Flying Down to Rio
RKO Radio Pictures | Release Date: December 29, 1933 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
72
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
The New YorkerPauline Kael
The picture--which is almost surreally entertaining--is also famous for its madcap choreography; chorus girls dancing on the wings of planes, to the title song.
90
The Observer (UK)Philip French
Marvellous musical and a movie landmark, with the first joint appearance of Fred Astaire and Gingers Rogers as members of a band touring Latin America. [28 Sep 2003, p.9]
80
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
Although the lead trio does well enough, the presence of cinema's greatest musical comedy team fairly blasts the screen lovers into orbit whenever either or both of them are onscreen. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyGregory Kirschling
In their first big-screen pairing, fourth-billed Ginger and fifth-billed Fred play second banana to a bandleader and his Latina love in Flying Down to Rio, a nutty entry that springs alive for ”The Carioca,” possibly the duo’s sexiest dance. Read full review
75
LarsenOnFilmJosh Larsen
Even for a 1933 movie musical, Flying Down to Rio is a vaudeville show shamelessly trying to pass for a feature film. Thank goodness, then, that it can get by on sheer showmanship. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Fred meets Ginger in this goofy South American romance; they were secondary leads who stole the show. [03 Nov 2006, p.C5]
70
The New York TimesMordaunt Hall
It is a hearty and lively show, the story of which is just about equal to that of other musical offerings. Read full review
70
Time OutStaff (Not Credited)
Fred and Ginger teamed for the first time as featured artists in the big production number, 'The Carioca': 'I'd like to try this thing just once' says Fred, launching the movies' greatest partnership. Otherwise notable mainly for the non-stop opticals which turn the film into a series of animated postcards. Read full review
63
Chicago ReaderDon Druker
The first screen pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Pretty jerky, and not enough of Fred and Ginger; still, it has the “Carioca.” Read full review
60
EmpireDavid Parkinson
The first Fred and Ginger feature is a little clunky and short on plot and character but a beautiful and atmospheric treat for all that. Read full review
50
VarietyStaff (Not Credited)
This picture makes its bid via numbers staged by Dave Gould to Vincent Youman melodies. But Rio’s story [from a play by Anne Caldwell, based on an original story by Louis Brock] lets it down. It’s slow and lacks laughs to the point where average business seems its groove. Read full review
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