Fly-Away Baby

Last updated
Fly-Away Baby
Fly Away Baby movie poster.jpg
Film poster
Directed by Frank McDonald
Written byDon Ryan (screenplay)
Kenneth Gamet(screenplay) Dorothy Kilgallen (concept, screenplay)
Screenplay byKenneth Gamet
Don Ryan
Based onGirl Around the World by Dorothy Kilgallen
Produced by Bryan Foy
Starring Glenda Farrell
Barton MacLane
Cinematography Warren Lynch
Edited byDoug Gould
Music by Howard Jackson
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Release date
  • June 19, 1937 (1937-06-19)
Running time
60 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Fly-Away Baby (a.k.a. Fly Away Baby) is a 1937 American crime-mystery film starring Glenda Farrell as reporter Torchy Blane, along with her detective boyfriend, Steve McBride (Barton MacLane) solving a murder and smuggling case during around-the-world flight. [N 1] [1] [2]

Contents

After the success of the first film Smart Blonde (1937), Warner Bros. quickly produced a second film based on the Torchy Blane / Steve McBride crime-fighting duo, where Torchy once again beat the police and solved the crime all on her own. [3] [4] Released on June 19, 1937, the film is followed by The Adventurous Blonde (1937). [5]

Plot

When jeweler Milton Devereux is murdered and his collection of diamonds is stolen, crime reporter Torchy Blane is assigned to the case. Her police detective boyfriend Steve McBride is investigating the case, but Torchy tags along as he hunts for the murder weapon. She finds a gun hidden in a drainpipe in the alley behind the store. Torchy also learns that Milton had a confrontation with Sonny Croy. Croy is a reporter for the rival Star-Telegram, and the son of the newspaper's owner, constantly in trouble over gambling debts and an outstanding loan.

Sonny becomes a prime suspect, but he has an alibi from the victim's business partner Guy Allister that they were having lunch at the time of the murder. Torchy and Steve question the waiter in the restaurant and find a clue on a menu. They trace Sonny to the apartment of nightclub dancer Ila Sayre who insists that Sonny was on the phone with her at the time of the murder.

Sonny explains the notes on the menu, saying that he is taking an aircraft and Zeppelin flight around the world as a publicity stunt. Torchy decides to follow him and talks her newspaper into sending her around the world in a race with Sonny and another reporter for the Daily Journal, Hughie Sprague.

The journey ahead takes Torchy and her rivals across the Pacific, Asia, and Europe with stops at Honolulu, San Francisco, Hong Kong, and Stuttgart, Germany. When the airship lands in Hawaii, Torchy searches Sonny's room and finds a message indicating that some items will be exchanged in Stuttgart. Sonny discovers her investigation after finding a lipstick Torchy accidentally dropped in his room.

Later, Ila admits that she did not talk to Sonny on the phone. Steve, who has joined Torchy on board the airship, decides to arrest Sonny after Torchy points out that the restaurant's back door is opposite to the back door of the jewelry store. Sonny, however, is found dead himself and it is discovered that the diamonds hidden in the false bottom of his suitcase are not real.

Torchy puts the various clues together and determines that Guy Allister was the real murderer, and Sonny was working for him to pay off his debt. After further investigation, they learn that Allister boarded the airship using a false name. When he tries to parachute out of the airship, he falls to his death when his parachute fails to open.

Cast

Production

According to contemporary sources, Dorothy Kilgallen's idea for Fly-Away Baby was based on her own real-life participation in a race around the world by air with two male reporters. The race was featured in her book, Girl Around the World. [6]

Fly-Away Baby was shot in part at the Grand Central Air Terminal, Glendale, California with the participation of American Airlines. The aircraft seen in the film include the America Airlines Douglas DST-144 and Douglas DC-2 and Pan Am Martin 130 "China Clipper". [7]

Although mainly seen in stock footage from newsreels, the German passenger airship LZ 129 Hindenburg departs its hangar in Friedrichshafen, and is later seen in the sky over New York City. Other scenes of an airship are actually the American dirigible USS Akron or Macon above the orchards of California. Interior sets depicting staterooms, lounge and corridors of the Hindenburg were accurate studio mockups, [7]

Reception

Aviation film historian James M. Farmer in Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation (1984), noted that despite a meager budget for Fly-Away Baby, the film (featured) "Modest production values." [8]

Home media

Warner Archive released a boxed set DVD collection featuring all nine Torchy Blane films on March 29, 2011. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenda Farrell</span> American actress (1904-1971)

Glenda Farrell was an American actress. Farrell personified the smart and sassy, wisecracking blonde of the Classic Hollywood films. Farrell's career spanned more than 50 years, and she appeared in numerous Broadway plays, films and television series. She won an Emmy Award in 1963 for Outstanding Supporting Actress for her performance as Martha Morrison in the medical drama television series Ben Casey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barton MacLane</span> Actor, playwright, screenwriter (1902–1969)

Barton MacLane was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He appeared in many classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, including his role as General Martin Peterson on the 1960s NBC television comedy series I Dream of Jeannie, with Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torchy Blane</span> Female reporter in 1937-39 film series

Torchy Blane is a fictional female reporter, the main character of nine films produced by Warner Bros. between 1937 and 1939. The Torchy Blane series, which blend mystery, action, adventure and comedy, were popular second features.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Ridgely</span> American actor (1909–1968)

John Ridgely was an American film character actor with over 175 film credits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Kennedy (actor)</span> American actor (1885–1965)

Thomas Aloyisus Kennedy was an American actor known for his roles in Hollywood comedies from the silent days, with such producers as Mack Sennett and Hal Roach, mainly supporting lead comedians such as the Marx Brothers, W. C. Fields, Mabel Normand, Shemp Howard, El Brendel, Laurel and Hardy, and the Three Stooges. Kennedy also played dramatic roles as a supporting actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Shannon</span> Irish–American actor (1874–1959)

Francis Connolly Shannon was an Irish actor and writer.

Front Page Woman is a 1935 American comedy film directed by Michael Curtiz. The screenplay by Laird Doyle, Lillie Hayward and Roy Chanslor based on the novel Women Are Bum Newspapermen by Richard Macauley.

<i>Smart Blonde</i> 1937 film by Frank McDonald

Smart Blonde is a 1937 American mystery film directed by Frank McDonald. Starring Glenda Farrell as Torchy Blane, a fast-talking wisecracking female reporter, teaming up with her boyfriend detective Steve McBride, to solve the killing of an investor who just bought a popular local nightclub.

<i>Torchy Gets Her Man</i> 1938 film by William Beaudine

Torchy Gets Her Man is a 1938 American comedy-drama film directed by William Beaudine and starring Glenda Farrell as Torchy Blane and Barton MacLane as Detective Steve McBride. It was released on November 12, 1938.

<i>Torchy Blane in Chinatown</i> 1939 film by William Beaudine

Torchy Blane in Chinatown is a 1939 American mystery film directed by William Beaudine and starring Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane. Released on February 4, 1939, it is the seventh film in the Torchy Blane film series by Warner Bros. and is followed by Torchy Runs for Mayor (1939).

<i>Murder in the Air</i> (film) 1940 American film

Murder in the Air is a 1940 American drama film with science fiction elements directed by Lewis Seiler and written by Raymond L. Schrock. The film stars Ronald Reagan, John Litel, Lya Lys, James Stephenson, Eddie Foy, Jr., Robert Warwick and Victor Zimmerman. Murder in the Air was released by Warner Bros. on June 1, 1940.

<i>A Shot in the Dark</i> (1941 film) 1941 film by William C. McGann

A Shot in the Dark is a 1941 American comedy mystery film directed by William C. McGann and starring William Lundigan, Nan Wynn and Ricardo Cortez. It was released by Warner Bros. on April 5, 1941. The film was based on the short story "No Hard Feelings" by Frederick Nebel in the Black Mask magazine. The movie is also a remake of the Torchy Blane film Smart Blonde (1937).

<i>Fugitive in the Sky</i> 1936 film by Nick Grinde

Fugitive in the Sky is a 1936 American aviation drama film directed by Nick Grinde and written by George Bricker. The stars are Jean Muir, Warren Hull, Gordon Oliver, Carlyle Moore Jr., Howard Phillips, Winifred Shaw and Mary Treen. Fugitive in the Sky was released by Warner Bros. on November 28, 1936, a mere six months after the Paramount Pictures feature, 13 Hours by Air, considered by aviation film historian Michael Paris in From the Wright Brothers to Top Gun: Aviation, Nationalism, and Popular Cinema (1995), as a virtual "remake" of the earlier film.

<i>The Adventurous Blonde</i> 1937 film by Frank McDonald

The Adventurous Blonde is a 1937 American comedy mystery film directed by Frank McDonald and starring Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane and Anne Nagel. It was written by Robertson White and David Diamond. It was released on November 13, 1937.

<i>Blondes at Work</i> 1938 film by Frank McDonald

Blondes at Work is a 1938 American comedy mystery film directed by Frank McDonald and written by Albert DeMond. The film stars Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane. It is the fourth film in a series of Torchy Blane movies by Warner Bros. Released on February 6, 1938, it is followed by Torchy Blane in Panama (1938).

<i>Torchy Blane in Panama</i> 1938 film by William Clemens

Torchy Blane in Panama is a 1938 American mystery film directed by William Clemens and starring Lola Lane, Paul Kelly, and Tom Kennedy. Released on May 7, 1938, the fifth film in a series of Torchy Blane movies by Warner Bros. It is followed by Torchy Gets Her Man (1938).

<i>Torchy Runs for Mayor</i> 1939 film by Ray McCarey

Torchy Runs for Mayor is a 1939 American drama-comedy film directed by Ray McCarey. It is the eighth film in the Torchy Blane film series by Warner Bros., and the last film starring Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane as Torchy Blane and Steve McBride. It was released on May 13, 1939. The film is followed by Torchy Blane... Playing with Dynamite (1939).

<i>Torchy Blane... Playing with Dynamite</i> 1939 film by Noel M. Smith

Torchy Blane... Playing with Dynamite is a 1939 American mystery film directed by Noel M. Smith, written by Earle Snell and Charles Belden, and starring Jane Wyman, Allen Jenkins, and Tom Kennedy. It was released on August 12, 1939.

<i>One Mile from Heaven</i> 1937 American drama film directed by Allan Dwan

One Mile from Heaven is a 1937 American drama film directed by Allan Dwan and written by Lou Breslow and John Patrick. The film stars Claire Trevor, Sally Blane, Douglas Fowley, Fredi Washington, Joan Carroll and Ralf Harolde. The film was released on August 18, 1937, by 20th Century Fox.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ The screen titles use the slight spelling variation of Fly Away Baby.

Citations

  1. ↑ Backer 2012, p. 262.
  2. ↑ "Details: 'Fly-away Baby' (1937)." British Film Institute, 2019. Retrieved: July 3, 2019.
  3. ↑ Wynne 1987, p. 172.
  4. ↑ Ferrara, Greg. "Articles: 'Fly-Away Baby' (1937)." TCM, 2019. Retrieved: July 3, 2019.
  5. ↑ Brennan, Sandra. "Review: 'Fly-away Baby' (1937)." All Movie, 2019. Retrieved: July 3, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Notes: 'Fly-Away Baby' (1937)." TCM, 2019. Retrieved: July 3, 2019.
  7. 1 2 Santoir, Christian. "Review: 'Fly Away Baby'." Aeromovies, November 15, 2013. Retrieved: July 3, 2019.
  8. ↑ Farmer 1984, p. 307.
  9. ↑ Kehr, Dave. "The Torchy Blane Collection." The New York Times, May 7, 2010. Retrieved: October 1, 2016.

Bibliography

  • Backer, Ron. Mystery Movie Series of 1930s Hollywood. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2012. ISBN   978-0-78646-975-8.
  • Farmer, James H. Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation (1st ed.). Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania: TAB Books 1984. ISBN   978-0-83062-374-7.
  • Wynne, H. Hugh. The Motion Picture Stunt Pilots and Hollywood's Classic Aviation Movies. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1987. ISBN   978-0-93312-685-5.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.