Murder in the Air (1940)

Director:

Lewis Seiler

Writer:

Raymond L. Schrock (original screen play)

Release Date:

1 June 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller | Drama

Plot:

The corpse of a hobo with a $50,000 money belt helps Brass and Gabby crack a cell of fifth columnists bent on sabotage.

Plot Keywords:

Money Belt | Tattoo | Fifth Columnist | Sabotage | Saboteur

Cast

Ronald Reagan	...	Brass Bancroft
John Litel	...	Saxby
Lya Lys	...	Hilda Riker
James Stephenson	...	Joe Garvey
Eddie Foy Jr.	...	Gabby Watters
Robert Warwick	...	Doctor Finchley
Victor Zimmerman	...	Rumford
William Gould	...	Admiral Winfield
Kenneth Harlan	...	Commander Wayne
Frank Wilcox	...	Hotel Clerk
Owen King	...	George Hayden
Dick Rich	...	John Kramer
Charles Brokaw	...	Otto
Helen Lynd	...	Dolly
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lane Chandler	...	Flagship Radio Officer (uncredited)
Cliff Clark	...	Police Chief at Morgue (uncredited)
Richard Clayton	...	Sailor Bringing Radiogram (uncredited)
Donald Curtis	...	Quartermaster (uncredited)
Alan Davis	...	Dirigible Lt. C.O. Bell (uncredited)
John Deering	...	Radio Announcer (voice) (uncredited)
John Hamilton	...	Agent Hargrave (uncredited)
Selmer Jackson	...	Capt. Riddell - Naval Hospital Doctor (uncredited)
Reid Kilpatrick	...	Continental Airport Radio Operator (uncredited)
Mike Lally	...	Hargraves' Radio Operator (uncredited)
Alexander Lockwood	...	Dirigible Officer (uncredited)
Charles Marsh	...	Sunnyvale Radio Officer (uncredited)
Frank Mayo	...	Dr. Delby - Prison Hospital Doctor (uncredited)
John 'Skins' Miller	...	Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Carlyle Moore Jr.	...	Sunnyvale Radio Operator (uncredited)
Jack Mower	...	Collins - Police Chemist (uncredited)
Wedgwood Nowell	...	Flagship Admiral (uncredited)
Paul Panzer	...	Hans -,a Henchman (uncredited)
Paul Phillips	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Lon Poff	...	Morgue Attendant (uncredited)
Jeffrey Sayre	...	Prescott - Dirigible Radioman (uncredited)
Charles Sherlock	...	Zeppelin Navigator (uncredited)
Garland Smith	...	Dirigible Officer (uncredited)
Edwin Stanley	...	Congressman Courtney Rice (uncredited)
Julie Stevens	...	Naval Hospital Nurse (uncredited)
Claude Wisberg	...	Hotel Bellhop (uncredited)

Directed by
Lewis Seiler

Writing credits
Raymond L. Schrock		(original screen play) (as Raymond Schrock)

Produced by
Bryan Foy	....	associate producer (uncredited)
Hal B. Wallis	....	executive producer (uncredited)
Jack L. Warner	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Cinematography by
Ted D. McCord		(director of photography) (as Ted McCord)

Film Editing by
Frank Magee		(film editor)

Art Direction by
Stanley Fleischer

Costume Design by
Howard Shoup		(gowns)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William Kissell	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Robert B. Lee	....	sound

Music Department
William Lava	....	composer: music cues (uncredited)
Max Steiner	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Other crew
Harry Seymour	....	dialogue director

Production Companies

• Warner Bros (presents) (A Warner Bros.-First National Picture)

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1940) (USA) (theatrical) (as Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.)
• Warner Home Video (2010) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Turner Entertainment  DVD package design
• Warner Bros. Entertainment  DVD package design

Also Known As:

Runtime:

55 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | USA:Approved (PCA #5757) | USA:TV-G (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros

Trivia:

Final scenes shot on location at Los Angeles Metropolitan Airport (Van Nuys Airport). These scenes taken on Waterman Drive which is same location as used in Casablanca (1942).

Goofs:

Factual errors: Admiral Winfield, aboard the dirigible, is referred to as Chief of Naval Operaitons, but wears the stripes of a rear admiral. An unnamed admiral aboard a surface ship wears the stripes of a full admiral, the usual rank of CNO.

Quotes:

Brass Bancroft:Sabotage?
Saxby:Yes, but we're primarily interested n the body of a hobo that was found dead in the wreckage. He was wearing a money belt containing fifty thousand dollars.
Gabby Watters:[Whistles] A little spending money! He must have been king of the hobos!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Reagans (2003) (TV)

'B' Movie? 'B' as in beautiful

"B" as in "basic" and "B" as in "Brass Bancroft," this B-movie series was fairly typical of the fare turned out by studios, partly to give training and a build-up to new actors or directors or writers, and partly just to pump out product to fill the bills at theaters.

"B" movie didn't mean "bad": It just meant lower -- or low -- budget.

Even in his obituaries, less-than-knowledgeable, or less-than-honest, writers kept calling Ronald Reagan "a B movie actor," continuing to carp probably because they didn't agree with what they understood his political philosophy to be. (For people who don't know the history, let me add this word: Being anti-communist was an unforgivable sin in many segments of the media, including even motion pictures.)

Many, if not most, actors began their careers making B movies. Reagan graduated to A features, apparently right after making "Murder in the Air." And his performance in this film was one reason: He was likable, good looking (though kinda skinny without his shirt), and believable in the action scenes.

John Litel was a superlative actor, keeping busy for nearly 40 years, and giving good performances always.

Others in the cast did a good job, some were even great, but most stayed unknown and viewers today might, mistakenly, judge a film by the names connected thereto.

Instead, they should suspend their disbelief, remember the context, and sit back and enjoy.