Film: Design & Architecture

Flying Down to Rio

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This film is a 1933 RKO musical noted for the first screen pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. For some reason I remembered seeing a lot more cool sets while watching it on Turner Classic Movies, but when I rented the DVD from Netflix, the above photo was the only interesting still showing 1930’s interior design. This set does look staged, but some of the details are interesting. Built-in window seating was big in those days, and this one takes that theme to another level. Then there’s the circular rug with its fluffy edging details and the satin upholstered chaise. I think we all know how popular satin upholstery was in films those days — especially in feminine bedrooms.

4 thoughts on “Flying Down to Rio”

  1. Margaret Downs-Gamble says:

    Fabulous, Patsy Ann. What about “Philadelphia Story”? . . . and “39 Steps” . . . and the Ingrid Bergman film with Cary Grant . . . can’t remember. She’s sent in to marry a former Nazi . . . and they discover she’s a spy and are poising her. “Notorious”! (Later, I think . . . ) I remember there are some great interiors in those films. Love the elegance.

    1. Patsy Ann says:

      Margaret, I love all these films. I have quite a list going, but the process of capturing the frames is very time consuming and arduous. First I must rent the dvd and that’s only if Netflix has it. Sometimes these dvds aren’t available to rent but I could buy them from TCM which I would rather not do. There’s no reliable way to capture from the television. The next step is to rip them to quicktime to get a large format. The actual frame capturing software displays the film in too tiny of a size. This is why I need a bigger version. And that process can take anywhere from an hour to two hours. Then using the large format for the perfect frame selections and time display, I then select the same in the capture software. Sorry to be complicated, but I just wanted you to know that it ain’t easy.

  2. Margaret Downs-Gamble says:

    I’m sure it’s terribly complicated and time-consuming, plus you’re a perfectionist, so . . . At any rate, I LOVE seeing things like the room above. Seeing this post of yours made me send off to Netflix for “Notorious.” Bergman was so beautiful in that film. Only more lovely in “Casa Blanca.” But Cary Grant . . . ohmy . . . he, too, was gorgeous in that. The Nazi’z house was fabulous.

    1. Patsy Ann says:

      Margaret, it’s funny you should mention Cary Grant. I was just watching the film The Awful Truth with him and Irene Dunne–something I recorded fromTCM on my DVR. This film has great interiors, so I’ll have to get my hands on the DVD.

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