The Last Flight

I have never seen a 1930's American film like this one! Perhaps this is because it was directed by German director William Dieterle when he was fresh off the boat. Apart from a slightly pontifical doctor musing about the difficulties of war-time flyers adjusting to civilian life near the beginning of the film, this is a subtle, evocative, under-stated and powerful depiction of this mal-adjustment. Following the end of World War One a group of American flyer buddies go on a six months long bender in Paris and Lisbon. They link up with a rich young woman, beautifully played by Helen Chandler, who drinks as hard as they do. They are all a little in love with death and wander from one meaningless adventure to another in pursuit of it. It is here that the film encounters some difficulties - making meaninglessness dramatically interesting is very difficult.

But the actors do an admirable job in suggesting the huge pain under the jovial partying. Richard Barthelmess was one of the greatest screen actors ever, and his talents are well utilised here. Johnny Mack Brown is a revelation as the rougher Bill - who knew this cowboy star was such a fine actor? David Manners is also a surprise, much better here than in "Dracula", he proves to be capable of doing great emotional work. Elliott Nugent as the heavily traumatised Francis is unforgettable, and Walter Byron is fine as an unscrupulous hanger-on.

This is not a perfect film, but it is a brave one, and is absolutely essential to an understanding of the mood after World War One. It is no surprise that the writer was also responsible for "Wings" (1927) - his understanding of the relationships between men in and after wartime is phenomenal. Make sure you see it.

The Last Flight is one of the more unique movies to come out of 1930's Hollywood (possibly in part due to the film being directed by German newcomer to Hollywood, William Dieterle). It didn't hold my attention on first viewing with its surprising plotless structure but the odd nature of the movie made me want to give it another try. The Hemingway like Lost Generation film follows a group of Great War veterans leading a shallow and hopeless existence as they spend their nights drinking and partying in Paris while making no attempt to properly readjust to civilian life ("Well there they go, out to face life, and their whole training was in preparation for death") - A tale which would be repeated throughout cinema with various wars.

The film is entirely driven by the rapport between the characters and the listlessness that covers their lives. Along the way, they met a metaphorical representation of their damaged states in the form of Niki (Helen Chandler). The first scene with this character really confused me on first viewing as it sounds like she's saying she is holding a man's "tea" rather than his "teeth". Why the men would get so excited over this? It's not clear if Nikki is a ditsy dame, constantly inebriated or just nuts. She doesn't mind just standing and holding the teeth of a stranger who wants to go out back and fight and even keeps turtles in a hotel bathroom.

I do love the exquisite Paris nightlife circa 1919 as presented in the film with the suits and the drinks, you really get a sense of the all the good (if pathetic on a deeper level) times they have (even if it's never explained how they fund their drinking adventures). Allow me to express my inner grumpy old man when compared to modern nightlife.

Richard Barthelmess gave some of the most memorable performances of the pre-code era, having the ability to convey the look of a damaged man as seen in the role of Cary Lockwood, the most sensible one of the ecliptic group. Likewise, there's also Frink (Walter Byron) and his sexual misconduct ("He is a member of the wandering hands society and has a grouping good time"), in which the men are shockingly tolerant of his behaviour as they call him out and criticise his actions but never expelling him from the group. Even after an attempted rape on a train the men only tell him to apologise and to never get out of line again.

The Last Flight reuses footage at the beginning from Barthelmess' previous war film, The Dawn Patrol; both are based on stories from John Monk Sanders and make for a great double feature. - The Last Flight is a film for a patient viewer but one which holds many nihilistic rewards.

I first read about The Last Flight maybe 20 years ago, in a book on movies by Tom Shales of the Washington Post. What I remember about his comments was that The Last Flight flopped at the box office and, as a result, movies of its type fell by the way side. In the Depression year of 1931, only MGM of the major studios turned a profit. Warner Bros. and its producing supervisor, the then-great Darryl Zanuck, did anything they could to attract paying customers, making some movies in two-strip Technicolor, some showing the dark side of life and giving a chance for their actresses to show as much skin as they could get away with. When The Last Flight finally made it to TCM last March 2004, I made sure to record it onto a DVDR. You would not know from looking at the movie it was made at Warner Bros., where the policy once filming started there were to be no script rewrites and few, if any, retakes to cut down on production costs (unlike MGM, whose Culver City studio had the nickname "retake valley"). From the montage at the start, showing through rapid cuts a well staged World War One battle, to the end, the pace almost never slackens. Sometimes, the message is heavy handed, as when the hospital officer physician describes the discharged aviator patients as "spent bullets." For the most part, though, the actions of the characters show the effects of the war trauma on their lives. Disabled veterans trying to make a go of their lives during peacetime is usually not a subject that was big box office except for the period right after World War Two. Richard Barthelmess usually played offbeat roles, in movies that did not score at the box office in the early thirties. By 1934, his relatively expensive Warner Bros. contract was up, and the studio released him.

Now, thanks to TCM, one of his forgotten pictures from the pre-Code era appears briefly from the film vault. Maybe The Last Flight did not do as well as expected at the box-office. This movie has one fine characteristic, it stands the test of time. To me, the movie seems to be a reflection of real people, even if their behavior is a little exaggerated to make a point. The Last Flight shows a world long gone, when the Hollywood dream factory could give the appearance of an effortless portrayal of people on the fringes of society. Whenever TCM shows this movie again, it is a must see.

German Director had just segued past the shores of The Statue of Liberty from his native Germany when he made this movie, thus its European movie. Some plot-driven cineastes may argue that nothing happens in this movie but that is exactly the point. It is what is potently called a character study in the grand tradition of "new wave". Richard Barthelmess headlines a cast of five friends who after the end of WWI, disillusioned bythe events and their injuries wonder aimlessly, lolling and cajoling in Paris. They run into a female character played by Helen Chandler who is much like them, except she has hope for life. The first act or first hour has the characters chatting away at night clubs, cafes, nightspots and anywhere else delivering some of the wittiest remarks I've ever heard on camera. The relationships though are set up by an opening montage which is pure silent cinema with its MTV-style cutting and reliefing of images in juxtapositionIt sets the tone for the rest of the movie. The dark shades worn by the one of the characters, day or night adds to the phantasm of the whole scenario. A love story emerges between Helen and Richard and not so unexpected tragic occur before the end. Someone, earlier has noted a similarity to Hemingway's "he lost generation" novella, THE SUN ALSO RISES which was made into a fairly staid affair in the fifties with Ava Gardner, but this make no mistake is much better and one of the unknown gems of thirties cinema.

WOW.... this film is excellent. The best "lost generation" film I've seen... perfectly captures the Hemingway/Fitzgerald feeling of hopelessness after WW I. It also boasts several terrific performances. Richard Barthelmess stars with the fragile Helen Chandler, Johnny Mack Brown, David Manners, Elliott Nugent, and Walter Byron as a group that boozes its way from Paris to Lisbon following the war.

Each has his/her wounds (physical or emotional) as they try to get their balance after the hideous war. Chandler's remark whenever she's confused is "I'll take vanilla." The film is full of wry humor and a deep sadness that is palpable.

Barthelmess is solid as always; Brown and Chandler are nothing short of superb. This is the first American film for German actor/director William Dieterle.

A must see film.