Vol de nuit

"Night Flight" was made to highlight the introduction of night flying, a novelty about the time this was made. I had to cut this picture some slack because nowadays it's a museum piece, but it sports an all-star cast and is in earnest as it points out some of the pitfalls of flying at night. This is still the 'open cockpit' era and without radar, but early on in the picture they mention the introduction of lights on the runways, without which they couldn't attempt night flight.

Best of the actors is Helen Hayes, followed by Robt. Montgomery and Clark Gable. The Barrymore brothers are on hand - I often feel like John Barrymore isn't trying but here he is adequate as the airport manager. There are several stories woven into the plot, the main thrust is about delivering badly needed serum to an Infantile Paralysis hospital in Rio de Janeiro (The picture takes place in South America).

So I said, C'mon - give credit where credit is due. The picture is 85 years old, only runs 84 minutes and is interesting and absorbing, keeping in mind this is pretty old stuff. Hence, my rating. Think you'll like it in spite of itself.

Clarence Brown is the director of the 1933 film, "Night Flight," featuring an impressive cast, including John and Lionel Barrymore, Helen Hayes, Myrna Loy, Clark Gable, and Robert Montgomery.

The story concerns mail flights at night, an innovative thing at that time. Both the Barrymore men are quite robust here and delivered strong acting. John is the tough, hard-nosed head of the service, and Lionel (sans wheelchair which his arthritis would send him to later on) plays an assistant. I would have rather seen them together in something else, though they were both very good.

In the beginning, we're shown a little boy in South America with infantile paralysis waiting for a serum that will be rushed to the doctor from Chile via the new night mail service.

There's not a tremendous amount of dialogue in "Night Flight," but there is a lot of very powerful music by Herbert Stothart and some magnificent footage of planes going through the clouds. It's very atmospheric. What dialogue there is today seems very melodramatic but is handled well by John Barrymore and Helen Hayes. Hayes in the film is married to a pilot played by Clark Gable. Gable is very handsome with such a warm smile, and he shows his character's real love of flying. Montgomery plays a playboy pilot who likes a good time as well as flying.

It's amazing how with a film so old, with those archaic planes, how one can get drawn into a story, yet somehow I did. I had a few problems - first of all, I couldn't figure out the countries and the different plane connections. It seemed like the service originated in France - I kind of had to let that go.

During a storm, Gable sends down flares that ride on little parachutes - it was early days for special effects. These looked a little cartoonish but were interesting nonetheless as they floated down to the water.

Some people don't care for Clarence Brown, but I think he was able to really set a mood in his films, this and The Rains Came being good examples.

"Night Flight" is one reason why I love classic films. We've come so far in aviation; eighty-plus years ago, it was unheard of to fly at night. And when you look at the planes, it's a wonder they got off the ground day or night. Maybe it was my mood or the Stothart music, but it was something to think about.

This is quite possibly the least known and seen all-star cast film in film history. But deservedly so. At the time it was made, films about airplanes and pilots were all the rage. Unfortunately, the source material (the Saint-Exupery 1931 novel of the same title) has been closely adapted; a rare thing for Hollywood, but not a good one in this case. As in the novel, much is made of the sensual thrill of being up there in the clouds, so we get lots of awestruck words and reactions from the Barrymores, Gargan and Montgomery. It's all very dated now, with a simple story of flyers delivering mail across South America at top speed, through treacherous conditions, whipped onward by company boss John Barrymore. Barrymore is strong, as usual, but his older brother Lionel, as a foreman, is so hunched-over and drab that he brings the picture down in every scene he's in. And the disconnectedness of the characters is noticeably bad for a major studio film. Gable and Loy are husband and wife, but they never have a scene together. In fact, Gable is never seen outside of his airplane's cockpit! Montgomery's part is even smaller. A shocking waste of talent. The only element not in the novel but added to the film is actually the best thing in it: A sick child's need for medicine that only the speed of an aircraft can bring in time.

Night Flight (1933)

*** (out of 4)

This MGM film features an all-star cast that includes John Barrymore, Clark Gable, Lionel Barrymore, Helen Hayes, Robert Montgomery and Myrna Loy and it's these stars that make the film worth viewing. The story centers on the true story of the Trans-Andean European Air Mail service, which broke grounds by doing the dangerous practice of running flights at night. The story centers on a demanding boss (J. Barrymore) who will stop at nothing to have his men in the air and this here leads to a pilot (Gable) getting caught out in a dangerous storm and not being able to land while his wife (Hayes) waits for his return. NIGHT FLIGHT was unavailable for viewing until recently when the rights were finally cleared and Warner was able to issue it on DVD. Many of the people who had gotten a chance to view the movie over the past several decades called it a major disappointment and this is true to a point but at the same time it's still a lot of fun seeing this great cast in one picture. I think the biggest problem is that the screenplay really isn't all that impressive and most of the drama never comes because the story never builds up any emotional connection to any of the people we meet. The Gable character is meant to be the backbone of the drama yet we never get to really meet him and we certainly never get to know him as all of his scenes are in the air and he's given very little dialogue. We view the wife as she worries about him but most of her dialogue is so poorly written that again you really get no connection. Another problem is that the story is all over the place in terms of what it's trying to do. On one hand it's a character drama but we don't get to know the characters. The next minute it's an aerial picture and this is where the movie really takes off but there's not nearly enough scenes of the men actually dealing with the dangers of flying at night. The best moment in the film happens early on when a pilot gets lost in some fog and ends up having to fly through some mountains to reach safety. There's plenty of drama in this short sequence and there's some minor drama at the end but not enough to really carry the picture. As I said, the main reason to watch NIGHT FLIGHT is for the all-star cast even though many of them are wasted. I found Hayes to be pretty bland in the picture and Montgomery really doesn't get much to work with either. Gable is good in his part but he really doesn't get much to do either except look brave while flying. John Barrymore chews up the scenery as only he can while brother Lionel has a few funny bits in his part. Still, it's fun getting to see the two of them act together. The rest of the stars never share any scenes together, which will come as a disappointment to many. NIGHT FLIGHT pretty much disappeared for seventy-years but thankfully it's gotten a wide release so more people can check it out but it's best not to expect a masterpiece.

Night Flight which for so long was unseen due to copyright complications is finally out on DVD. It's considered an 'all star' picture, but in plain fact the brothers Barrymore do the heavy lifting in this film.

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.