It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

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]

Flying Down to Rio is a 1933 black and white musical "romance" film (I'm hesitant to call it that) that follows Gene Raymond, who falls in love with Dolores Del Rio. He gets his band fired from a gig, and offers to fly her back to Brazil, but they get stranded on an island, fall in "love," get into a fight, and split up. Gene Raymond soon gets back to Brazil, and meets Dolores Del Rio's fiance. Complications ensue, including her father's new hotel, but they soon get back together.So, Gene Raymond and Dolores Del Rio's romance is unbelievable. He dances with her once, then they get stranded on an island. He purposefully sabotages his plane so he can spend more time with her, instead of getting her back to Brazil. I guess they make out? Then they fight, and he hits her, then once they're back in Brazil....she's in love with him?Okay?I don't understand why Dolores Del Rio didn't just stay with her fiance. He seemed like a caring guy who actually loved her. Gene Raymond saw her, didn't even know her name, and fell for her just for her looks. He didn't even know anything about her.Now Gene Raymond's character is awful and unlikable. He constantly gets his band fired from gigs because all he cares about is sex/women. He feels little sympathy afterwards, and just continues his ways every time. Besides that, I really can't tell you anything else about his character. He likes sex. He's a "bandleader." He abandons Fred Astaire in Miami so he can take Dolores Del Rio with him instead of him.At least Gene Raymond actually HAS a character. Dolores Del Rio is so bland and has no personality. She's only there for Gene Raymond to fall for. No character, at all. She really doesn't do much the whole film, either. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers are easily the best characters in the movie, even if they do have little personality. At least they have more than Dolores Del Rio. Ginger Rogers is a wise cracker. Fred Astaire wants to keep Gene Raymond in line so they don't get fired. I wish they had more screen time, because their "romance/friendship" was so much more believable. You know that they traveled together for a long time, and must've built up some chemistry.And as this is a Rogers/Astaire film, the dancing is amazing. The "Carioca" number is easily the best scene in the movie, and of course, they dance beautifully. But sadly, that was their only dance together in the movie, because of course, we had to make time for Gene Raymond and Dolores Del Rio. Ginger Roger's "Music Makes Me" number in the beginning is kind of weak, but it was still catchy and enjoyable. I really don't like her singing voice that much, but the song is still pretty fun."Orchids in the Moonlight" is a sweet, romantic ballad. I liked it when Dolores Del Rio's fiance sang it to her.The end, where the girls were dancing on the planes, was a pretty fun sequence, but in my opinion, it was a bit too short.The humor was somewhat funny. I never had any laugh out loud moments, but I smiled a lot, especially at Ginger's Roger's comments and the scene where Fred Astaire was carried out of the bakery.All in all, this movie wasn't good. Paper thin plot and unlikable/virtually non existent characters were abundant. But the dance numbers were amazing, and some of the humor worked. So if this movie wasn't a musical, I would probably hate it and give it a one star. But at least we had a fun dance number, some okay humor, and Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. So, I don't recommend it, but if you're a die hard Astaire/Rogers fan, just watch it (even though they're not even main characters.) But if you're new to them, I recommend watching Top Hat, Swing Time, Follow the Fleet, or Shall We Dance first.

My reason for posting a review is to counter in a small way the negative and what I consider to be be the hypercritical comments about such a wonderful and entertaining movie as Flying Down To Rio. Unfortunately there are some people who, on obtaining a soap box to air their views, go off on a tangent which has little or nothing to do with the subject on hand.these pseudo, erstwhile and would be experts attempt to show the world their knowledge . I would ask any fair minded person what's not to like about this movie.i first got it as a VHS tape and the other day I got it on DVD and played it twice.it is one of those movies which seems to improve with every viewing. I feel sorry for those people who criticize for the sake of criticizing.

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.