-dance sequence, however, is spectacular, particularly by the standards of the early thirties, and is the main reason why the film gets an above-average mark. 6/10]

kijii This is the first movie paring of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. Although they only had third and fourth billings in the movie, and they only do one dance number together (a portion of "The Carioca"); the chemistry was enough to start the tradition that would lead to nine more movies with them as dancing co-stars. That, alone, would make this movie interesting from an historical perspective. But, this movie is loaded with fun, and there are two fantastic production pieces that must have made Busby Berkeley jealous. With songs by Vincent Youmans and choreography by Astaire and Hermes Pan, this is pure fantasy and one shouldn't expect anything less, for that's what 'makes the movie'!!The movie starts in a Miami hotel and ends in Rio. The story involves a love triangle among a bandleader/aviator (Gene Raymond), the heiress of a rich Brazilian hotel owner (Dolores Del Rio), and the rich Brazilian aviator that she is expected to marry (Raul Roulien). However, I am sure that I will watch this movie over and over JUST for the two elaborate— and I mean VERY elaborate--production pieces: "The Carioca," and "Flying Down to Rio." The song, "Orchids in the Moonlight," is also impressively sung by Roulinen to Del Rio, even though it was written by Raymond's character for Del Rio's character. Now, for the real fun: dozens of chorines dance, swing, and sway on airplane wings as their planes fly over an outdoor audience while the band (on the ground below) plays "Flying Down to Rio." Everything about this 'musical extravaganza stage in the clouds' is beyond the laws of physics and way beyond belief, but that just makes it all the more fun to watch."Flying down to Rio" is just a lot of fun.

mwillhoite-684-953169 Yes, this is the film that introduced the immortal Fred and Ginger, but there's so much more to it. Gene Raymond never became quite the star he should have, but he shines here. Delores Del Rio was never more gorgeous. Still, it's Astaire and Rogers we always remember. I especially love the terrific music by Vincent Youmans, especially the title song, which is probably my favorite song of all time -- it makes me happier every time I hear it. The fourth lead, Raul Rulien, is a capable enough actor, but his singing voice really should have been dubbed. Or perhaps his song "Orchids in the Moonlight" could have been transposed down half an octave so he could handle it. As it is, he sounds like a comic Spanish eunuch. Once I saw this movie in a revival house and when Rulein began to sing, the house erupted in raucous laughter. Still, in every other way the film is a success, thirties kitsch perhaps, but still glorious kitsch.

cinema_student2010 As soon as the artwork for the cover of this movie popped up on my Netflix I knew it was going to be a little, well, strange for my taste. Im not one for musicals, so maybe thats where the bulk of my dislike comes from, just having a hard time getting into it. I found the story to be very uncomplicated and boring at times. Fred Astaire is very enjoyable to watch though.The one thing I can say that is fantastic about this movie is some of the dancing shots. Watching those chorus girls, do absolutely synchronized dance movements on top of airplanes. Im assuming special affects were limited in those days, Im not sure exactly how they did it. But anyway you slice it, still very amazing scenes/shots/filming. Even for today in my opinion. the movie's enjoyable, but nothing amazing in my book.