West Point of the Air (1935)

Director:

Richard Rosson

Writers:

James Kevin McGuinness (story) and
John Monk Saunders (story) ...

Release Date:

18 August 1935 (Finland)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Astrology | Drunkenness | Father Son Relationship | Death | Rescue

Cast

Wallace Beery	...	Sgt. 'Big Mike' Stone
Robert Young	...	Little Mike Stone
Lewis Stone	...	Gen. Carter
Maureen O'Sullivan	...	'Skip' Carter
Russell Hardie	...	Phil Carter
Rosalind Russell	...	Mrs. Dare Marshall
James Gleason	...	Joe 'Bags'
Henry Wadsworth	...	Lt. Pettis
Robert Taylor	...	'Jasky' Jaskarelli
Robert Livingston	...	'Pip' Pippinger
Frank Conroy	...	Capt. Cannon
G. Pat Collins	...	Lt. Jimmy Kelly
Bobby Caldwell	...	Phil, as a Boy (as Bobbie Caldwell)
Ronnie Cosby	...	Little Mike, as a Boy
Marilyn Spinner	...	'Skip', as a Girl

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #673)

Filming Locations:

McQueeney, Texas, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Filmed on an around Randolph Army Air Field (now Randolph Air Force Base) in San Antonio, TX. Most of the buildings are still in use, but have been remodeled into offices. Flying training is still conducted on the base.

Soundtrack:

Taps

What Do We Do With The Next Generation

Wallace Beery and Lewis Stone have both risen as far as they can in the Army, Stone's a general and Beery a top sergeant. Since Stone has a daughter who grows up to be Maureen O'Sullivan and girls did not aspire to such strictly male things as a military career back in the day, both old guys hope that Robert Young who is Beery's son succeeds.

Young as Beery's son gets a legacy appointment to West Point in West Point of the Air and upon graduation joins the Army Air Corps. Can he measure up is the burning question.

Wallace Beery adds to his repertoire of scene stealing old codgers again in this film. Imagine Judge Hardy in the military and you've got Lewis Stone's performance. Between the two of them they make West Point of the Air passably good entertainment.

Though Robert Young and Maureen O'Sullivan are the two young leads, MGM was giving some exposure to two of its younger contract players who went on to have bigger careers than the leads. Rosalind Russell plays the typical bad girl divorcée who seduces Young and move him from the straight and narrow path of duty. She's good, but no trace of the sparkling Roz of The Women or His Girl Friday.

And Robert Taylor has a small role as another of the young flying cadets with Young. One look at him and you knew that man was going to be a star and he has a death scene that I'm sure made a lot in the audience write to MGM and ask who this handsome devil was.

West Point of the Air was nice, but nothing terribly special except as a training ground for future stars.