Parachute Jumper | |
---|---|
Directed by | Alfred E. Green |
Screenplay by | John Francis Larkin |
Based on | an original story by Rian James |
Produced by | Darryl F. Zanuck (uncredited) |
Starring | Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Bette Davis Frank McHugh |
Cinematography | James Van Trees |
Edited by | Ray Curtiss |
Music by | Vitaphone Orchestra conducted by Leo F. Forbstein |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
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Running time | 65 minutes (also listed as 70 and 73 minutes) |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Parachute Jumper is a 1933 American pre-Code black-and-white comedy drama film directed by Alfred E. Green. Based on a story by Rian James titled "Some Call It Love", it stars Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Bette Davis and Frank McHugh. [1]
Marine pilots Bill Keller (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.) and "Toodles" Cooper (Frank McHugh) are shot down over Nicaragua. When a search party finds them drunk and unharmed in a cantina, they and the Marine Corps agree to split ways. In no time, they find employment as commercial pilots with a New York firm. Upon arrival, though, they find their new employer has gone bankrupt. Unemployed and nearly broke, they encounter a woman named "Alabama" Brent (Bette Davis) and ask her to share their apartment to save expenses. After escaping death in a parachuting stunt, Bill finally lands a job with bootlegger Kurt Weber (Leo Carrillo). Thus, both Bill and Toodles become entangled in Weber's smuggling schemes, flying in contraband liquor from Canada. On one such trip, Bill shoots down two Border Patrol airplanes while mistaking them for hijackers. Fortunately, there are no fatalities.
Meanwhile, Weber and his henchman Steve (Harold Huber) set a deadly trap for two disgruntled, unpaid ex-employees. Repulsed, Bill hands in his resignation, but Weber persuades him and Toodles to each make one more delivery. Later, Bill learns this time they are smuggling narcotics, not liquor. At the same time, the authorities close in on Weber's office. Weber and Bill elude their trap and fly a plane to Canada. Once again, Border Patrol planes give chase, shooting Weber's plane down. Afterwards, Bill persuades border officials that he is the innocent victim of "kidnapper" Weber. In the end, Toodles decides to re-enlist in the Marines. Bill proposes to Alabama, promising he can support her if he too rejoins the Corps. So Bill and Toodles return where they started. [2]
Mordaunt Hall, reviewer for The New York Times , called it "a fast-moving tale of adventure in the air and on earth ..." [7] That review summed up the format of crime and adventure in the air that had been explored in a number of other films of the period. [8] In a later review, Leonard Maltin called it a "Fast-moving, enjoyable Warner Bros. programmer." [9]
Clips of Parachute Jumper are featured in the prologue of the first film version of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) as an example of the supposedly poor quality of the film work of Jane Hudson (Bette Davis) as an adult. [4]
In an interview about his film career, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. described Parachute Jumper as "awful". [10]
Douglas Elton Fairbanks Jr. was an American actor, producer, and decorated naval officer of World War II. He is best-known for starring in such films as The Prisoner of Zenda (1937), Gunga Din (1939), and The Corsican Brothers (1941). He was the son of Douglas Fairbanks and the stepson of Mary Pickford, and his first marriage was to actress Joan Crawford.
The Phantom of the Air is a 12-episode 1933 Pre-Code Universal film serial directed by Ray Taylor. The film stars Tom Tyler, who was cast most often in Westerns. Other actors include Gloria Shea, LeRoy Mason, Craig Reynolds and William Desmond.
Tailspin Tommy in the Great Air Mystery is a 12-episode 1935 Universal movie serial based on the Tailspin Tommy comic strip by Hal Forrest and starring Clark Williams, Jean Rogers and Noah Beery, Jr. The picture was the 96th of the 137 serials released by the studio.
Going Wild is a 1930 Warner Brothers pre-Code comedy film based on the 1910 play The Aviator by James Montgomery and directed by William A. Seiter. The film stars many musical stars along with Joe E. Brown, Frank McHugh and Johnny Arthur.
Flying G-Men is a 15-episode 1939 adventure film Film serial, directed by James W. Horne and Ray Taylor. The serial was the sixth of the 57 serials released by Columbia. Four "Flying G-Men" battle with enemy saboteurs intent on destroying American military defences.
Ex-Lady is a 1933 American pre-Code comedy/drama film directed by Robert Florey. The screenplay by David Boehm is a remake of the Barbara Stanwyck film Illicit (1931), both crediting a story by Edith Fitzgerald and Robert Riskin. The film focuses on a pair of lovers, commercial illustrator Helen Bauer and advertising writer Don Peterson, who have been living together quite happily for some time. One night, after hiding in Helen's bedroom until their party guests have all left, Don announces that he is tired of sneaking around. He wants marriage—and possibly children—and Helen finally agrees, although she is afraid that it will wreck their relationship. Her predictions of trouble—increased by the stresses of opening their own advertising agency—come true, but in the end, with the serendipitous intervention of their perpetually inebriated friend, Van, they reconcile and resume the mixed blessings of wedded bliss.
Fashions of 1934 is a 1934 American pre-Code musical comedy film directed by William Dieterle with musical numbers created and directed by Busby Berkeley. The screenplay by F. Hugh Herbert and Carl Erickson was based on the story The Fashion Plate by Harry Collins and Warren Duff. The film stars William Powell, Bette Davis, Frank McHugh, Hugh Herbert, Verree Teasdale, and Reginald Owen, and features Henry O'Neill, Phillip Reed, Gordon Westcott, and Dorothy Burgess. The film's songs are by Sammy Fain (music) and Irving Kahal (lyrics). Sometime after its initial release, the title Fashions of 1934 was changed to Fashions, replacing the original title with an insert card stating "William Powell in 'Fashions'".
Men Against the Sky is a 1940 drama starring Richard Dix, Kent Taylor, Edmund Lowe and Wendy Barrie. Directed by Leslie Goodwins, it is based on a story by John Twist about the challenges of aircraft development and the dangers of test piloting in the period before World War II.
Clipped Wings is a 1937 American crime and aviation Kier-Phillips production for National pictures, directed by Stuart Paton from an original story and screenplay by Paul Willett. The film stars Lloyd E. Hughes, Rosalind Keith and William Janney.
The Air Mail is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Irvin Willat and starring Warner Baxter, Billie Dove, and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. It was produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed through Paramount Pictures. Filmed in Death Valley National Park and the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada, it was released in the United States on March 16, 1925.
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.
Rulers of the Sea is a 1939 American historical drama film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Margaret Lockwood and Will Fyffe. The film's story is based on the voyage of the SS Savannah, the first steamship to cross the North Atlantic, from Britain to the United States. The film was made by Paramount Pictures, but featured Lockwood and Fyffe who were two of the leading stars of the British Gainsborough Pictures studios. The supporting cast features Alan Ladd.
Ace of Aces, also known as Bird of Prey, is a 1933 American pre-Code war film based on the story "The Bird of Prey" by World War I pilot John Monk Saunders that explores how war can turn a man's moral compass from pacifism to warmonger. Starring Richard Dix, it was similar to many of the period films that appeared to glorify the "knights of the air", but was more complex, examining the motivations of those who choose to go to war.
Air Hawks is a 1935 American aviation-themed science fiction film based on Ben Pivar's "Air Fury", an unpublished story. Director Albert Rogell who had moved from shorts to B-films, was interested in aviation and had already helmed The Flying Marine (1929) and Air Hostess (1933). In Air Hawks, the studio was able to add an A-list star, Ralph Bellamy, as well as exploiting the fame of record-setting pilot Wiley Post in his only feature film appearance.
Flying Devils is a 1933 American Pre-Code action film dealing with aviation. The film was directed by former Hollywood agent Russell Birdwell and photographed by film noir cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca. The screenplay was written by Byron Morgan and Louis Stevens, based on an original story by Stevens. In an unusual move, Bruce Cabot was the star, with perennial "good guy" Ralph Bellamy playing the villain in a love triangle involving Arline Judge and Eric Linden. Although considered a "B" feature, audiences enjoyed the aerial scenes, which helped elevate the feature to a minor box-office hit.
The Marines Fly High is a 1940 action film, starring Richard Dix, Chester Morris and Lucille Ball and directed by George Nicholls, Jr. and Benjamin Stoloff from a story by A.C. Edington.
Sky Bride is a 78-minute 1932 drama film, produced by Paramount Pictures and directed by Stephen Roberts. The film stars Richard Arlen, Jack Oakie and Virginia Bruce. Sky Bride depicts the life of barnstorming pilots flying in the years following World War I. All over North America, skilled pilots, many of them veterans of the aerial combat of World War I, plied their trade on the barnstorming circuit of the 1920s in small towns where impromptu air shows were staged.
The Sun Never Sets is a 1939 American drama film directed by Rowland V. Lee and starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Basil Rathbone and Barbara O'Neil.
Flight at Midnight is a 1939 American action film directed by Sidney Salkow and written by Eliot Gibbons. The film stars Phil Regan, Jean Parker, Roscoe Turner, Robert Armstrong, Noah Beery Jr. and Harlan Briggs. Flight at Midnight was released on August 28, 1939, by Republic Pictures.
Legion of Lost Flyers is a 1939 American B movie drama film directed by Christy Cabanne. It stars Richard Arlen, Andy Devine, and Anne Nagel. Legion of Lost Flyers was released by Universal Pictures on November 3, 1939.