fedya-1 Review of Murder in the Air

Murder in the Air (1940)

Don't blame Reagan for this movie's failings

[5/10 · 31 July 2007]

Ronald Reagan the actor is often panned, largely in my opinion because of his politics. Those who would denigrate his acting career should watch a movie like "Murder in the Air". It was designed as a B-movie, and barely reaches that level. But the reasons for that are not Reagan's fault. Reagan is saddled with a threadbare plot about saboteurs wanting to destroy a government weapon, and he's a T-man who has to infiltrate the ring. This is bad enough, but the climax is set aboard a dirigible, which, three years after the explosion of the Hindenburg, is wholly unrealistic. Worse, Reagan's cast alongside a bunch of near-nobodies (Lya Lys??); and, with a running time of only 55 minutes, there's not much time for a good story to develop. But Reagan tries his best, and succeeds in making the movie reasonably watchable.