They Flew Alone

This film is a bit "hambone," but when you filter out the time frame (1941) and the great actor Robert Newton, memorable as Long John Silver 9 years later and Anne Neagle, it works. The story does highlight the career of the struggle women had to gain recognition on the same level as men. But, it might be a bit slow for modern tastes. Still, I love watching Newton, who tragically died at 51 in 1956. Neagle went on to make other films, but Newton stole the scenes, in my book. Check it out.

Amy Johnson (Anna Neagle) works hard to learn about aviation and becomes a pioneering woman flyer. She tries to get backers for a flight to Australia, but no one is willing. In 1930, she flies to Australia on her own anyways and becomes a media darling. She falls for fellow flyer Jim Mollison (Robert Newton).

Her first big flight could be more dramatic. This is a bland biopic and the romance lacks heat. They never took the time to sell the relationship. The competition between the two and his jealousy is actually the most intriguing part of their relationship. In 1941, the real Amy Johnson would die while flying for the war effort. The movie does something weird and I don't think they actually say she died. At most, it's a montage like life flashing before her eyes. Of course, it's wartime and this ends with a patriotic call to arms. If only, the biopic part is more compelling.

This film tells the story of Amy Johnson, the first female pilot to make all sorts of solo flights and set records in the 1930s. She meets fellow aviator Jim Mollison who, likewise, sets all kinds of records in what can be seen as a rivalry. Fate brings them together and they marry. However, the marriage has problems and then the 2nd World War breaks out where they both take their places and play a role. Unfortunately, for Amy...

Anna Neagle portrays Amy Johnson and Robert Newton plays Jim Mollison and it's not a bad film. It certainly seems shorter than its hour and three quarters running time. We have the obvious patriotic call for all women to join in the war effort at the film's end and it's a shame that Neagle tries a northern accent. She kind of slips in and out of it and sounds like a posh person putting on a northern accent. Still, we get an accurate portrayal of events in her life including a glimpse of the alcoholism that was to plague Mollison. What do you expect, he's Scottish!

The story of Amy Johnson may be a positive and inspiring one, but this film fictionalization of it never flies higher than a routine, check-all-the-boxes aviator yarn. What could be described as primitive, even for 1942, special effects really mar the suspense points, when the important flights she and/or her husband undertake. The pathetic miniatures, and obvious shoddy backgrounds give the film an uneven, cheap look. The shots of what the pilots see never match well, and at no time do we ever feel the supposed danger from the scenes of looking in on the cockpits, it's just so obviously a nice safe, immobile prop. The reliance on newspaper headlines (or the British equivalent, the newsagent's heralds) to help the story along, is truly ridiculous, more than any other film I believe I have ever seen. I don't know the reason why, but the print shown on TCM seems to be the original British film with the title switched out from the American version, though that copy is obviously a low-quality, perhaps 16mm print. But more strangely, there seems to be inept, ham-handed editing throughout, shortening scenes abruptly, or crashing out as a new scenes start. Why? If there were two prints at hand, couldn't a more complete one be assembled from them? Even second-choice quality material is better than missing altogether.

Anna Neagle gives a sterling performance in this otherwise dreary and pedestrian biopic of flying ace Amy Johnson - she even manages a very credible northern accent for a lady with such natural RP delivery. Anna was always slighted as an actress of limited range, promoted to major stardom by her besotted husband Herbert Wilcox, however of the two personalities, Wilcox was really the lesser talent. His direction of this - and every Wilcox/Neagle film - is uninspiring and flat. No wonder Anna rarely came across brilliantly on the screen, under her husband's leaden workmanship. How sad that the man who did pick her from nowhere and promote her to stardom was a director of such limited skill: had she been spotted by a Hitchcock, or a Korda, for example, who knows how much more Miss Neagle might have brought to her roles.