Les filles de l'air

I stumbled upon this early '60s film on TCM while surfing late this evening. I agree with most of the previous posters' opinions, but I think one other element should be added: At the dawn of the passenger jet age, before hijackings that turned airports into minimum security prisons, and 9/11, which turned them into crowded LuftStalags, this was what air travel was like. Technologically and socially, one watches a film like this not simply to be entertained, but to be reminded of those last moments before JFK was killed, Vietnam, and the turning inside out of America. As for performances, Karl Malden waltzes effortlessly through this movie, threatening to steal every scene he's in--even from the gorgeous women. (Speaking of which, Pamela Tiffin is radioactive hot. )

Although some might dismiss this film as typical early sixties fluff, it is a good lightweight comedy with nice scenes and easy on the eye. I find such films often relaxing when stressed from work or other matters. But what makes this particular film special to me is one of the very last scenes showing Dolores Hart sitting by herself with tears in her eyes and a faraway look in her eyes. Of course, in her role as stewardess Donna Stuart in the film she does this scene to mark her separation from Baron von Elzingen (played by Karl Boehm), but it has far greater significance as far as the actress' own future was concerned. This was the very last shot that Dolores Hart did on the silver screen; soon after 'Come Fly With Me' was completed, she left Hollywood for good and took Holy Orders to become a nun. That's exactly what she is today, 40 years later.

By the 21st century, air travel had become so common that it was almost passé. Flying somewhere for business or to visit relatives had become ho-hum. While vacation flights may still carry a little excitement, for the most part air travel is now so common that there's nothing special about it. And, considering the changes and difficulties with travel today, modern folk can be excused if they don't know about a time when air travel was fun, relaxing, exciting and even romantic. But there was such a time, indeed.

The glamor days of air travel were the late 1950s to the early 1980s. Air travel grew by leaps and bounds after World War II as jet airplanes cut flight time to a couple hours between airports in most countries. In America, cities large and small had multiple airlines serving them. People enjoyed travel for business, pleasure and family visits. Vacation packages frequently included air travel or were built around it by the airlines. And security measures were simple and quick to get through. Many airlines flourished during this time. By the 2010s, I had flown on every major carrier in the U. S. since 1962, and on several foreign airlines. And, I had flown on most of the U. S. regional or trunk lines as well and regional airlines in Europe and Asia.

The first three decades of jet air service were the halcyon days of air travel. Airlines then competed for passengers with service. The cream of the crop of the American-based airlines were Pan Am (Pan American World Airways), Braniff International and TWA (Trans World Airlines). Running close behind them in service were United, American, and Eastern airlines. Other national carriers were Delta, Northwestern, Continental and National. Travelers will recognize that all but three of those were gone within a decade into the 21st century, and that some new airlines have been added. The cream of the regional carriers back then was Alaska Airlines - still flying in the 21st century.

So, why do I bother giving this brief history of U. S. airline service? I think it may help younger movie fans especially to get in the mood of this film, "Come Fly with Me." This film shows a little of the meal and drink service on the airlines of the past (and that international flights still provide), and the hospitality of the airline employees. In those days, women were stewardesses and men were stewards. Today they have no gender distinction and are called flight attendants. But it also is an example of a type of film that was popular for that period when many people associated flying with romantic getaways or just plain romance. So, in the style of the day, three of the flight hostesses are friends who enjoy travel to foreign ports and hope to meet well-to-do men. And, the co-pilot has a role that was typical for films of this period genre - as a flyer with a girl in every port.

Enough said on that. "Come Fly with Me" puts a different twist on the usual fare for the women and the co-pilot. Dolores Hart, Pamela Tiffin, Lois Nettleton, Hugh O'Brian and the rest of the cast play their parts well. I especially enjoyed Karl Malden as Walter Lucas and Lois Maxwell as Gwen Sandley. Watch for the misadventure involving Hart's character and a traveling baron who catches her eye.

This is a light comedy romance that is worth watching besides just for its historical view of the travel culture of the time.

Just a pleasant, solid film with a breezy theme song and some attractive young performers, (and Karl Malden, too), in a film that goes down easy. There are a lot of such films that were made in the 60's and I miss them. It's interesting that this has been described by some posters as a comedy. It really isn't, but it's such a "nice" movie it seems like one. There's nothing wrong with curling up on the couch and just enjoying something that's easy to take.

It's also a last look at Dolores Hart as an actress. She's very beautiful, even by movies star standards, has a very expressive face and has a strong intelligent presence. She might have accomplished great things in the cinema but I'll bet those qualities came in handy in her new profession, one which I'm sure meant a lot more to her.

While not as blatantly tacky and overdone as some of the other films of this type (which are actually good things for some people who seek out glossy, over-produced flicks like this!), it still has it's points of interest and moments of eye-rolling cheesiness. After Frankie Avalon croons the title song, flash-in-the-pan Tiffin comes jiggling on wearing an extremely sexy and snug flight attendant's uniform, spoiled only by the somewhat unflattering hat they all wear. It is utterly fascinating to see how stewardesses were perceived at this time. It's hard to say, at this point, how close to real life it was, but in this film they are treated as total sex objects with clothes that stress looks over functionality. Her hair is done in manner that makes one wonder if Catherine Zeta Jones and her stylists keep a loop of this film running in their salon. There is a definite occasional resemblance. Hart is quite a revelation. For someone who was about to become a nun in real life, she is surprisingly hard-edged and mouthy here. She may even swear once and she smokes incessantly. It's great to see a lesser beauty, but still a talented actress, like Nettleton get a featured role. She creates a sympathetic, if a bit overly difficult character. Poor Maxwell ("Miss Moneypenny" of 007 films) barely even got in a word edgewise. O'Brian is his usual suave and macho self as a voraciously skirt-chasing pilot. Cruelly, he keeps his shirt on at all times and never goes swimming. Malden does an okay job as a lonely businessman. German actor Boehm is a bit of an annoyance with his thin voice and heavy accent. There's a "love song" sung by a Parisian street chanteuse that will have many folks wretching and screaming for her to stop. All in all, a pretty, easy, soufflé of a film with just enough color and wit to hold interest up to a point. A mid-air trauma or an appearance by Joan Crawford.....something to punch it over the edge, may have been welcome, though. Nary a moment of it is believable, the same as it was for similar films like "Three Coins in a Fountain", "The Best of Everything" and "The Pleasure Seekers".