Dirigible (1931)

Director:

Frank Capra

Writers:

Frank Wead (story)
Jo Swerling (adaptation)

Release Date:

4 April 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure

Plot:

A French explorer enlists the help of the US Navy in an expedition to the South Pole. There is competition...

Plot Keywords:

Expedition | South Pole | Dirigible | Pilot | U.S. Navy

Cast

Jack Holt	...	Jack Bradon
Ralph Graves	...	'Frisky' Pierce
Fay Wray	...	Helen Pierce
Hobart Bosworth	...	Louis Rondelle
Roscoe Karns	...	Sock McGuire
Harold Goodwin	...	Hansen
Clarence Muse	...	Clarence
Emmett Corrigan	...	Rear Admiral John S. Martin (as Emmet Corrigan)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #1327-R: 29 August 1935 for re-release) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Naval Air Base, Lakehurst, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The production was shot during a California heat wave. To form vapor on the breath and give the impression that the pilots were in the Antarctic, the performers were given lumps of 'dry ice' (frozen carbon dioxide) in metal boxes to put in their mouths. Hobart Bosworth found the box cumbersome and simply put the ice in his mouth. He lost his tongue and most of his lower jaw.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: A few minutes into the film at the show with people looking up through binoculars, there is a woman in the background clearly seen with her hands cupped around her eyes but without any binoculars.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Airship Disasters (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

You're in the Army Now

Easy To Watch and Enjoy

As we watch the Twentieth Century disappear in our wake, we're going to find films like this more and more precious. I mean, can you imagine? -- Here's a film that takes the airship absolutely seriously as an equal partner with the airplane. Here's a film that shows you basically how an airship was constructed and what it looked like inside, and all that as part of the plot! And if you're going to interrupt the main plot with a soap opera, who better to put in front of your eyes than the beautiful Fay Wray? And what a great way to get out of the romantic sub-plot's basic dilemma -- nice, clean, and fast. All things considered, a more than satisfying way to spend an evening.