"What do these South Americans have below the equator that we haven't?" asks former Our Ganger Mary Kornman about her friend Dolores del Rio as she's seen dancing with bandleader Gene Raymond. While the plot (whatever there is of one) seems to be about the unlikely romance between Ms. del Rio and Raymond, the only reason this movie was a hit and is still often shown today is because it's the first time a legendary dance couple is teamed on screen for the first time in an exciting number called "The Carioca"-Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Their brief number set audiences afire and got RKO to snap another movie for them to actually star in together. Not that Ms. del Rio and Raymond don't do well by themselves when they appear but this being a musical comedy, Fred and Ginger are the only ones actually doing both the singing and dancing here with both having their own solo spots at the end and beginning, respectively. Other things to note: the "cannibals"-led by Clarance Muse-speak in British-accented English to amusing effect and that final title number with females being tied to flying planes (through, I'm sure, a moving rear projection background) being braless and having clothing come off is one of the most bizarre things done in a pre-Code picture! No great shakes, but because of the numbers and the historical first time teaming of Astaire and Rogers, Flying Down to Rio is well worth a look. P.S. One of the singers of "The Carioca", Etta Moten, lived the last years of her life in my birthtown of Chicago, Ill.