Directed by
Thornton Freeland
USA 1933
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. The nominal star, the wooden Raymond, is swept off his feet by the exotic Del Rio (one of those actresses who age only ten years in forty-odd), of whom a Yankee girl cries, 'What have these South Americans got below the equator that we haven't?'. The Berkeleyesque aerial ballet is a gas.
Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE
Notable for teaming Astaire and Rogers for the first time, this is a
flimsily plotted musical comedy significant mainly for its sparky production
numbers (notably Fred and Ginger doing 'La Carioca'). However, Bond and Del
Rio take the leads, he as a flirtatious bandleader, she as the Brazilian
girl he falls for even though she is engaged to a good friend of his. You
can't help thinking it might have worked better with Fred and Ginger taking
centrestage. The musical routines (check out the especially lavish nonsense
atop the wings of a plane) are excellent.
Excerpt from Channel 4 located HERE
Posters
Theatrical Release: December 22nd, 1933
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Review: Warner - Region 1,4 - NTSC
DVD Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from: |
Also available as part of the Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 2 which includes Flying Down to Rio / The Gay Divorcee / Roberta / Carefree and The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle: | ||
Distribution | Warner Home Video - Region 1,4 - NTSC | |
Runtime | 1:29:12 | |
Video | 1.33:1
Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.5 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Audio | English (Dolby Digital 2.0) | |
Subtitles | English, French, Spanish, None | |
Features |
Release Information: Edition Details: • Featurette:
Bear and Pretzels |
Comments: |
There is a little bit of a sepia/yellow haze over the some of the image. Perhaps one of the lesser transfers from this boxset. I suspect that we should feel lucky that this entire collection is available considering the age of the films and the inherent condition of the negatives. It is progressive and and sports optional subtitles. Audio is unremarkable but close, I'll wager, to the way it sounded originally (a shade echoy). Good news again that I don't see excessive manipulation and most of the image damage marks (light scratches) have been removed or lessened in intensity.
Warner include some fairly unrelated featurette extras - Bear and Pretzels and I Like Mountain Music. Fun stuff for pre-feature. Not the best of the pairings musical comedies but even 2nd rate Astaire/Rogers is worthy viewing. |
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DVD Box Cover |
|
CLICK to order from: |
Also available as part of the Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 2 which includes Flying Down to Rio / The Gay Divorcee / Roberta / Carefree and The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle: | ||
Distribution | Warner Home Video - Region 1,4 - NTSC |