Fly Away Baby (1937)

Director:

Frank McDonald

Writers:

Kenneth Gamet (screenplay)
Dorothy Kilgallen (idea)

Release Date:

19 June 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Torchy Blane solves a murder and smuggling case during a round-the-world flight. |

Plot Keywords:

Torchy Blane | Murder | Hawaii | Newspaper | Reporter

Cast

Glenda Farrell	...	Torchy Blane
Barton MacLane	...	Lt. Steve 'Skipper' McBride
Gordon Oliver	...	Mr. Lucien 'Sonny' Croy
Hugh O'Connell	...	Hughie Sprague
Marcia Ralston	...	Ila Sayre
Tom Kennedy	...	Sgt. Orville Gahagan
Joe King	...	Mr. Guy Allister (as Joseph King)
Raymond Hatton	...	Editor Maxie Monkhouse
Gordon Hart	...	Mr. Sills
Anderson Lawler	...	Alexander L. Torey
Harry Davenport	...	Col. Higgam
Emmett Vogan	...	Clifford Vance
George Guhl	...	Desk Sergeant

Also Known As:

Crime in the Clouds (UK)
The Adventures of Torchy Blane (USA) (subtitle)

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #3147)

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The famous Broadway columnist, "What's My Line?" (1950) star and possible murder victim Dorothy Kilgallen contributed to the script of this film. It is (very) loosely based on her participation in an around the world air race, as chronicled in Lee Israel's excellent book, "Kilgallen."

Movie Connections:

Followed by Torchy Blane in Chinatown (1939)

Around the world with Torchy.

Jeweler Milton Deveraux is murdered during a break in of his store. Lt. Steve MacBride is perplexed, but girlfriend Torchy Blane suspects Lucien Croy, reporter for the rival Star Telegram (who is only on the paper because his father, owner and publisher, wants him to earn a living ) because Croy has amassed large gambling debts, but Croy is alibied by Guy Allister (Deveraux's partner) and Ila Sayre (nightclub singer and Croy's girlfriend). Torchy still suspects Croy of being part of the jewel heist, so thanks to her editor and publisher, accompanies him on a promotional race-around-the-world flight, also joined by Hughie Sprague (reporter for the Daily Journal) and former police traffic driver, Gahagan, who is now a private detective watching Sprague for some reason. Ila later confesses to MacBride that Croy's alibi was not what it seemed, and MacBride races to Frankfurt to arrest Croy for the murder of Deveraux and the jewel theft, but is it as simple as all that? Excellent entry in the Torchy Blane series with plenty of mystery that left this viewer curious to the end, with plenty of twists and turns. The performances of Farrell and MacLane are the same fun as the last picture (also picking up where the last film left off with Torchy trying to get MacBride to the altar) and the comic relief between Kennedy (Gahagan) and O'Connell (Sprague) was played down to the point where it was enjoyable. Rating, based on B mysteries, 8.