Love Takes Flight

Love Takes Flight is one of those 1930's Hollywood films that can't think of anything more exciting than a story about Hollywood. In this case, Hollywood, airplanes, and aircraft personnel. I was somewhat disappointed in this film, though a large part of that was simply a reflection on the attitudes of the day. Bruce Cabot is always fun to watch, even though he can come across as a bit stiff. Best of the cast, in my opinion, was Beatrice Roberts as Joan Lawson, the airline hostess.

The story revolves around Joan, and Neil Bradshaw (a pilot) who are planning a record-breaking flight to Manila. Both, at different times, are offered Hollywood contracts (co-incidentally with the same producer and leading star)--one accepts, and one declines. This causes many problems, and much angst as they make decisions about their futures. Will the lure of Hollywood stars or starlets pull them apart, or can it bring them back together? Are their dreams more important than a fat paycheck from the studio? The final answers are a little forced, but it's not a bad little flick.

During the 1930s and 40s, there were many smaller film companies which were collectively known as 'Poverty Row Studios'. They were low budget companies...and they rented space at larger studios, often filming at night in order to save even more money. For the most part, their movies were B-movies and they were cheap...very cheap products. Of all these companies, I think one of the worst was Grand National...which traditionally made some of the lousiest Bs of the day. So, when I saw "Love Takes Flight" was from Grand National, I expected very little.

A big time Hollywood producer is aboard an airline flight. He is quite taken with the flight attendant and offers Joan a contract. But she is in love with flying...and the pilot, Brad (Bruce Cabot)...so she refuses the offer. Soon after this, Brad has to fly a famous actress and she is so taken with him, she insists the studio offer him a contract...and Brad snaps it up! So what about Joan? And, what about her secretly being in love with him? And, what about that actress who has set her eyes on him?

This is a highly unusual story because much of it is set aboard an American Airlines airplane (a DC-3, if you care)...and in movies of the day, nearly all were set aboard fictional airlines. Perhaps American paid for this product placement or offered the free use of their planes.

So is the story any good? Well, it's not brilliant but it is very watchable....and for Grand National, that's high praise! On the plus side, Cabot is good, as always. On the negative, some of the other actors were not nearly as good. And, the whole notion of pilots and flight attendants being discovered and offered contracts without a screen test...well, that's pretty silly.

Beatrice Roberts is an air stewardess. She wants to become a pilot and is in love with pilot Bruce Cabot, who is training her. He wants to make the first solo flight from the US to the Philippines. However, a chance bit of publicity winds up with him as a movie star. Miss Roberts continues her aspirations.

It's the only movie directed by Conrad Nagel, and this Grand National Picture is pretty good, if a bit underwritten. Nagel shows some real abilities with direction, making Cabot's usual flat affect seem shy, shows cowboy actor Bill Elliott to be a good romantic performer, and actually creates some sympathy for comic nullity Grady Sutton, before turning him loose with second-banana material in the last few minutes. With Astrid Allwyn, Edwin Maxwell, and in his last on-screen appearance, Jack Duffy.

Bruce Cabot and Beatrice Roberts star in this B picture comedy/romance about a pilot and a stewardess with ambitions to be a pilot. Both of them get sidetracked in their romance when Roberts is offered a Hollywood contract and Cabot actually gets one.

Before becoming a commercial airline pilot, Cabot was a stunt flier and during a publicity stunt when he agrees to fly movie star Astrid Allwyn to the East Coast. They're forced down and are missing for a couple of days. When they turn up alive Cabot's natural charisma comes forth on the newsreels and he gets to star opposite Allwyn in an aviation picture.

All of which is too much for Roberts who even drops playboy Bill Elliott from courting her on the rebound to take up his father's offer to fly from Los Angeles to Manila solo.

I can't say more other than Cabot's alpha male ego is bruised and he does something about it.

Allwyn who is best known for playing Claude Rains daughter in Mr. Smith Goes To Washington gives a nice turn as an egotistical movie star. Something I'm sure she saw a great deal of in her career.

This is a pleasant enough film and no doubt Roberts might have been the inspiration for Doris Day in Julia and Karen Black in Airport 75.