Wings in the Dark

Last updated
Wings in the Dark
Poster - Wings in the Dark 01.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by James Flood
Screenplay by Jack Kirkland
Frank Partos
Dale Van Every (adaptation)
E.H. Robinson (adaptation)
Story by Nell Shipman
Philip D. Hurn (Original story)
Based onthe story "Eyes of the Eagle"
by Nell Shipman, Philip D. Hurn
Produced by Arthur Hornblow, Jr.
Starring Myrna Loy
Cary Grant
Cinematography William C. Mellor
Edited by William Shea
Music by Heinz Roemheld
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date
  • February 1, 1935 (1935-02-01)(U.S.)
Running time
75 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Wings in the Dark is a 1935 film directed by James Flood and starring Myrna Loy and Cary Grant and focusing on a daring woman aviator and an inventor thrust into a desperate situation. Wings in the Dark was produced by Arthur Hornblow, Jr. The film was the first that Loy and Grant made together, although Loy's biographer Emily Leider says that Wings in the Dark "wastes their talents and prompts an unintentional laugh fest." [1] The film remains notable as a rare movie depiction of a blind protagonist (played by Grant) during the 1930s, and is also known for its accomplished aerial photography directed by Dewey Wrigley. [1]

Contents

Plot

Cary Grant and Lightning in Wings in the Dark Wings-in-the-Dark.jpg
Cary Grant and Lightning in Wings in the Dark

Skywriter and stunt pilot Sheila Mason (Myrna Loy) who has to work as a barnstormer because women were not allowed in other aviation fields, is attracted to ace pilot Ken Gordon (Cary Grant). Ken is trying to perfect instrument flying (flying "blind"), with his own design of an autopilot. He has devoted four years to perfecting the system and even mortgaged his aircraft to finance his experiments. Before being able to prove his invention works, a stove accident blinds him. The doctors cannot say for how long.

When Ken retreats from the world, Mac (Hobart Cavanaugh), his friend and partner, brings him Lightning, a seeing eye dog. He first resists any efforts to help him, but with the help of his dog, he learns to navigate around his household and soon keeps busy by writing aviation articles. Sheila, who has fallen in love with Ken, does not tell him that the articles are all being rejected. She gives him money to survive by taking on dangerous stunts arranged by her manager, Nick Williams (Roscoe Karns).

Ken finally regains his confidence and continues to work on his autopilot when the Rockwell Aviation Company, based at Roosevelt Field near New York, repossesses his aircraft. Distraught, Ken accuses Sheila of falling for him out of pity and sends her away. She plans a solo flight from Moscow to New York to win a $25,000 prize so they can marry.

Her last stage from Boston to New York finds Sheila nearly out of fuel and running into bad weather. She navigates by looking down to see where she is, but over Roosevelt Field, the fog is so heavy that she may not be able to land. With help from Mac, Ken sneaks into his old aircraft and takes off, using his autopilot to help Sheila land. While in the air, Ken talks to Sheila about his desperation of being blind and not having any future. His intention is to bring her to the ground and then fly until he runs out of fuel and crashes. Sheila tries to dissuade him, but he is determined. The two pilots make it down, but Sheila deliberately crashes into Ken's aircraft to make sure that he will not try to kill himself.

A huge crowd has gathered at the airport. As the two greet the public and the press, Ken sees flashes of light from the exploding flash bulbs of the photographers. Ken and Sheila embrace as their car continues through the throng of well-wishers.

Cast

Production

Principal photography for Wings in the Dark began on October 22, 1934. [2] Captain Earl H. Robinson was the technical advisor on the film and adapted the screenplay with Dale Van Every. Amelia Earhart also visited the set as a consultant. [1] Ken Gordon's aircraft is a Lockheed Model 8 Sirius; other aircraft include a Travel Air B 4000, flown by Sheila Mason, and a Lockheed Vega 5B. [3] [Note 1]

Reception

In his review for The New York Times , film critic Andre Sennwald described the film as "... a pleasantly performed and skillfully filmed melodrama of the peacetime airways which is hampered by an addle-pated narrative. High altitudes have a tendency to make scenarists just a trifle giddy, with the result that the big climax of the Paramount's new photoplay has the appearance of having been composed during a tail spin." [5]

Nell Shipman, one of the writers of the original story "Eyes of the Eagle", which pivoted upon a fictionalized version of Amelia Earhart, whom Shipman knew personally, was extremely disappointed by Myrna Loy's performance and the diminishing of the seeing eye dog as one of the main characters. [6] Graham Greene called the film "as sentimental as it is improbable," but "... as exciting as it is naive." [7]

Aviation historians consider Wings in the Dark one of a number of poorly done aviation films [8] made during the early part of the Depression. [9]

Related Research Articles

<i>Test Pilot</i> (film) 1938 American film directed by Victor Fleming

Test Pilot is a 1938 American drama film directed by Victor Fleming, starring Clark Gable, Myrna Loy and Spencer Tracy, and featuring Lionel Barrymore. The Oscar-nominated film tells the story of a daredevil test pilot (Gable), his wife (Loy), and his best friend (Tracy).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myrna Loy</span> American actress (1905–1993)

Myrna Loy was an American film, television and stage actress. As a performer, she was known for her ability to adapt to her screen partner's acting style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Mantz</span> American aviator, air racing pilot, movie stunt pilot (1903–1965)

Albert Paul Mantz was a noted air racing pilot, movie stunt pilot and consultant from the late 1930s until his death in the mid-1960s. He gained fame on two stages: Hollywood and in air races.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skippy (dog)</span> Wire Fox Terrier dog actor

Skippy was a Wire Fox Terrier dog actor who appeared in dozens of movies during the 1930s. Skippy is best known for the role of the pet dog "Asta" in the 1934 detective comedy The Thin Man, starring William Powell and Myrna Loy, and for his role in the 1938 comedy Bringing Up Baby, starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. Due to the popularity of The Thin Man role, Skippy is sometimes credited as Asta in public and in other films.

<i>Only Angels Have Wings</i> 1939 film by Howard Hawks

Only Angels Have Wings is a 1939 American adventure romantic drama film directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant and Jean Arthur, and is based on a story written by Hawks.

<i>West Point of the Air</i> 1935 film by Richard Rosson

West Point of the Air is a 1935 American drama film directed by Richard Rosson and starring Wallace Beery, Robert Young, Lewis Stone, Maureen O'Sullivan, Rosalind Russell, and Robert Taylor. The screenplay concerns pilot training in the U.S. Army Air Corps in the early 1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tallmantz Phoenix P-1</span> One-off single engined aircraft build for the 1965 film The Flight of the Phoenix

The Tallmantz Phoenix P-1 was an FAA-certified one-off aircraft built for the 1965 film production The Flight of the Phoenix and used in the picture's final aerial sequences. Its pilot Paul Mantz was killed in an accident during a touch-and-go maneuver to simulate a takeoff, after which the plane was replaced by a crudely modified North American O-47A.

<i>Central Airport</i> (film) 1933 film

Central Airport is a 1933 American pre-Code aviation drama film directed by William A. Wellman, based on the John C. "Jack" Moffitt story, "Hawk's Mate". The film stars Richard Barthelmess and Sally Eilers. Central Airport was produced and released by Warner Bros., on April 15, 1933. John Wayne had an uncredited part in the film, playing a co-pilot, and this film features his first on-screen death.

<i>Eagle of the Night</i> 1928 film

Eagle of the Night is a 1928 American drama film serial directed by James F. Fulton. Dismissed when released and completely forgotten in the modern era, the 10-chapter aviation serial starred real-life aviator Frank Clarke, a stunt pilot in such fare as Wings (1927), Hell's Angel (1930), and The Flying Deuces (1939).

<i>Flight from Glory</i> 1937 film by Lew Landers

Flight from Glory is an American B movie about a run-down air cargo company in the Andes. It was directed by Lew Landers, and starred Chester Morris, Whitney Bourne, Onslow Stevens and Van Heflin. When released on August 20, 1937, Flight from Glory was considered one of the films that broke new ground in "pioneering airline sagas", comparing favorably to big-budget features such as 1936's Thirteen Hours by Air.

<i>Air Mail</i> (film) 1932 film

Air Mail is a 1932 American pre-Code adventure film directed by John Ford, based on a story by Dale Van Every and Frank "Spig" Wead. The film stars Ralph Bellamy, Pat O'Brien and Gloria Stuart. A copy is preserved in the Library of Congress.

<i>Too Hot to Handle</i> (1938 film) 1938 film by Jack Conway

Too Hot to Handle, also known as Let 'Em All Talk, is a 1938 comedy-drama directed by Jack Conway and starring Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, and Walter Pidgeon. The plot concerns a newsreel reporter, the female aviator he is attracted to and his fierce competitor. Many of the comedy gags were devised by an uncredited Buster Keaton.

<i>Chain Lightning</i> (1950 film) 1950 film by Stuart Heisler

Chain Lightning is a 1950 American aviation film based on the story "These Many Years" by blacklisted writer Lester Cole ; the screenplay was written by Liam O'Brien and Vincent B. Evans. During World War II, Evans had been the bombardier on the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Memphis Belle.

<i>Flying Blind</i> (film) 1941 film by Frank McDonald

Flying Blind is a 1941 American action and comedy film directed by Frank McDonald and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was the second movie from Pine-Thomas Productions. That company's first three films formed an unofficial "aviation trilogy"; all starred Richard Arlen.

<i>Night Flight</i> (1933 film) 1933 film by Clarence Brown

Night Flight is a 1933 American pre-Code aviation drama film produced by David O. Selznick, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Clarence Brown and starring John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Clark Gable, Helen Hayes, Robert Montgomery and Myrna Loy.

<i>Blaze of Noon</i> 1947 film by John Farrow

Blaze of Noon is a 1947 aviation adventure film directed by John Farrow and based on writer and aviator Ernest K. Gann's best-selling novel Blaze of Noon (1946), a story about early air mail operations. The screenplay was from well-known writer and aviator Frank "Spig" Wead and Arthur Sheekman and starred Anne Baxter, William Holden, Sonny Tufts and William Bendix.

<i>Criminals of the Air</i> 1937 film by Charles C. Coleman

Criminals of the Air is a 1937 American action film, directed by Charles C. Coleman. It stars Rosalind Keith, Charles Quigley and Rita Hayworth. The film marked "Rita Hayworth"'s first onscreen credit; the actress, born Margarita Carmen Cansino, had previously used the stage name "Rita Cansino" or was uncredited in her prior 17 film appearances.

<i>Border Flight</i> 1936 film by Otho Lovering

Border Flight is a 1936 American aviation drama film directed by Otho Lovering and written by Stuart Anthony, Arthur J. Beckhard and Ewing Scott. The film stars Frances Farmer, John Howard, Roscoe Karns, Robert Cummings, Grant Withers and Samuel S. Hinds. Border flight was based on the exploits of the US Coast Guard pilots, based in San Diego. In Aviation in the Cinema (1985), aviation film historian Stephen Pendo considered Border Flight, a drama that "detailed the aerial activities of the United States Coast Guard fighting a gang of smugglers."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Clarke (pilot)</span> Hollywood stunt pilot, actor, and military officer

Frank Clarke was a Hollywood stunt pilot, actor, and military officer. His most prominent role was as Leutnant von Bruen in the 1930 production Hell's Angels, but he flew for the camera and performed stunts in more than a dozen films in the 1930s and 1940s. Clarke was killed in an aircraft crash near Isabella, California, in 1948.

Don Dwiggins was an American journalist and author, specializing in aviation.

References

Notes

  1. Although not mentioned in the credits, the aerial scenes were flown by noted film pilot Paul Mantz, with aircraft from his own fleet, including the Lockheed Vega used in the "Honeymoon Express." [4]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 Leider 2011, p. 151.
  2. "Original print information: 'Wings in the Dark' (1935)." Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: May 18, 2015.
  3. Santoir, Christian. "Wings in the Dark." Aeromovies. Retrieved: May 18, 2015.
  4. Dwiggins 1967, p. 59.
  5. Sennwald, Andre. "Movie review: 'Wings in the Dark' (1935); Tale of a sightless aviator in 'Wings in the Dark,' at the Paramount." The New York Times, February 2, 1935.
  6. Mandell 2002, p. 307.
  7. Greene and Parkinson 1993, p. 7.
  8. Young 2007, p. 43.
  9. Harrison 2000, p. 116.

Bibliography

  • Dwiggins, Don. Hollywood Pilot: The Biography of Paul Mantz. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1967.
  • Greene, Graham and David Parkinson. Mornings in the Dark: The Graham Greene Film Reader. Manchester, UK: Carcanet Press, 1993. ISBN   978-1-85754-044-4.
  • Harrison, James P. Mastering the Sky: A History of Aviation from Ancient Times to the Present. New York: Da Capo Press, 2000. ISBN   978-1-885119-68-1.
  • Leider, Emily W. Myrna Loy: The Only Good Girl in Hollywood. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2011. ISBN   978-0-520-25320-9.
  • Mandell, Deena. Deadbeat Dads: Subjectivity and Social Construction. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 2002. ISBN   978-0-8020-8318-0.
  • Young, William H. and Nancy K. Young. The Great Depression in America: A Cultural Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007. ISBN   978-0-313-33521-1.