Night Flight (1933)

Director:

Clarence Brown

Writers:

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (novel) and
Oliver H.P. Garrett (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 October 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Aerial | Rhyme In Title | Aviation | Two Word Title | Based On Novel

Cast

John Barrymore	...	Riviere
Helen Hayes	...	Simone Fabian
Clark Gable	...	Jules Fabian
Lionel Barrymore	...	Insp. Robineau
Robert Montgomery	...	Auguste Pellerin
Myrna Loy	...	Wife of Brazilian Pilot
William Gargan	...	Brazilian Pilot
C. Henry Gordon	...	Daudet
Leslie Fenton	...	Jules' Radio Operator / Co-Pilot
Harry Beresford	...	Pierre Roblet
Frank Conroy	...	Radio Operator
Dorothy Burgess	...	Pellerin'sGirlfriend
Irving Pichel	...	Dr. Decosta
Helen Jerome Eddy	...	Worried Mother
Buster Phelps	...	Sick Child
Ralf Harolde	...	Pilot
Marcia Ralston	...	Nightclub Vamp
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Maurice Black	...	Nightclub Manager (uncredited)
Ed Brady	...	Radio Operator on Telephone (uncredited)
Sidney D'Albrook	...	Airport Office Employee (uncredited)
Claire Du Brey	...	Santiago Nurse (uncredited)
Sherry Hall	...	Airport Office Employee (uncredited)
Otto Hoffman	...	Airport Office Clerk (uncredited)
George Irving	...	Santiago Doctor (uncredited)
Wallace MacDonald	...	Mechanic (uncredited)
Michael Mark	...	Airport Office Employee (uncredited)
Francis McDonald	...	Radioman (uncredited)
Louis Natheaux	...	Radioman (uncredited)
Inez Palange	...	Simone's Maid (uncredited)
Edward Peil Sr.	...	Airport Office Employee (uncredited)
Evelyn Selbie	...	Mother in Window (uncredited)

Directed by
Clarence Brown

Writing credits
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry		(novel "Vol de nuit")
Oliver H.P. Garrett		screenplay

Produced by
Clarence Brown	....	producer
David O. Selznick	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Herbert Stothart

Cinematography by
Oliver T. Marsh

Film Editing by
Hal C. Kern

Art Direction by
Alexander Toluboff
Cedric Gibbons		(uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Charles Dorian	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Hobe Erwin	....	interior decorator

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director
Robert Shirley	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
A. Arnold Gillespie	....	special effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Paul Mantz	....	stunt pilot (uncredited)
Evan Unger	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Elmer Dyer	....	aerial photography
Charles A. Marshall	....	aerial photography (as Charles Marshall)
Eddie Fitzgerald	....	second camera operator (uncredited)
Kyme Meade	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Cliff Shirpser	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Music Department
Oscar Radin	....	orchestra conductor
Charles Maxwell	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1933) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1934) (Germany) (theatrical)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Filming Locations:

Denver, Colorado, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Three scenes show radio operators sending Morse Code. One code key looked like a J-38 single key and two were a two paddle key made by the Vibroplex Company which is still in business. The Vibroplex is also known as a Bug because of the bug logo on the key.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Maltin on Movies: Super 8 (#1.37)" (2011)

Soundtrack:

How Dry I Am

Deservedly unknown even with such a cast

This is quite possibly the least known and seen all-star cast film in film history. But deservedly so. At the time it was made, films about airplanes and pilots were all the rage. Unfortunately, the source material (the Saint-Exupery 1931 novel of the same title) has been closely adapted; a rare thing for Hollywood, but not a good one in this case. As in the novel, much is made of the sensual thrill of being up there in the clouds, so we get lots of awestruck words and reactions from the Barrymores, Gargan and Montgomery. It's all very dated now, with a simple story of flyers delivering mail across South America at top speed, through treacherous conditions, whipped onward by company boss John Barrymore. Barrymore is strong, as usual, but his older brother Lionel, as a foreman, is so hunched-over and drab that he brings the picture down in every scene he's in. And the disconnectedness of the characters is noticeably bad for a major studio film. Gable and Loy are husband and wife, but they never have a scene together. In fact, Gable is never seen outside of his airplane's cockpit! Montgomery's part is even smaller. A shocking waste of talent. The only element not in the novel but added to the film is actually the best thing in it: A sick child's need for medicine that only the speed of an aircraft can bring in time.