Orchids in the Moonlight

After producing too many movie musicals at the dawn of sound, Hollywood had virtually abandoned the genre by 1932. Steiner was convinced that the public was eager to see a well-made musical—and after the success of Warner Bros.’ 42nd Street in March 1933, he had a chance to prove it. The visually extravagant Melody Cruise was only a modest hit, but it opened the door for a cinematic breakthrough at RKO: Flying Down to Rio, which paired Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers for the first time. This chapter details the swift evolution of movie musical production and Steiner’s role in it, as he and his team experimented with pre-recording music to be used as “playback” during filming. During Rio’s making, the twice-divorced Steiner began a romance with studio harpist Louise Klos. It would become one of the most significant, and complicated, relationships in Max’s life.