Flight (1929)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Frank Capra

Writers:

Frank Capra (dialogue)
Ralph Graves (story)

Release Date:

18 September 1929 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure

Plot Keywords:

Melodrama | Marine Corps US

Cast

Jack Holt	...	Sgt. 'Panama' Williams
Lila Lee	...	Nurse Elinor Murray
Ralph Graves	...	'Lefty' Phelps

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (MovieTone)

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The invasion of Nicaragua to avenge the deaths of U.S. Marines was based on at least one actual incident. On February 27, 1928, a band of Sandanista rebels killed 5 Marines and wounded 8 others in an ambush.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: A front page headline dated April 5, 1927 makes reference to Charles Lindbergh as though he were already famous. In fact, the flight that made Lindbergh a household name didn't occur until six weeks later.

Very good for 1929 and somehow very likable

The film is about two pilots--one who is the veteran flight instructor at Pensacola Naval Air Station (Tim Holt) and the other is a man who desperately wants to earn his wings, but he's terribly unsure of himself (Ralph Graves). Over time, a friendship develops between them that is challenged when both men fall for the same Navy nurse.

While all this might seem a bit predictable and clichéd, for 1929 it was pretty good stuff. Plus, all the familiar story elements contained in the film were NOT clichés, as this film introduced many of these items that would later become standard plot lines. Plus, the film is aided by excellent flying scenes and some amazingly fun and witty dialog every now and again. Graves made several comments that had me laughing. Because of this and the easy-going banter between them, this was a very likable film--particularly for nuts like me that adore early aviation films. The film abounds with great footage of aircraft and is a must-see for aviation fans.

By the way, the team of Graves and Holt made quite a few early military-inspired films for Columbia--making them the first stars for this fledgling studio. In addition to Marine pilots like they were in this film, they also starred in other films about US military (such as DIRIGIBLE, A DANGEROUS AFFAIR, FLYING FLEET and SUBMARINE). Oddly, despite their success, by 1931-1932, their careers as leading men were pretty much over.

One negative about the film is the sound quality. Though it does improve later in the film, FLIGHT is terribly in need of restoration as some of the dialog is very, very difficult to understand--a rather common problem with films from the early sound era. Closed captioning would have been nice, but was not included.