Thus is a 2 reeler short film which looks to have some remade-for-sound scenes top and tailing the silent mid section. It stars 'the Collegiates' who seem to be a Universal Pictures rah-rah team with antics set on a campus in LA. Charming he men jocks, the group nerd (Doc) and a fat guy and other gals and college guys make up a 1928 Bowery Boys gang -- or even a twenty- something group like The Big Rascals: hence The Collegiates. Whether this was a series I do not know but it seems to be. In this episode, one of the guys somehow is a pilot of a jalopy plane and he gets his pal to pretend to be him because his dad would not like him to do something as dangerous as flying. Doc saves the day by inventing some automatic flying device. It is all very flapper and jock 20s cute with handsome men and dizzy dames running about supposedly on a University campus. An un-billed young Andy Devine makes an appearance as a pal at the window. It is probably what you'd want to see from a 1920s teen talkie full of peppy boys and girls. The sound scenes are light years ahead of the silent scenes and add a lot to the fun of the film. It seems to go flat when the silent footage abruptly starts...complete with title cards.
2 Reviews
Apparently part of a series, this is the only episode I have seen.
planktonrules1 April 2012
Like many films made at the time in Hollywood, it's part sound/part silent. That's because with the advent of sound, many silent pictures had small portions re-shot with sound--and they were marketed as talking pictures--though much of the film is totally silent and uses intertitle cards. Here in "Flying High", the first portion is sound and the very end--and the rest silent.
The story is about a guy who is seen as a hero--crashing his plane to avoid hurting people on the ground. However, he was NOT the guy--but the real hero wants him to pretend to be the pilot. But, he has no idea how to fly and the other college students want to see him in action. So, they have an idea--they'll have him sit in the plane and pretend to fly when someone else is actually doing all the flying. Naturally, since this is a comedy, the whole thing backfires--but everyone insists that he is still a hero even after he tells them the truth. Cute and with a few clever moments--but not enough to make it a film I'd rush out to see.
The story is about a guy who is seen as a hero--crashing his plane to avoid hurting people on the ground. However, he was NOT the guy--but the real hero wants him to pretend to be the pilot. But, he has no idea how to fly and the other college students want to see him in action. So, they have an idea--they'll have him sit in the plane and pretend to fly when someone else is actually doing all the flying. Naturally, since this is a comedy, the whole thing backfires--but everyone insists that he is still a hero even after he tells them the truth. Cute and with a few clever moments--but not enough to make it a film I'd rush out to see.
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