Watch Flying Down to Rio For Free

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

This film is entertaining for two reasons: the first teaming of Astaire and Rogers, and as a glimpse into the America of the early 1930s.Ginger Rogers was billed fourth in this film and Fred Astaire was fifth billed. Ginger appeared in ten films in 1933, whereas Fred was appearing in only his second Hollywood film. He was no stranger to the stage, but his film career was just beginning. The duo would eventually appear in ten films together, based upon their chemistry and her ability to follow his dance direction. In just a couple of years,they were performing much more sophisticated dances in more entertaining films.Flying Down to Rio also showcases many aspects of American culture at the time, including the corny witticisms and mugging that were considered hep humor. Also note the wing-walkers (in the aerial circus) and the reference to the Culbertson Sytem (a popular bridge bidding system). Check out the beautiful seaplane and the daring preCode fashions, some which are stunning, some which are tacky.The narrative of this film seems little more than an excuse to bring the characters (and the audience) to venues where dancing and singing can be showcased. The sets for the Carioca Casino and the Aviators Club were beautiful. The montage of Rio was like a 30s postcard.Speaking of montages, the performance pieces in Flying Down to Rio are typical of Busby Berkley spectaculars--montages of dancing, and groups of dancers in large production scenes. Compare the Astaire dance numbers which, in contrast, follow the dance performance in single or extended shots, emphasizing the technical excellence of the dancers. This technique of filming dance would revolutionize dance performance in film.The director looked to dazzle his audience with every variation of novelty cuts and what must have been seen as cutting-edge special effects (the images of performers on the wings of flying planes).Because the humor in the movie is played so broadly, the acting is not very good, but they got what they were aiming for--a light excuse for entertainment that was just what America wanted during the Great Depression.I am a fan of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, singly and in tandem. As an early snapshot of the beginnings of their film history, Flying Down to Rio is required viewing, I feel.

It is the accidents in Hollywood History that have created some of the greatest moments in films. Casablanca is an accident because of a great script in an otherwise assembly line film. The Wizard of Oz was an accident of chaos in production which just happened to cast Judy Garland and let her play herself at age 16 to become a classic.RKO is strapped for money when this pre-code movie is made, without a doubt. It shows in the production and the casting. Other than Delores Del Rio, no one in this cast was even known to movie goers and because of that RKO cast it on the cheap. It just happened by accident that unknowns Astaire & Rogers got cast in this movie. This elevated this movie beyond where it otherwise would have gone.The plot itself is quite forgettable. The music and dancing turn out to be the strengths of the movie. What a glorious accident this was. I mean if RKO had cast Martha Raye & Lou Costello instead of Astaire and Rogers? One can only imagine where this movie would have wound up.Del Rio does look great in some revealing outfits. The movie does benefit from the pre-code dialog as well. Ginger even gets some outfits that are revealing. The fact is this movie is one of those great accidents in Hollywood history. It is not great, but very good because of that.

In Miami, during the presentation of the Yankee Clippers, the wolf band leader and pilot Roger Bond (Gene Raymond) flirts with the guest Belinha de Resende (Dolores Del Rio) and the stringent hotel manager fires them. However, the band is hired for the opening night of the Atlântico Hotel in Rio de Janeiro, and they need to fly to Brazil. When Roger meets Belinha in the hall of the hotel, he learns that she lost her flight to Rio and he offers a ride for her in his plane. Roger is forced to land in an island and he immediately fixes the mechanical problem in the plane; however, he lies to Belinha and tells that he can not fix the problem just to spend the night alone with her. But Belinha, who is the fiancée of the Brazilian Júlio, resists to his harassment and later she finds another plane to fly to Rio. Once in Rio, the infatuated Roger meets his friend Júlio without knowing that he is the fiancé of Belinha, and he tells about his love for the woman. When the Yankee Clippers are ready to open the hotel, powerful bankers that are interested to force the bankruptcy of the Atlântico's owner to take the hotel, send the police since he does not have the permit to anticipate the opening day. However, Roger's friend and musician Fred Ayres (Fred Astaire) proposes an airborne show to the guests. Meanwhile, the brokenhearted Roger decides to return to his country and leave Belinha with Júlio."Flying Down to Rio" is the debut of the pair Fred and Ginger in minor support roles. The sappy and naive romance has the Mexican Dolores Del Rio performing a Brazilian sassy woman and Gene Raymond in the lead roles. The footages from Rio de Janeiro in the 30's and the airborne show are the best moments of this film. The funniest thing in "Flying Down to Rio" is that there is no Brazilian actor or actress in the cast. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "Voando para o Rio" ("Flying to Rio")

The 1933 film, Flying Down to Rio, was just the beginning of the musical era. The musicals that we know today are very different from the first few. The older musicals had a problem fitting the song and dance into the plot and they went on for long periods of time. The dancing in the movie was amazing for me to see. I participated in many forms of dance throughout my adolescent years. Although tap wasn't my favorite type of dance, it made me really appreciate how talented Fred Astaire and his partner were. The only critic of the dance scenes would be the ending when the women were strapped to the planes. I found it hard to believe that this movie, being very realistic, would throw in this scene. I could never imagine this happening in real life and the spectators on the ground would not have been able to see the girls on top of the wings. There was cool camera work in the scene when the pilot and rich women were stranded on the island. To display their consciences, there was a translucent image talking to themselves and I thought that was very creative.