Anne Baxter was just coming off an Oscar win for her portrayal of a drug addicted woman in 20th Century Fox's adaptation of THE RAZOR'S EDGE when she was loaned to Paramount for the lead role in this aviation drama. Interestingly, she heads a cast that includes Paramount's top matinee idols of the postwar period- William Holden who plays the man she marries; and Sterling Hayden who is on hand as Holden's brother and the man she probably should have married.
The idea of putting Hayden and Holden into the same film, directed by John Farrow, is inspired since they actually do look like brothers and have similar mannerisms. In addition to these two, Sonny Tufts whose career at Paramount was in full swing plays an older brother, while Johnny Sands portrays the youngest kid brother. All four of the McDonald bros are pilots, some of them having flown during WWI. Now it is the mid-1920s and since they have bills to pay and since they can't seem to get flying out of their blood, they perform aerial stunts at carnivals. What they do is thrilling and dangerous.
But when Holden meets pretty nurse Baxter, he realizes he needs to settle down and have a more stable job. So he and his brothers leave the stunt shows and start careers delivering airmail. The historical aspect of the airmail business in Ernest Gann's popular novel, adapted by real-life flyer turned screenwriter Frank Wead, gives the story great credibility.
Because this is an 'A' budget picture, the studio ups the drama by putting all four brothers into daring situations. The younger McDonald (Sands) is killed early on; and Tufts' character takes the blame and soon quits flying to become a car salesman of all things.
A friend who is also a pilot, and is played by William Bendix in the film's comic relief role, gets busted for zooming too close to a train on the ground. So, with his license being reviewed and having been put on suspension, he also quits and joins Tufts selling cars.
This leaves Holden and Hayden doing the mail runs, but Baxter is now pregnant and she'd like Holden to stop taking flights in bad weather. Meanwhile, Hayden has fallen hard for Baxter...but he can't have his sister-in-law as more than a friend, so he cracks up in the air and becomes disabled. Sterling Hayden gives a thoughtful performance here. We feel his anguish over his unrequited love; and when he ends up crippled which leads to the end of his career, we sense how much this setback means.
The drama isn't done, because there is one more huge tragedy yet to happen. And this time it involves Holden's character. He takes off in the fog on a special flight that will make extra money he needs to support his wife and newborn child. But the aircraft disappears in the fog, and he's never heard from again.
There's a wonderful scene with Holden at the controls, facing imminent death, talking on the radio to Baxter who's on the ground realizing they'll never see each other again. Anne Baxter is truly magnificent in what amounts to a highly touching role. Most actresses would have gone full throttle with the histrionics near the end, but she wisely underplays it, and I do think this performance is just as good, perhaps even better, than the one for which she earned the Oscar. Her Lucille McDonald is just so believable; very much a 'real person' on screen.
One thing that made me give the film a high score was that when I reflected back on the whole narrative, I could see that the writers were foreshadowing Baxter and Hayden to get together, even though their relationship was impossible. After Holden dies, Hayden as the baby's uncle is present at the christening; and since it would be distasteful to show that Baxter is ready to move on, as it would be too soon after her husband's death, I think we can assume that she will eventually marry Hayden. So we have this suggested happy ending, but not yet quite happy ending, which felt very mature and honest to me.
I also liked how all four brothers who loved flying so much are no longer fliers at the end. Their lives go in such unexpected directions. As a result, this is not a predictable or very formulaic studio picture; and with Baxter's sincere performance at the center of it, it is a real keeper.
The idea of putting Hayden and Holden into the same film, directed by John Farrow, is inspired since they actually do look like brothers and have similar mannerisms. In addition to these two, Sonny Tufts whose career at Paramount was in full swing plays an older brother, while Johnny Sands portrays the youngest kid brother. All four of the McDonald bros are pilots, some of them having flown during WWI. Now it is the mid-1920s and since they have bills to pay and since they can't seem to get flying out of their blood, they perform aerial stunts at carnivals. What they do is thrilling and dangerous.
But when Holden meets pretty nurse Baxter, he realizes he needs to settle down and have a more stable job. So he and his brothers leave the stunt shows and start careers delivering airmail. The historical aspect of the airmail business in Ernest Gann's popular novel, adapted by real-life flyer turned screenwriter Frank Wead, gives the story great credibility.
Because this is an 'A' budget picture, the studio ups the drama by putting all four brothers into daring situations. The younger McDonald (Sands) is killed early on; and Tufts' character takes the blame and soon quits flying to become a car salesman of all things.
A friend who is also a pilot, and is played by William Bendix in the film's comic relief role, gets busted for zooming too close to a train on the ground. So, with his license being reviewed and having been put on suspension, he also quits and joins Tufts selling cars.
This leaves Holden and Hayden doing the mail runs, but Baxter is now pregnant and she'd like Holden to stop taking flights in bad weather. Meanwhile, Hayden has fallen hard for Baxter...but he can't have his sister-in-law as more than a friend, so he cracks up in the air and becomes disabled. Sterling Hayden gives a thoughtful performance here. We feel his anguish over his unrequited love; and when he ends up crippled which leads to the end of his career, we sense how much this setback means.
The drama isn't done, because there is one more huge tragedy yet to happen. And this time it involves Holden's character. He takes off in the fog on a special flight that will make extra money he needs to support his wife and newborn child. But the aircraft disappears in the fog, and he's never heard from again.
There's a wonderful scene with Holden at the controls, facing imminent death, talking on the radio to Baxter who's on the ground realizing they'll never see each other again. Anne Baxter is truly magnificent in what amounts to a highly touching role. Most actresses would have gone full throttle with the histrionics near the end, but she wisely underplays it, and I do think this performance is just as good, perhaps even better, than the one for which she earned the Oscar. Her Lucille McDonald is just so believable; very much a 'real person' on screen.
One thing that made me give the film a high score was that when I reflected back on the whole narrative, I could see that the writers were foreshadowing Baxter and Hayden to get together, even though their relationship was impossible. After Holden dies, Hayden as the baby's uncle is present at the christening; and since it would be distasteful to show that Baxter is ready to move on, as it would be too soon after her husband's death, I think we can assume that she will eventually marry Hayden. So we have this suggested happy ending, but not yet quite happy ending, which felt very mature and honest to me.
I also liked how all four brothers who loved flying so much are no longer fliers at the end. Their lives go in such unexpected directions. As a result, this is not a predictable or very formulaic studio picture; and with Baxter's sincere performance at the center of it, it is a real keeper.