Fugitive in the Sky

Last updated
Fugitive in the Sky
Fugitive in the Sky poster.jpg
Directed by Nick Grinde
Screenplay by George Bricker and story
Produced by Jack L. Warner
Hal B. Wallis
Bryan Foy
Starring Jean Muir
Warren Hull
Gordon Oliver
Cinematography Ted McCord, A.S.C.
Edited by Frank DeWar
Music by Howard Jackson
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • November 28, 1936 (1936-11-28)
Running time
58 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Fugitive in the Sky (aka Heroes of the Air) is a 1936 American aviation drama film directed by Nick Grinde and written by George Bricker. [1] [2] [3] The stars are Jean Muir, Warren Hull, Gordon Oliver, Carlyle Moore Jr., Howard Phillips, Winifred Shaw and Mary Treen. [4] 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. [5]

Contents

The Foreword at the end of opening credits stated: "The story portrayed in this production is fictitious, and is not intended to represent events which have taken place on a commercial air line ... Scheduled air transport, regulated by the Department of Commerce, is today recognized as a fast and safe form of transportation."

Plot

In Los Angeles, air hostess Rita Moore (Jean Muir) chats with her suitor, reporter Terry Brewer (Warren Hull), as passengers check in for a flight to New York. Brewer recognizes federal agent Mike Phelan (John Litel) traveling incognito. Guessing Phelan will be after "Killer" Madsen, wanted for murder, Brewer phones his editor for permission and boards the aircraft as well, to the annoyance of pilot Bob White (Gordon Oliver), another suitor of Rita's. The Ford Trimotor now has a full load of 12 passengers.

At a stop in Albuquerque, passenger Katie Tristo (Nedda Harrigan), who generally talks about nothing but astrology, buys an Indian-made dagger from a souvenir stand. Between there and the next stop in Kansas City, most of the passengers are dozing when someone uses this dagger to kill another passenger, Ramon Duval (Gordon Elliott).

When the crime is discovered, Phelan reveals his true identity and attempts to take charge, but instead a "female" passenger draws a gun, disarms and handcuffs Phelan, and hijacks the aircraft. He removes his disguise: he is "Killer" Madsen. After the radio transmitter is disabled, he throws the pilots' guns out the cockpit window, and orders them to fly to Evansville, Indiana. As they fly, Brewer interviews Madsen, who claims he never murdered anyone with a knife. If so, someone else must have committed this new murder.

Rita attempts to drug Madsen's coffee, but instead knocks out copilot Johnny Martin (Carlyle Moore Jr.). A dust storm arises and all aircraft are ordered to land. Madsen makes White fly until the dust stops the engines, forcing an emergency landing in Missouri. Madsen leaves the aircraft, ordering the other passengers and crew to give him a 10-minute start, and commandeers an elderly couple's farmhouse nearby. The others find the same house and are again taken hostage.

Eventually Madsen orders White to repair the engines and resume the flight. Brewer goes along to help, and while Madsen is watching White, he manages to repair the radio and call police as well as filing his news story. The other hostages are afraid enough of Madsen to remain in the house, which has no phone.

As they pass the time viewing anaglyph 3-D photos with a stereoscope, Rita realizes that Katie looks younger when seen through its red lens. Phelan then recognizes her as Katie Dorne, a second fugitive, disguised by red makeup. Rita finds a way to arm herself and goes to confront Madsen, but he uses Brewer as a shield and shoots White, wounding him. Brewer then manages to overpower Madsen.

Phelan arrives, recovers his handcuff key, puts the cuffs on Madsen, and also arrests Dorne for murdering Duval. They had stolen $90,000 worth of bonds together, and Phelan had been following Duval to catch them both. She killed Duval because he had taken all the bonds. Madsen's presence on the same flight was coincidental.

White now assists with a smile as Brewer proposes to Rita; the two board the aircraft and begin kissing.

Cast

[N 1]

Production

A pre-release title and "working title" of Fugitive in the Sky was Heroes of the Air. [3]

The aircraft used in Fugitive in the Sky were:

A studio mock-up of a Ford Trimotor's interior and cockpit was also used in Fugitive in the Sky. [1]

Reception

Film reviewer Frank S. Nugent, writing in The New York Times considered that Fugitive in the Sky was a "... fairly interesting, if incredible, action picture". He further noted, "Without so much as a 'stop us if you've heard this one before', the Warners are blandly repeating the story of Paramount's 13 Hours by Air under a new title, "Fugitive in the Sky," which claimed sanctuary at the Palace yesterday ..." [7]

Aviation film historian James H. Farmer in Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation (1984) characterized Fugitive in the Sky as a "rather bland second feature rerun of Paramount's Thirteen Hours by Air (1936). All of the elements are here; the wanted killer, an airliner load of unsuspecting passengers, and, of course, the ever-present, life-threatening storm. Predictable results." [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aircraft hijacking</span> Incident involving unlawful seizure of an aircraft in operation

Aircraft hijacking is the unlawful seizure of an aircraft by an individual or a group. Dating from the earliest of hijackings, most cases involve the pilot being forced to fly according to the hijacker's demands. There have also been incidents where the hijackers have overpowered the flight crew, made unauthorized entry into the cockpit and flown them into buildings – most notably in the September 11 attacks – and in some cases, planes have been hijacked by the official pilot or co-pilot, such as with Ethiopian Airlines Flight 702.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Airliner</span> Aircraft designed for commercial transportation of passengers and cargo

An airliner is a type of airplane for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. The modern and most common variant of the airliner is a long, tube shaped, and jet powered aircraft. The largest of them are wide-body jets which are also called twin-aisle because they generally have two separate aisles running from the front to the back of the passenger cabin. These are usually used for long-haul flights between airline hubs and major cities. A smaller, more common class of airliners is the narrow-body or single-aisle. These are generally used for short to medium-distance flights with fewer passengers than their wide-body counterparts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glasgow Valley County Airport</span> Airport

Glasgow Valley County Airport IATA: GGW, ICAO: KGGW, FAA LID: GGW) is a public airport a mile northeast of Glasgow, in Valley County, Montana, United States. It is served by one airline, subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McGhee Tyson Airport</span> Airport in Alcoa, Tennessee, USA

McGhee Tyson Airport is a public/military airport 12 miles (19 km) south of Knoxville, in Alcoa, Tennessee. It is named for United States Navy pilot Charles McGhee Tyson, who was killed in World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ValuJet Flight 592</span> 1996 passenger plane crash in Florida, US

ValuJet Airlines Flight 592 was a regularly scheduled flight from Miami to Atlanta. On May 11, 1996, the ValuJet Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-9 operating the route crashed into the Everglades about 10 minutes after departing Miami as a result of a fire in the cargo compartment probably caused by mislabeled and improperly stored hazardous cargo. All 110 people on board were killed. The airline already had a poor safety record before the crash, and the accident brought widespread attention to the airline's problems. ValuJet's fleet was grounded for several months after the accident. When operations resumed, the airline was unable to attract as many customers as it had before the accident. It acquired AirTran Airways in 1997, but the lingering damage to the ValuJet name led its executives to assume the AirTran name. It is the deadliest plane crash in Florida as of 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ford Trimotor</span> American three-engined transport aircraft

The Ford Trimotor is an American three-engined transport aircraft. Production started in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and ended on June 7, 1933, after 199 had been made. It was designed for the civil aviation market, but also saw service with military units.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1929:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trans-Canada Air Lines</span> Defunct Canadian flag-carrier airline (1937-65)

Trans-Canada Air Lines was a Canadian airline that operated as the country's flag carrier, with corporate headquarters in Montreal, Quebec. Its first president was Gordon Roy McGregor. Founded in 1937, it was renamed Air Canada in 1965.

SIAI-Marchetti was an Italian aircraft manufacturer primarily active during the interwar period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernt Balchen</span> United States Army Air Forces officer (1899–1973)

Bernt Balchen was a Norwegian pioneer polar aviator, navigator, aircraft mechanical engineer and military leader. A Norwegian native, he later became an American citizen and was a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Hawks</span> American aviator

Frank Monroe Hawks was a pilot in the United States Army Air Service during World War I and was known during the 1920s and 1930s as a record breaking aviator, using a series of Texaco-sponsored aircraft, setting 214 point-to-point records in the United States and Europe. Prolific in the media and continually in the "public eye", in the 1937 The Mysterious Pilot movie serial, Hawks was billed as the "fastest airman in the world." A popular saying from the time was, "Don't send it by mail ... send it by Hawks." After retiring from a career as an air racer, he died in 1938, flying an experimental aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport</span> Public airport in Burlington, Vermont, United States

Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport is a joint-use civil-military airport serving Burlington, Vermont's most populous city, and its metropolitan area. Owned by the City of Burlington, the airport itself is located in neighboring South Burlington, just three nautical miles (6 km) east of Burlington's central business district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyril E. King Airport</span> Airport in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Cyril E. King Airport is a public airport located two miles (3 km) west of the central business district of Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands. It is currently the busiest airport in the United States Virgin Islands, and one of the busiest in the eastern Caribbean, servicing 1,403,000 passengers from July 2015 through June 2016. The airport also serves the island of St. John and is additionally often used by those travelling to the nearby British Virgin Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport</span> Airport in Japonski Island

Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport is a state-owned, public-use airport located west of the central business district of Sitka, a city and borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.

<i>Gunfighters of the Northwest</i> 1954 film by Spencer Gordon Bennet, Charles S. Gould

Gunfighters of the Northwest is a 1954 American Western serial film directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and Charles S. Gould and starring Jock Mahoney, Clayton Moore, Phyllis Coates, Don C. Harvey.

<i>Murder in the Clouds</i> 1934 film by D. Ross Lederman

Murder in the Clouds is a 1934 American action film dealing with aviation. The film stars Lyle Talbot and Ann Dvorak, and is directed by D. Ross Lederman. Although standard formula "B" film fare, it was notable as the screenplay and original story was written by Dore Schary as a freelance writer, during one of his periods when he was fired from a more prestigious film job. Schary was a director, writer, producer and playwright who later became head of production at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and eventually president of the studio. Equally important on Murder in the Clouds was the work of Elmer Dyer who had become a preeminent aviation cinematographer.

<i>Devil Dogs of the Air</i> 1935 film by Lloyd Bacon

Devil Dogs of the Air is a 1935 Warner Bros. film, directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring James Cagney and Pat O'Brien, playing similar roles as close friends after making their debut as a "buddy team" in Here Comes the Navy. Devil Dogs of the Air was the second of nine features that James Cagney and Pat O'Brien made together. The film's storyline was adapted from a novel by John Monk Saunders.

<i>Death Flies East</i> 1935 film by Phil Rosen

Death Flies East is a 1935 American mystery film directed by Phil Rosen and starring Conrad Nagel, Florence Rice and Raymond Walburn. The action takes place on an airline flight with a murderer aboard. The film was an early example of the aviation "disaster film" genre.

<i>Trapped in the Sky</i> (film) 1939 American film

Trapped in the Sky is a 1939 American thriller film directed by Lewis D. Collins and produced by Larry Darmour for Columbia Pictures. The film stars Jack Holt, Ralph Morgan and Katherine DeMille. Holt is the "flyboy" who is trying to find the saboteurs of a "silent" aircraft. The plot device of a "noiseless" or stealthy aircraft is a familiar theme in aviation films of the period, including The Sky Ranger (1921), The Silent Flier (1926) and Eagle of the Night (1928).

References

Notes

  1. Unbilled (in order of appearance)
    • Louise Stanley……...Alice, cashier at Los Angeles airport newsstand
    • Al Herman………Jimmy, attendant at Los Angeles airport
    • Ferdinand Schumann-Heink………attendant as aircraft lands at Albuquerque airport
    • Milton Kibbee………official at Kansas City airport
    • Dennis Moore………radio operator in St. Louis
    • Ralph Dunn………radio announcer with news about the grounded aircraft
    • Harry Fox………radio announcer with news about murder of an aircraft passenger
    • George Magrill………lawman who arrives by aircraft and greets Mike Phelan

Citations

  1. 1 2 Santoir, Christian (30 November 2013). "Article: Fugitive in the Sky". Aeromovies (in French). Archived from the original on 18 March 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  2. "'Fugitive in Sky' is Criterion Film/Capture of criminal aboard plane in storm shown in murder mystery". The Sunday Spartanburg Herald-Journal. 27 June 1937. p. 19 via Google News.
  3. 1 2 "Fugitive in the Sky (1936)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  4. "Fugitive in the Sky". AFI Catalog. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  5. Paris 1995, p. 74.
  6. "Jean Muir and Warren Hull in color lobby card from Fugitive in the Sky". moviestillsdb.com. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  7. Nugent, Frank S. (16 January 1937). "The screen: brief reports on 'Fugitive in the Sky,' at the Palace". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016.
  8. Farmer 1984, p. 310.

Bibliography

  • 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.
  • Paris, Michael. From the Wright Brothers to Top Gun: Aviation, Nationalism, and Popular Cinema. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1995. ISBN   978-0-7190-4074-0.
  • Pendo, Stephen. Aviation in the Cinema. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1985. ISBN   0-8-1081-746-2.
  • 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.