They Flew Alone

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.

Thoroughly conventional biography of a rather unconventional woman. Makes for good irony, that, but a rather dull, flat film. The ennui is especially pronounced in the first half hour which is basically a washing machine cycle of Girl Breaks Record, Girl Gets Lionized, Men Pontificate Upon Girl's Success, Girl Breaks Record...Things get a bit more lively when Robert Newton's self destructive alkie (a Newton specialty, taken from his real life travails) shares the cockpit with her (no pun intemded) but at no point does anything, either in the air or on land, rise to the level of even minimally compelling. Give it a generous C plus for its refreshing for 1942 anti sexist message and for Anna Neagle, a beautiful, intelligent actress who almost breaks through the layers of plaster saintliness encrusting her character.

PS...Lousy title. Sounds like a Buffalo area eatery owned by Kathy Hochul. Brit title ("They Flew Alone") woulda been better.

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.

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.