Tailspin Tommy (1934)

A young mechanic gets a job with a small airline, which he helps win a mail contract. A rival airline plots to destroy it in order to get the contracts for itself.

Director:

Lew Landers

Writers:

Hal Forrest (adapted from the newspaper strip), Ella O'Neill (screenplay),

Stars:

Maurice Murphy, Noah Beery Jr., Patricia Farr

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Maurice Murphy	...	Tailspin Tommy Tompkins
Noah Beery Jr.	...	Peter 'Skeeter' Milligan
Patricia Farr	...	Betty Lou Barnes
Walter Miller	...	Bruce Hoyt
Grant Withers	...	Milt Howe
Charles A. Browne	...	Paul Smith
Bryant Washburn	...	Mr. Grant - Film Director of 'Midnight Patrol', Chs. 10-12
Belle Daube	...	Mrs. Martha Tompkins, Tommy's Mother - Chs. 1, 12
John Davidson	...	Wade 'Tiger' Taggart
Harrison Greene	...	Air Circus Announcer [Ch. 2]
William Desmond	...	Sloane - Taggart's Office Henchman, Chs. 4, 7, 10-11
Lew Kelly	...	Victor Martin - Three Point Airport Dispatcher
John Ince	...	Eric Peabody [Chs. 3-5]
Lee Beggs	...	Deacon Grimes [Chs. 1,12]
Ethan Laidlaw	...	Bart Dirk, Henchman

Storyline

A young mechanic gets a job with a small airline, which he helps win a mail contract. A rival airline plots to destroy it in order to get the contracts for itself.

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Plot Keywords:

serial | aviation | tailspin tommy | based on comic

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Taglines:

Hal Forrest's great cartoon heroes on the screen in a screaming serial of the skyways!...Breathless excitement awaits you. Come! TWELVE TERRIFIC EPISODES!

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Crime

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 October 1934 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tommy, o anemostrovilos

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

248 min 248 min (12 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor High Fidelity Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Chapter Titles:

• 1. Death Flies the Mail
• 2. The Mail Goes Through
• 3. Sky Bandits
• 4. The Copper Room
• 5. The Night Flight
• 6. The Baited Trap
• 7. Tommy to the Rescue
• 8. The Thrill of Death
• 9. The Earth Gods Roar
• 10. Death at the Controls
• 11. Rushing Waters
• 12. Littleville's Big Day

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Connections

Referenced in The Waltons: The Quilting (1976)

User Reviews

stalwart heroes face underhanded heavies in air action

The thirties, drifting unknowingly toward the horrors of WW2, provided the context for these appropriately earnest young men to prove themselves by successfully competing for a mail contract( it could have been anything of value). The villains are devious and uncomplicated. The women chaste and nearly helpless. The acting (especially Noah Berry, Jr and Grant Withers) projects to the highest seat in the balcony. The flying sequences may be the best the film has to offer but on a Saturday afternoon in the mid-thirties this was quite good enough, thank you. This film stands as a worthy example of our sweet, innocent past.