La signora prende il volo

Mike Dandridge (Jeff Chandler) has a most unusual job. He earns money shuttling various WWII surplus airplanes all over the world. Maggie (Lana Turner) works with him and after a whirlwind courtship, the pair marry. However, the pair never really seemed to have talked about marriage...their expectations, how their lives will change, etc.. Not surprisingly, when Maggie gets pregnant, she has to stay home with the baby...but Mike wants to continue living as before...spending days on end away from home shuttling planes for his business. In essence, Mike needs to grow up and face his responsibilities...which he steadfastly refuses to do. And, not surprisingly, the marriage is on the rocks. Is there any hope for Maggie, Mike and the baby?

This film has 'time-passer' written all over it. There is a certain ordinariness and blandness that the formula has in this film that kept me from really caring about any of the antics of this couple. Bland characters (with Chandler occasionally being rather bombastic) and pedestrian direction didn't help any. The climactic and exciting ending really was neither. The only thing I really liked was seeing all the nice WWII-era planes....and you know the film isn't much when you look forward to seeing the planes.

The s reenplay is a bore. The conflict an old tired story. Lana took herself far too seriously to even grasp the concept of comedy. Chandler isn't much better.

The Lady Takes A Flyer marks the first film that Lana Turner did post her MGM contract period. Universal Studios paired her with one of their leading leading men Jeff Chandler in this story about a pair of pilots who fall in love and get married and found an air charter business.

According to the Citadel Film Series book on the Films of Lana Turner, the film is based on a real life couple Mary and Jack Ford, married flyers who founded an air charter service post World War II. But the book also says that the film does not reflect their real lives and a picture in it shows they look nothing like our stars.

The problems between the two fliers come when Lana has a baby and has to cut down her flying hours. It isn't helped when Chandler hires another female pilot Andra Martin as part of the service.

The film will hardly be in the top 10 list for either Lana Turner or Jeff Chandler, but it's pleasant enough entertainment with a bit excitement in the end when both stars are flying separate planes to the United Kingdom in some rough weather.

I really don't know why the other reviews show this as such a badly made movie. I really enjoyed it. Jeff Chandler is terrifically masculine, and Lana Turner is his female counterpart. The ending has a lot of suspense, which I thoroughly enjoyed. And, as I've said already, I watch the ending repeatedly.

This film was not particularly well-made or entertaining. However, if you enjoy vintage airplanes and aviation, it might be worth viewing. The plot premise is a husband and wife team who ferry surplus World War II aircraft. There are some wonderful shots of aircraft of the era. Also, the final scene involves an aircraft being guided through a GCA (Ground Controlled Approach) at Bovington Air Force Base, England (it existed but has long since closed). While not completely accurate, it does give a nice view of the radar equipment of the day, and includes a handoff from the tower/approach controller to the GCA controller. Overall, I enjoyed the film. As a bonus, you will see a young Alan Hale and younger Jerry Paris in minor roles.