Junior G-Men of the Air (1942)

A group of street kids battle a terrorist gang led by a Japanese spy.

Directors:

Lewis D. Collins, Ray Taylor

Writers:

Paul Huston (original screenplay), George H. Plympton (original screenplay),

Stars:

Billy Halop, Gene Reynolds, Lionel Atwill

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Billy Halop	...	Billy 'Ace' Holden
Gene Reynolds	...	Eddie Holden
Lionel Atwill	...	The Baron
Frank Albertson	...	Jerry Markham
Richard Lane	...	Agent Don Ames
Huntz Hall	...	'Bolts' Larson
Gabriel Dell	...	'Stick' Munsey
Bernard Punsly	...	'Creaseball' Plunkett
Frankie Darro	...	Jack
David Gorcey	...	Double Face Gordon
Turhan Bey	...	Henchman Araka
John Bleifer	...	Henchman Beal
Eddie Foster	...	Henchman Comora (as Edward Foster)
John Bagni	...	Henchman Augar
Noel Cravat	...	Henchman Monk

Storyline

The third of Universal's three serials headlining the Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys (preceded by "Junior G-Men" and "Sea Raiders") is the 55th of Universal's sound-era serials (followed "Gang Busters" and ahead of "Overland Mail") and is the last 12-chapter serial (despite some source that lists it as 13 chapters) released by Universal; "Overland Mail" had 15 episodes while the remaining 13 serials released by Universal Pictures (none of which were ever distributed to theaters by MCA/Universal which didn't exist in the years that Universal produced serials) were all 13 episodes. This one finds the gang, Billy "Ace" Holden, "Bolts" Larson, "Stick" Munsey and "Greaseball" Plunkett working in an airplane/auto junk yard owned by Ace's father. Their truck is stolen by members of a fifth column organization, the Order of the Black Dragonfly, but when government agent Don Ames returns the recovered truck, Ace, who distrusts law men, refuses to give Ames a description of the men who ...

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Plot Keywords:

serial | pilot | little tough guys | hyphen in title | pilot hero | 

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Taglines:

America's youthful heroes...Smashing the Axis spies of the skies...in NEW amazing adventures..!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 June 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

Polícia Aérea

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

225 min 225 min (12 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Chapter Titles: (1) Wings Aflame; (2) The Plunge of Peril; (3) Hidden Danger; (4) The Tunnel of Terror; (5) The Black Dragon Strikes; (6) Flaming Havoc; (7) The Death Mist; (8) Satan Fires the Fuse; (9) Satanic Sabotage; (10) Trapped in Blazing 'Chute; (11) Undeclared War; (12) Civilian Courage Conquers.

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Goofs

When Huntz Hall, Bernard Punsly and Gabriel Dell try to hide Noel Cravat in the closet, the closet moves.

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Connections

Follows Junior G-Men (1940)

User Reviews

Dead End G-Men Fly Again

Like the typical Bowery boy feature film, this "Junior G-Men of the Air" follow-up to "Junior G-Men" (1940) has the group playing similar characters, but with little continuity between appearances. For the final of three "Universal" serials, "The Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys" leader Billy Halop (as Billy "Ace" Holden) and little brother Gene Reynolds (as Eddie) are aviation enthusiasts. Their truck is stolen by "The Black Dragon Society" of gangsters. These ruthless Japanese warriors, led by Lionel Atwill (as "The Baron"), want to take over the United States of America. The Holden truck is retrieved by US government agents, who want young Halop's help in identifying the culprits...

Bad boy Halop nixes helping the "coppers," so they employ "another boy" to play intermediary...

With previous "Junior G-Man" pal Kenneth Howell unavailable, Frank Albertson (as Jerry Markham) is called into action - however, the actor looks twice his character's age. Par for the course. The most clearly defined group are four (of six) original "Dead End Kids" Halop, Huntz Hall (as "Bolts" Larson), Gabriel Dell (as "Stick" Munsey) and Bernard Punsly (as "Greaseball" Plunkett). "Six courageous youth" are formed with brother Reynolds and "boy" Albertson. They form the team for this adventure, but those will peripheral Bowery vision will note David Gorcey and Frankie Darro as significant others. Future mainstay William "Billy" Benedict (as Whitey) even makes an appearance, in Chapter 11.

**** Junior G-Men of the Air (1942) Ray Taylor, Lewis D. Collins ~ Billy Halop, Gene Reynolds, Frank Albertson, Huntz Hall