Polio breaks out in Rio de Janeiro, the serum is in Santiago and there's only one way to get the medicine where it's desperately needed: flown in by daring pilots who risk the treacherous we... Read allPolio breaks out in Rio de Janeiro, the serum is in Santiago and there's only one way to get the medicine where it's desperately needed: flown in by daring pilots who risk the treacherous weather and forbidding peaks of the Andes.Polio breaks out in Rio de Janeiro, the serum is in Santiago and there's only one way to get the medicine where it's desperately needed: flown in by daring pilots who risk the treacherous weather and forbidding peaks of the Andes.
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The story is based on a novel written by Antoine St. Exupery and the plot is similar to what American aviator and writer Frank Wead wrote in Ceiling Zero. The location in Wead's play is strictly American whereas this film has a French aviation company located in South America.
If you read what I wrote about Ceiling Zero it did not transfer well to the screen. But having not been a play on Broadway Night Flight did not have that burden to overcome. The air scenes are much better done here and filled with romance. There is also a paucity of dialog in those air scenes, it was almost like a return to the silent screen.
Clark Gable and Robert Montgomery's roles for the big name stars they were at the time, are rather small. Gable barely speaks at all. Montgomery only has a couple of scenes, including one with Lionel Barrymore after a tough flight where they're partying. William Gargan has a bit more dialog with wife Myrna Loy. Helen Hayes is married to Gable, both women sit on pins and needles waiting for their men to come home.
John Barrymore is the martinet general manager of the air company who I think goes overboard. I do not believe an American company would for one minute tolerate his methods. Brother Lionel with qualms is the man in charge with enforcing John's strict edicts. The film is mostly carried by the brothers.
Night Flight wears better than Ceiling Zero, but not nearly as good as Only Angels Have Wings which has a similar location and plot. Night Flight goes overboard into the melodramatic, but still holds the interest. And the special effects with the air scenes are still breathtaking. The highlight of the film shows the tragedy that unfolds for one of the fliers and is done without words, but with a great music score by Herbert Stothart, MGM's house composer.
Delivery of mail for those of us who use it in these days of the personal computer is taken for granted. Back in the days before advances in navigation and safety, before instrument flying, taking to the skies could be dangerous, but it was romantic in those days. An American pilot named Charles Lindbergh got his start flying in planes just like the ones seen here delivering mail. This review is dedicated to all those brave pioneers of aviation that you see depicted here in a story written by one of them.
What may seem conventional today, these elements were new in 1933. The use of silence - a ticking clock at a dramatic moment. A wonderful score, exceptional photography in the air and on the ground. The texture of rich background characters and extras. Exceptional editing! Death in the air is made so beautiful, romantic and horrifying all at the same time!
It's easy to laugh, but these were the days pilots were ALLOWED to bring alcohol along in the cockpit! This was little understood risky and dangerous work. And not only shown from one perspective. Each character has his own.
Reviews at the time noted all I've said and the public appreciated this and ate it up!
So if you can rise above your modern day aesthetics, I think you'll discover and amazing 1930s film! You know, they ain't making them anymore!
In Rio de Janeiro, bedridden Buster Phelps may die because his hospital has run out of the serum needed to keep the little boy alive. The desperately needed medicine is to be flown in from a hospital in Santiago, Chile. The first leg of the trip is given to pilot Robert Montgomery (as Auguste Pellerin), who encounters dangerous flying conditions. Rookie pilot Clark Gable (as Jules Fabian) also treads dangerous airwaves, while wife Helen Hayes frets over dinner. Another wife, Myrna Loy, worries the last leg of the trip could kill husband William Gargan. On the ground, the mission is controlled by hard-nosed Trans-Andean Airlines director John Barrymore (as Riviere), who must also keep itchy airline inspector Lionel Barrymore (as Robineau) at bay...
This star-studded offering from MGM, David O. Selznick and Clarence Brown must have disappointed many contemporary viewers. There are some exciting sequences, but narrative and characterizations are weak...
Antoine de Saint-Exupery, who wrote the original 1931 book, disliked this adaptation enough to prevent its distribution until Turner Classic Movies (TCM) obtained permission to screen "Night Flight" during their 2011 "TCM Classic Film Festival". It was also released on home video and had a world premiere showing on the TCM TV channel August 10, 2012. While not a great film, banishing "Night Flight" for this length of time was far too harsh.
****** Night Flight (10/6/33) Clarence Brown ~ John Barrymore, Helen Hayes, Lionel Barrymore, Clark Gable
Helen Hayes, whose most famous film role as Madelon Claudet is no doubt destined to be ignominiously dumped onto DVD-R via the Warner Archive, has lots of screen time here as the wife of a pilot (Jules - played by Clark Gable) who is waiting on her husband to return from his first night flight for a late night celebration supper. As his arrival is delayed more and more throughout the night, so grows her panic.
The oddest thing here is the misuse - or should I say lack of use - of Clark Gable. Throughout the film he is stuck in a plane, mute and motionless. Except for a few log entries that he makes and some of his facial expressions we are really denied a performance here or for that matter, an idea of what is going through his mind.
I'd say it's worthwhile just because it's such an odd departure from what MGM generally did in the 1930's plus it's been locked in the vaults for 75 years due to rights problems. It's interesting to see how Warner Home Video has taken almost a film school approach to what they put out on DVD in the last couple of years. Practically all of their documentaries on film history wind up on pressed DVD, but some pretty entertaining precodes, noirs, and even more modern films such as "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" wind up in the Warner Archive on DVD-R, a medium that doesn't usually have a life span greater than a couple of years.
Did you know
- TriviaIt was originally planned to show Clark Gable's character parachuting from his abandoned plane at an altitude of 25,000 feet. However, stuntman Ivan Unger, who was doubling for Gable, passed out at 20,000 feet due to lack of oxygen and the shot was never captured.
- GoofsAt about the 10-minute mark, the shadow of the Patagonia biplane (the one piloted by J. Fabian, played by Clark Gable) is shown over various parts of the pasture-lands of Argentina. The shadows cast over the horse and herd of cattle below are that of a biplane, but the shadow going over the flock of sheep is clearly that of a monoplane, not a biplane.
- Quotes
Wife of Brazilian Pilot: What's it all for? Just so somebody in Paris can get a postcard on Tuesday instead of Thursday?
- Crazy creditsDuring opening credits, the film title is done as "sky writing" by an airplane, and the plane is just finishing the last "T" on "flight".
- ConnectionsFeatured in Maltin on Movies: Super 8 (2011)
Details
- Runtime
- 1h 24m(84 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1