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Ceiling Zero

  • 1936
  • Approved
  • 1h 35m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
752
YOUR RATING
James Cagney in Ceiling Zero (1936)
AdventureDramaRomance

War veteran pilots Dizzy Davis, Texas Clark and Jake Lee are working in an airline in Newark. Dizzy is flirting with the girlfriend of a younger pilot and, due to this, he feigns illness to ... Read allWar veteran pilots Dizzy Davis, Texas Clark and Jake Lee are working in an airline in Newark. Dizzy is flirting with the girlfriend of a younger pilot and, due to this, he feigns illness to get Texas to take his flight assignment to Cleveland. Returning from Cleveland to Newark, ... Read allWar veteran pilots Dizzy Davis, Texas Clark and Jake Lee are working in an airline in Newark. Dizzy is flirting with the girlfriend of a younger pilot and, due to this, he feigns illness to get Texas to take his flight assignment to Cleveland. Returning from Cleveland to Newark, Texas' plane crashes attempting to land on the airfield under extremely bad weather circum... Read all

  • Director
    • Howard Hawks
  • Writers
    • Frank Wead
    • Morrie Ryskind
  • Stars
    • James Cagney
    • Pat O'Brien
    • June Travis
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.7/10
    752
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Howard Hawks
    • Writers
      • Frank Wead
      • Morrie Ryskind
    • Stars
      • James Cagney
      • Pat O'Brien
      • June Travis
    • 7User reviews
    • 8Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win

    Photos11

    James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, and June Travis in Ceiling Zero (1936)
    James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, and June Travis in Ceiling Zero (1936)
    James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Stuart Erwin, Isabel Jewell, and June Travis in Ceiling Zero (1936)
    James Cagney in Ceiling Zero (1936)
    James Cagney in Ceiling Zero (1936)
    James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, and June Travis in Ceiling Zero (1936)
    James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Edward Gargan, Carlyle Moore Jr., and Henry Wadsworth in Ceiling Zero (1936)
    James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Martha Tibbetts, and June Travis in Ceiling Zero (1936)
    James Cagney and June Travis in Ceiling Zero (1936)
    James Cagney, June Travis, and Henry Wadsworth in Ceiling Zero (1936)

    Top cast

    Edit
    James Cagney
    James Cagney
    • Dizzy Davis
    Pat O'Brien
    Pat O'Brien
    • Jake L. Lee
    June Travis
    June Travis
    • Tommy Thomas
    Stuart Erwin
    Stuart Erwin
    • Texas Clarke
    Barton MacLane
    Barton MacLane
    • Al Stone
    Henry Wadsworth
    Henry Wadsworth
    • Tay Lawson
    Martha Tibbetts
    • Mary Miller Lee
    Isabel Jewell
    Isabel Jewell
    • Lou Clarke
    Craig Reynolds
    Craig Reynolds
    • Joe Allen
    Dick Purcell
    Dick Purcell
    • Smiley
    • (as Dick Purcell)
    Carlyle Moore Jr.
    Carlyle Moore Jr.
    • Eddie Payson
    Addison Richards
    Addison Richards
    • Fred Adams
    Garry Owen
    Garry Owen
    • Mike Owens
    Edward Gargan
    Edward Gargan
    • Doc Wilson
    Robert Light
    Robert Light
    • Les Bogan
    James Bush
    James Bush
    • Buzz Gordon
    Pat West
    • Baldy
    Bill Elliott
    Bill Elliott
    • Transportation Agent
    • (as Gordon Elliott)
    • Director
      • Howard Hawks
    • Writers
      • Frank Wead
      • Morrie Ryskind(uncredited)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      After the 1993 VHS release, legal complications reared their ugly heads, and this title was taken off the market; as a result there has, so far, never been a DVD release, and except for a single presentation in May 1994, it's never been broadcast on Turner Classic Movies. The remake, International Squadron (1941), also fell into the same legal quagmire and has never been released on VHS nor DVD nor aired on TCM. These are the only James Cagney and Ronald Reagan titles to remain legally unavailable for public viewing at this time.
    • Connections
      Referenced in Let's Stalk Spinach (1951)
    • Soundtracks
      Dear Old Pal of Mine
      (uncredited)

      Music by Gitz Rice

      Lyrics by Harold A. Robe

    User reviews7

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    Not vintage, but still Hawks!
    'Ceiling Zero' fits quite neatly into the central part of his 'oeuvre'. The classical Hawks' hero is honourable and heroic, but flawed. 'Dizzy' Davis fits firmly and squarely into this archetype. His womanising and recklessness precedes him, and is the cause on one of the film's twin tragedies. But this is offset by daring and bravery that is 'de rigeur' for mail pilots of the era. It is very rarely in films of this era that the 'hero' could still be the villain with just a few minutes to go, but that is effectively the case here. As in many of Hawks' finest films, the opening sequence serves as a contrasting miniature morality play that sets the ensuing drama into focus. Here it is a cowardly pilot who, lost in poor visibility, bails out of his plane without thought for the financial consequences for his employers. It is no accident that the company at the heart of the film is 'Federal Airlines'. Many of Hawks' films make exquisite political allegories, and this is no exception. Read the 'fog' as the Great Depression, Dizzy as the reckless aspect of the American entrepreneurial spirit and Jake as The President…

    But there is more… psychologically it works a treat too. Jake and Dizzy share the same heroic wartime background. It emerges that they share the same taste in women too. To some extent, they represent two aspects of the same character – it is significant that during the climactic moments of Texas' final approach to the airfield, they keep switching roles, with first one then the other taking charge of the situation. Both of them also show the same moral flexibility – Dizzy by exchanging places with Tommy's boyfriend, Jake by being willing to distort his professional judgement to save Dizzy's flying career.

    In spite of all of this, 'Ceiling Zero' cannot really be placed at the same level as the truly great Hawks masterpieces – El Dorado, To Have & Have Not, Bringing Up Baby and, significantly, Only Angels Have Wings. At the end of the film, one doesn't feel that one has really known the characters. But, considering its vintage, it is an entirely worthy work that gives us clear indications of the wonders to come.

    It should be absolutely essential viewing for anyone wishing to acquaint themselves with the an important work of one of America's greatest artists, in any discipline, of the twentieth century. Another interesting parallel is Ford's 'Air Mail'which has a similar story also originating in Frank Wead.
    helpful•5
    3
    • Balthazar-5
    • Nov 17, 2005

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 16, 1936 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Flughöhe: Null
    • Filming locations
      • Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production companies
      • Cosmopolitan Productions
      • Warner Bros.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 35 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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