Flying Down to Rio
Encyclopedia
Flying Down to Rio is a 1933 RKO
musical film
noted for being the first screen pairing of Fred Astaire
and Ginger Rogers
. Astaire and Rogers were not the stars of the film, however, Dolores del Río
and Gene Raymond
were top-billed. Among the featured players Franklin Pangborn
and Eric Blore
are notable. The songs in the film were written by Vincent Youmans
(music) and Gus Kahn
and Edward Eliscu
(lyrics), with musical direction and additional music by Max Steiner
.
The black-and-white film (later computer-colorized) was directed by Thornton Freeland
and produced by Merian C. Cooper
and Lou Brock
. The screenplay was written by Erwin S. Gelsey, H.W. Hanemann and Cyril Hume
, based on a story by Lou Brock and a play by Anne Caldwell
. Linwood Dunn did the special effects for the celebrated airplane-wing-dance sequence at the end of the film.
Composer Roger Bond (Gene Raymond
) and his orchestra are appearing in Miami, with vocalist Honey Hales (Rogers). Despite the warnings of accordionist and assistant band leader Fred Ayres (Astaire), Roger is attracted to the beautiful and flirtatious Belinha (Dolores del Río) in the audience, he leaves the bandstand to pursue her.
Doña Elena (Blanche Friderici
), Belinha's chaperone, is informed of this, and arranges for Roger and the band to be fired. But Roger pursues Belinha to Brazil
, and organises as engagement for the band at the Hotel Atlantico in Rio de Janeiro
, unaware that the hotel is owned by Belinha's father (Walter Walker). Roger persuades Belinha to allow him to fly her there in his private plane, which runs into trouble inflight, forcing a landing on an apparently deserted island. Under the moonlight, she falls into his arms, while admitting to him that she is already engaged.
In Rio, Roger informs his good friend Julio (Raul Roulien, b. Brasil 1905; d. Brasil 2000) that he has fallen in love, but finds out that Belinha is engaged to Julio. During rehearsals for the Hotel's opening, Fred is told by police that the hotel lacks an entertainment license. When Roger spots a plane overhead, he comes up with the idea of strapping dancing girls to planes, with Fred leading the band and Honey and Julio leading the planes. The show is a great success and the hotel's future guaranteed. Julio gives Belinha up to Roger while Fred and Honey celebrate.
(music) and Gus Kahn
and Edward Eliscu
(lyrics). The dance director was Dave Gould, assisted by Hermes Pan
, who went on to be Astaire's primary choreographer.
RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
musical film
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
noted for being the first screen pairing of Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
and Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
. Astaire and Rogers were not the stars of the film, however, Dolores del Río
Dolores del Río
Dolores del Río was a Mexican film actress. She was a star of Hollywood films during the silent era and in the Golden Age of Hollywood...
and Gene Raymond
Gene Raymond
Gene Raymond was an American film, television, and stage actor of the 1930s and 1940s. In addition to acting, Raymond was also a composer, writer, director, producer, and decorated military pilot.-Stage and movie career:...
were top-billed. Among the featured players Franklin Pangborn
Franklin Pangborn
Franklin Pangborn was an American comedic character actor. Pangborn was famous for small, but memorable roles, with a comic flair. He appeared in many Preston Sturges movies as well as the W.C. Fields films International House, The Bank Dick, and Never Give a Sucker an Even Break...
and Eric Blore
Eric Blore
Eric Blore was an English comic actor. Blore was born in Finchley , England.Aged eighteeen, he worked as an insurance agent for two years. He gained theatre experience while touring Australia. Originally enlisting into the Artists Rifles he was commissioned in the South Wales Borderers in World...
are notable. The songs in the film were written by Vincent Youmans
Vincent Youmans
Vincent Youmans was an American popular composer and Broadway producer.- Life :Vincent Millie Youmans was born in New York City on September 27, 1898 and grew-up on Central Park West on the site where the Mayflower Hotel once stood. His father, a prosperous hat manufacturer, moved the family to...
(music) and Gus Kahn
Gus Kahn
Gustav Gerson Kahn was a musician, songwriter and lyricist.-Biography:Kahn was born in Koblenz, Germany in 1886. The family emigrated from there to the United States and moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1890...
and Edward Eliscu
Edward Eliscu
Edward Eliscu was a lyricist, playwright, producer and actor. He attended the City College of New York where he attained a Bachelor of Science degree. He then began acting in Broadway plays...
(lyrics), with musical direction and additional music by Max Steiner
Max Steiner
Max Steiner was an Austrian composer of music for theatre productions and films. He later became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Trained by the great classical music composers Brahms and Mahler, he was one of the first composers who primarily wrote music for motion pictures, and as...
.
The black-and-white film (later computer-colorized) was directed by Thornton Freeland
Thornton Freeland
Thornton Freeland was an American film director who directed 26 British and American films in a career that lasted from 1924 to 1949. He was born in Hope, North Dakota in 1898 and originally worked as an assistant director. In 1929 he directed his first film Three Live Ghosts. He was married to...
and produced by Merian C. Cooper
Merian C. Cooper
Merian Caldwell Cooper was an American aviator, United States Air Force and Polish Air Force officer, adventurer, screenwriter, and film director and producer. His most famous film was the 1933 movie King Kong.-Early life:...
and Lou Brock
Lou Brock
Louis Clark "Lou" Brock is an American former professional baseball player. He began his Major League Baseball career with the Chicago Cubs but, spent the majority of his career as the left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. Brock was best known for breaking Ty Cobb's all-time major league...
. The screenplay was written by Erwin S. Gelsey, H.W. Hanemann and Cyril Hume
Cyril Hume
Cyril Hume was an American screenwriter. He wrote for 29 films between 1924 and 1966.He was born in New York, New York and died in Palos Verdes, California.-Selected filmography:* The Invisible Boy...
, based on a story by Lou Brock and a play by Anne Caldwell
Anne Caldwell
Anne Caldwell , also known as Anne Caldwell O'Dea, was a librettist and lyricist. She was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She wrote both pop songs and Broadway shows including working with Jerome Kern.-External links:...
. Linwood Dunn did the special effects for the celebrated airplane-wing-dance sequence at the end of the film.
Plot
Gene Raymond
Gene Raymond was an American film, television, and stage actor of the 1930s and 1940s. In addition to acting, Raymond was also a composer, writer, director, producer, and decorated military pilot.-Stage and movie career:...
) and his orchestra are appearing in Miami, with vocalist Honey Hales (Rogers). Despite the warnings of accordionist and assistant band leader Fred Ayres (Astaire), Roger is attracted to the beautiful and flirtatious Belinha (Dolores del Río) in the audience, he leaves the bandstand to pursue her.
Doña Elena (Blanche Friderici
Blanche Friderici
Blanche Friderici , sometimes credited as Blanche Frederici, was an American film and stage actress.-Early life and education:She was born in Brooklyn, New York.-Theatre:...
), Belinha's chaperone, is informed of this, and arranges for Roger and the band to be fired. But Roger pursues Belinha to Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, and organises as engagement for the band at the Hotel Atlantico in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, unaware that the hotel is owned by Belinha's father (Walter Walker). Roger persuades Belinha to allow him to fly her there in his private plane, which runs into trouble inflight, forcing a landing on an apparently deserted island. Under the moonlight, she falls into his arms, while admitting to him that she is already engaged.
In Rio, Roger informs his good friend Julio (Raul Roulien, b. Brasil 1905; d. Brasil 2000) that he has fallen in love, but finds out that Belinha is engaged to Julio. During rehearsals for the Hotel's opening, Fred is told by police that the hotel lacks an entertainment license. When Roger spots a plane overhead, he comes up with the idea of strapping dancing girls to planes, with Fred leading the band and Honey and Julio leading the planes. The show is a great success and the hotel's future guaranteed. Julio gives Belinha up to Roger while Fred and Honey celebrate.
Cast
- Dolores del RíoDolores del RíoDolores del Río was a Mexican film actress. She was a star of Hollywood films during the silent era and in the Golden Age of Hollywood...
as Belinha De Rezende - Gene RaymondGene RaymondGene Raymond was an American film, television, and stage actor of the 1930s and 1940s. In addition to acting, Raymond was also a composer, writer, director, producer, and decorated military pilot.-Stage and movie career:...
as Roger Bond - Raul Roulien as Julio Ribeiro
- Ginger RogersGinger RogersGinger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
as Honey Hale - Fred AstaireFred AstaireFred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
as Fred Ayres - Blanche FridericiBlanche FridericiBlanche Friderici , sometimes credited as Blanche Frederici, was an American film and stage actress.-Early life and education:She was born in Brooklyn, New York.-Theatre:...
as Doña Elena - Walter Walker, as Belinha's father
- Etta Moten as The Carioca Singer
- Roy D'ArcyRoy D'ArcyRoy D'Arcy was an American film actor of the silent film and early sound period of the 1930s noted for his portrayal of flamboyant villains...
as Member Greek Gambling Syndicate - Maurice BlackMaurice BlackMaurice Black Was an American Character actor known for his portrayal of Mobsters. he died of Pneumonia-Selected filmography:* Bonnie Scotland * The Crusades * Bride of Frankenstein...
as Member Greek Gambling Syndicate - Armand KalizArmand KalizArmand Kaliz was a French born American film actor of the silent film and early sound period of the 1930s.Born in Paris, Kaliz began his career in vaudeville...
as Member Greek Gambling Syndicate - Paul PorcasiPaul PorcasiPaul Porcasi was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 142 films between 1917 and 1945.He was born in Palermo, Sicily and died in Hollywood, California.-Selected filmography:* Broadway...
as The Mayor - Reginald BarlowReginald BarlowReginald Harry Barlow was a veteran stage and screen character actor, author, and film director. He was a busy performer in Hollywood films of the 1930s.-Early life:...
as Alfredo Vianna (the banker) - Eric BloreEric BloreEric Blore was an English comic actor. Blore was born in Finchley , England.Aged eighteeen, he worked as an insurance agent for two years. He gained theatre experience while touring Australia. Originally enlisting into the Artists Rifles he was commissioned in the South Wales Borderers in World...
as Mr. Butterbass, Assistant Hotel Manager - Franklin PangbornFranklin PangbornFranklin Pangborn was an American comedic character actor. Pangborn was famous for small, but memorable roles, with a comic flair. He appeared in many Preston Sturges movies as well as the W.C. Fields films International House, The Bank Dick, and Never Give a Sucker an Even Break...
as Hammerstein, Hotel Manager
Music
All the songs in Flying Down to Rio were written by Vincent YoumansVincent Youmans
Vincent Youmans was an American popular composer and Broadway producer.- Life :Vincent Millie Youmans was born in New York City on September 27, 1898 and grew-up on Central Park West on the site where the Mayflower Hotel once stood. His father, a prosperous hat manufacturer, moved the family to...
(music) and Gus Kahn
Gus Kahn
Gustav Gerson Kahn was a musician, songwriter and lyricist.-Biography:Kahn was born in Koblenz, Germany in 1886. The family emigrated from there to the United States and moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1890...
and Edward Eliscu
Edward Eliscu
Edward Eliscu was a lyricist, playwright, producer and actor. He attended the City College of New York where he attained a Bachelor of Science degree. He then began acting in Broadway plays...
(lyrics). The dance director was Dave Gould, assisted by Hermes Pan
Hermes Pan (choreographer)
Hermes Pan was an American dancer and choreographer, principally celebrated as Fred Astaire's choreographic collaborator on the famous 1930s movie musicals starring Astaire and Ginger Rogers.-Early life:...
, who went on to be Astaire's primary choreographer.
- "Flying Down to Rio" – sung by Fred Astaire, danced by Ginger Rogers and the chorus
- "Music Makes Me" – sung by Ginger Rogers, danced by Fred Astaire
- "Orchids in Moonlight" – sung by Raul Roulien, danced by Fred Astaire and Delores Del Rio; this became a popular tangoTango musicTango is a style of ballroom dance music in 2/4 or 4/4 time that originated among European immigrant populations of Argentina and Uruguay . It is traditionally played by a sextet, known as the orquesta típica, which includes two violins, piano, double bass, and two bandoneons...
song - "CariocaCarioca (song)" Carioca" is a 1933 popular song with music by Vincent Youmans and lyrics by Edward Eliscu and Gus Kahn, as well as the name of the dance choreographed to it for the 1933 film Flying Down to Rio...
" – sung by Alice GentleAlice GentleAlice Gentle was an American operatic mezzo-soprano. She began her career in 1908 as a member of the opera chorus in Oscar Hammerstein I's Manhattan Opera Company...
, Movita CastanedaMovita CastanedaMaria "Movita" Castaneda is an American actress best known for being the second wife of actor Marlon Brando. She was six years older than Brando. In films, she played exotic women/singers, such as in Flying Down to Rio and Mutiny on the Bounty , of which she is the last surviving cast member....
and Etta Moten, danced by Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers and the chorus; this is notable for being Astaire and Rogers' first dance together; they dance with their foreheads touching.