Sky Raiders (1941)

Enemy spies try to steal a new fighter plane.

Directors:

Ford Beebe, Ray Taylor

Writers:

Eliot Gibbons (story), Clarence Upson Young (screenplay),

Stars:

Donald Woods, Billy Halop, Robert Armstrong

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Donald Woods	...	Captain Bob Dayton / John Kane
Billy Halop	...	Tim Bryant
Robert Armstrong	...	Lieutenant Ed Carey
Eduardo Ciannelli	...	Felix Lynx (as Edward Cianelli)
Kathryn Adams	...	Mary Blake
Jacqueline Dalya	...	Innis Clair
Jean Fenwick	...	The Countess Irene [Ch. 4]
Reed Hadley	...	Henchman Caddens
Irving Mitchell	...	R.S. Hinchfield
Edgar Edwards	...	Henchman Teal [Chs. 3-6]
John Holland	...	Henchman Hess
Roy Gordon	...	Maj. Gen. Fletcher [Chs. 1-2, 4, 11-12]
Alex Callam	...	Capt. Long [Chs. 1-2, 4, 11-12]
Phil Warren	...	Bakeman [Ch. 4] (as Philip Warren)
Bill Cody Jr.	...	Jack Hurd

Storyline

Former World War One ace Captain Bob Dayton (Donald Woods), with his buddy, Lieutenant Ed Carey (Robert Armstrong), operates Sky Raiders Inc., an airplane manufacturer. Dayton has perfected a fast pursuit plane intended for the U.S. Army. But Felix Lynx (Eduardo Ciannelli), an agent for a foreign government, has a spy in the Sky Raiders office that keeps him informed about the new airplane.

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Plot Keywords:

b movie | princess | serial | nevada | airport | 

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Taglines:

The most sensational sky-serial ever made!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 April 1941 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Glendale Grand Central Air Terminal - Grandview Avenue, Glendale, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

227 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Chapter Titles:

• 1. Wings of Disaster
• 2. Death Rides the Storm
• 3. The Toll of Treachery
• 4. Battle in the Clouds
• 5. The Fatal Blast
• 6. Stark Terror
• 7. Flaming Doom
• 8. The Plunge of Terror
• 9. Torturing Trials
• 10. Flash of Fate
• 11. Terror of the Storm
• 12. Winning Warriors!

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Connections

Edited into The Great Alaskan Mystery (1944)

User Reviews

Too Much Lady Luck

Captain Robert Dayton, former World War I ace, has started Sky Raiders, Inc. plane manufacturing and has created a new stealth flier. This plane has also caught the eye of Felix Lynx, enemy spy, who wants the plane to sell to a foreign power. Lynx' confederates try to capture the plane or get Dayton to give them the plans, but Dayton, and friends Ed Carey, secretary Mary Blake, and young flier Tim Bryant foil their pursuits. The serial is way too short on plot and character utilization, but goes way heavy on footage of stunt flying and way too much plot padding (especially from a early 40's Universal) Woods does not seem to be the effective serial lead (but that's mainly because of plot), Ciannelli is hardly in the serial enough to be effective, and the rest of the cast is only ho hum. The plot could have been filled out more if the villains were Nazis or Fifth Columnists, but its very weak here. The cliffhangers are practically all car or plane crashes, and even has one w/ Dayton jumping out of a low flying plane without a scratch or bruise. Rating, based on serials, 4.