Danger Flight

John Trent stars as Tailspin Tommy in the third of three Monogram movies that year. based on the popular comic strip. In this one, he succors young Tommy Baker, to get him interested in model airplanes. When Whitey helps rescue Tommy from a plane crash, he attracts national attention, but some crooks are after a payroll Trent was carrying that was lost when the plane went down, and get him tangled up in it. It's clearly intended for Saturday matinees, but has some good model effects by Fred Jackman Jr.

The comic strip version of Tailspin Tommy started in 1928 in the wake of Lindbergh's transatlantic flight. It was the first aviation strip and by 1931 was appearing in 250 newspapers. Competition from similar strips and waning interest ended its run in 1942. Tommy also appeared in a pair of serials released in 1934 and 1935.

Not sure I'd be too happy about being flown anywhere by a pilot with the nickname Tailspin, but Tommy seems an able enough sort, even if he does crash land his plane at one point. Somehow, his girlfriend spots a tiny toy plane from high above, but not the trail of wreckage Tommy must have left in his wake. A minor film with a slight plot; real-life pilot Trent didn't last in movies, but he's pretty good here.

I'll admit, I enjoyed Danger Flight more than I care to admit. This tale, rather bizarrely nicely sliced into two stories, focuses on Tailspin Tommy Thompkins, a pilot who's not really a superhero, sometimes takes bad advice, falls into stupid traps, and fails to win any fights he's in. I guess this is what makes him so appealing. Anyways, this story essentially follows some dark shady character's attempt to steal the payroll shipment that Tommy is delivering. In the first half, we have a nifty story about how a kid named Whitey (!!) is reformed and how Tailspin is no good at flying at night! The second half, Tailspin falls for a stupid trap and has to rely on others (namely the police) to help get him out of the jam he's in. (he's conveniently knocked out). Full of funny process shots, hooty dialogue, (Betty: "The visibility is zero!" Chief: "Yeah, that's pretty low!") but has an amazing sense of heart and thrills about it, Danger Flight is a pleasant surprise!

Tailspin Tommy was a hit in comics and on the radio. His exploits were made into features and serials. This is the second feature I've seen, and like the first one I really could have spent the time cleaning a my teeth.

The majority of the film concerns Whitey who is a tough no good kid. Tailspin shows him some kindness and Whitey comes around. When Tailspin crashes during a storm Whitey manages to find the crashed plane and rescue his friend. Whitey's really no good brother then uses him to lure Tailspin into a trap so the money he was delivering can be stolen.

Clearly aimed at the kiddie crowd this is a tough film to slog through for adults or anyone over eight. Filled with bad acting, bad plotting and awful dialog (the storm sequence is hysterically awful) this film makes you want to shake your head in disbelief, adults really made this thing? While it does dance perilously close to the bad film line it manages to remain somewhat watchable once its bludgeoned you to get its wave length. I can't really recommend this film to anyone simply because there are so many other things you could be doing instead (worse its a bit too inept to make fun of because it keeps shooting itself in its foot)

Given the choice watch the serials instead

Comic strip star Tailspin Tommy befriends a surly youth who likes to play with model planes. Can Tommy fly one DANGER FLIGHT after another and still have time to turn this child into a productive young member of society?

Monogram had a well-deserved reputation for knowing its audience and never worrying it with too many challenges. In this case, the producers have, rather cleverly, brought a rather generic pilot hero from the comic strips to life by intermixing the standard flier daring-do with a unique plot about model airplanes, and a not so unique troubled youth with a criminal brother plot. All of this in effect makes the kid the protagonist of the story, and Tailspin himself a supporting character available for firm jawed daring-do during terribly stormy weather and the inevitable kidnapping/robbery plot. The result is good for Monogram -- it moves quickly enough that the gaping geographical holes in the plot are easy enough to ignore.