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Aviation Films - A
Above and Beyond (MGM 1953, 122m) D: Melvin Frank, Norman Panama. Jim Backus = Gen Curtis LeMay, Eleanor Parker = Lucey Tibbets, Robert Taylor = Col Paul Tibbets, James Whitmore = Maj Uanna. Screenplay: Frank & Panama, based on an outline by Beirne Lay Jr. Dramatization of a true story about delivering the first atomic bomb. Maltin review: "Meaningful account of US pilot who flew over Hiroshima with first atomic bomb; film focuses on his training and its effect on his personal life. Tibbets' story also told in 1980 tv movie 'Enola Gay'." Filmed at Davis- Monthan AFB AZ.
AIRCRAFT: Boeing B-29.
Above the Clouds (Columbia 1934, 68 min) D: Roy W Neill. Robert Armstrong = Scoop Adams, Richard Cromwell = Dick Robinson, Dorothy Wilson = Connie. Screenplay: Albert DeMond, aka "Winged Devils."
AIRCRAFT: Dirigibles.
Ace Drummond (serial; 1936 Universal, 255 min) D: Ford Beebe, Clifford Smith. Noah Beery Jr = Jerry, Lon Chaney Jr = Ivan, John King = Ace Drummond, Jean Rogers = Peggy Trainor. Based on comic-strip character created by Eddie Rickenbacker. "G-Man of the sky" King is sent to Mongolia to find out why a mysterious villain, "The Dragon," is trying to prevent International Airways from setting up an airport there. He meets Rogers, who is searching for her archaeologist father who has disappeared. Together they search for answers to the puzzles. Some flying footage from "Hell's Angels" and just about everything else. Filmed around the Los Angeles Basin. Typical serial implausibility but spirited fun. 13 chapters. Released on two DVDs of 120m and 135m. Feaure release as Squadron of Doom. Kids at Saturday matinées probably began leaving in the first chapter when their hero started singing "Give Me a Ship and a Song" for no apparent reason while a passenger on the China Clipper! (-- K O Eckland)
Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies (Fox 1973, 92m) D: Bill Sampson (John Erman). Royal Dano = Jake, Pamela Franklin = Shelby, Bernadette Peters (film debut) = Allison, Cliff Robertson = Eli, Eric Shea = Rodger. Screenplay: Steven Spielberg. A barnstroming pilot takes his precocious son with him on tour. Good flying scenes, good acting in an unfocused plot.
Ace In the Hole (1925, silent)
Ace Of Aces (RKO 1933, 74m) D: J Walter Ruben. Elizabeth Allen = Nancy Adams, Ralph Bellamy = Maj Blake, Richard Dix = Lt Rex Thorne. Screenplay: H W Hanemann and John Monk Saunders, based on Saunder's story, "Bird of Prey." Sculptor who doesn't want any part of the World War is shamed by his girlfriend into joining the army, becomes a fighter pilot, and undergoes a complete personality change. Aerials by Howard Batt, Frank Clarke, Oliver LeBoutillier, Garland Lincoln, others. Clarke also in a bit part as a German cadet; uncredited appearances by Betty Furness and Grady Sutton as party guests, and William Cagney as Lt Meeker.
AIRCRAFT: Fleet 2, Garland Lincoln LF-1, Nieuport 28, Travel Air 2000, Waco RNF.
Aces: A Story of the First Air War (Canadian; National Film Board 1993, 93m) Documentary, featuring rarely-seen archival footage, chronicling the wartime career of a Canadian airman and providing a first-hand glimpse of World War I in the skies. Narrator: George Pearson.
Aces High (British; Cine Artists 1976, 114m) D: Jack Gold. Malcolm McDowell = John Gresham, Christopher Plummer = Sinclair, Peter Firth = Stephen Croft, Simon Ward = Crawford, John Gielgud = headmaster, Ray Milland = Whale. Screenplay: Howard Barker, based on R C Sherriff's "Journey's End." A naive young officer straight from school arrives on the Western front to join the air war. However, the life expectancy of green pilots is not very good, as is demonstrated here. Excellent aerial footage. Maltin review: "Strong antiwar statement focusing on indoctrination of WW1 pilot (Firth) and his disillusioned squadron leader (McDowell). Solid cast (with cameos by John Gielgud, Ray Milland, Trevor Howard, and Richard Johnson) and exciting aerial dogfights."
AIRCRAFT: Mostly replicas and DH Tiger Moths made up as SE5a and Fokker fighters; some authentics used sparingly.
Across the Atlantic (Warner Bros 1928, silent) D: Howard Bretherton. Monte Blue = Hugh Clayton, Burr McIntosh = John Clayton, Edna Murphy = Phyllis Jones.
Adventures of Smilin' Jack (serial; Universal 1943, 265m) D: Lewis Collins, Ray Taylor. Turhan Bey = Kageyama, Tom Brown = Jack Martin, Rose Hobart = Gertrude Muller, Marjorie Lord = Janet Thompson, Keye Luke = Capt Wing, Sidney ("Charlie Chan") Toler = General Kai Ling. Screenplay: Morgan Cox. 13 chapters. Released on two DVDs of 128m and 144m for 272m.
Adventures of the Flying Cadets (serial; Universal 1943, 265m) D: Lewis Collins, Ray Taylor. Robert Armstrong = Arthur Galt, Johnny Downs = Danny Collins, Bobby Jordan = Jinks Roberts, Regis Toomey = Capt Ralph Carson.
Aerial Gunner (Paramount 1943, 78m) D: William Pine. Richard Arlen = Ben Davis, Chester Morris = Foxy Pattis, Dick Purcell = Gadget Blaine, Lita Ward = Peggy Lunt. Screenplay: Maxwell Shane. Filmed at Harlingen TX. Aerials by military pilots. Maltin review: "Formula WW2 action propaganda, pitting old rivals Arlen and Morris during basic training and competing for Ward's love. Partially salvaged by some energetic combat scenes. Look quick for Robert Mitchum."
AIRCRAFT: AT-6, AT-11, B-34, BT-9.
Aerial Nut (Fox c.1920, silent) Al St John comedy. Aerials by B H DeLay.
Aerograd (USSR "Air City"; 1935) D: Aleksandr Dovzhenko. No data.
Aeroplane Elopement, An (1911 silent) D: William Humphrey. Maud Brooks, Helen Gardner, William Humphrey, Edith Storey, Earle Williams = George Pinckney. No other data found about this comedy short.
Aeroplane Flight and Wreck (USA? 1910 silent, 4m). One of the early mergers of two fledgling inventions—motion pictures and airplanes—and nothing is known about its creator; it is likely just a short home movie recording an event. The sole cast credit is to M Cody as "stunt pilot," whose name does not show up in a search of early aviators. One descriptive comment found: "Cody arrives by carriage, walks to a barn, and slides open the doors to reveal a large biplane. He pulls it out of the hanger [sic]. One man checks the engine while another starts the propeller. Four men push the plane into position for taxi and take-off. Cody takes his seat and puts on heavy leather gloves. Then, the long take-off begins as Cody steers the plane through a relatively flat, grassy field. The camera begins to follow the plane ... and sticks with it as best as possible. It lifts for a brief flight and then falls to earth. One man walks Cody back toward the barn while the plane's builders inspect the extensive damage. At times, the plane moves too quickly for the camera to catch everything, but in general it is a credible job for a time when that kind of photography was rare. The airplane itself is quite interesting, since it is the kind of eccentric-looking contraption that was common in the early years of powered flight. This short film also does a decent job of capturing the mood of those who were involved with the flight." Could it be of French origin and the "M" for "Monsieur" and, if so, could that Cody be Samuel F Cody? Interesting conjecture ...
Aeroplane Love Affair, An (1912 silent). George W Beatty, Gwendoline Pates. No other data found.
Affair in the Air (tv documentary; 19??, 60m) Sport aviation and amateur-builts.
Aflame in the Sky (R-C 1927, silent) Jack Luden, Sharon Lynn.
Africa Speaks ... English (WB-Vitaphone 1933, 11m) D: Roy Mack. Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy comedy short, a parody on the popular 1930 "Africa Speaks" travelogue, featured Heath V [NC935M] (which likely was owned by Bergen, who was a long-time licensed pilot). British Cirrus engine accounts for him propping it clockwise.
Age of Flight: X-Planes (PBS tv documentary 1990, 60m) The era of experimental supersonic aircraft and the test pilots who risked their lives to conduct all-important research.
Air America (1990, 112m) D: Roger Spottiswoode. Robert Downey Jr = Billy Covington, Mel Gibson = Gene Ryack, Nancy Travis = Corinne. A wacko pilot (Downey) loses his job as a helicopter traffic reporter and hires on with what ostensibly is an airline in Laos. There he finds insurgents shooting at him, government soldiers running drugs, a pilot who is supplying arms to the whole region... and those are the straightforward sub-plots. Became a short-lived tv series. Some good air work (by Ray Hanna and crew) despite thin and confusing plot, a very Hollywoodized version of the real thing, but entertaining. Aerial coordinator: Ronnie Dunnett.
AIRCRAFT: C-123K, Cessna O-1, Pilatus Porter, Sikorsky S-58T, UH-1.
Trivia: (1) In the first uphill landing, crewman puts chocks in front of the wheels, but the plane is more in danger of rolling backward downhill. (2) Set in 1969, a Laotian lounge duo sings "A Horse With No Name," which was not released until 1971. (3) When Gene and Billy are hanging upside-down in the helicopter, Gene's necklace defies gravity.
Airborne, The (tv documentary; 1979, 60m) Air racing and exhibition flying with Art Scholl, Canadian Snowbirds, Darryl Greenameyer, et al.
Air Cadet (Universal Intl 1951, 94m) D: Joseph Pevney. Charles Drake = Capt Sullivan, Rock Hudson = upperclassman, Stephen McNally = Maj Jack Page, Alex Nicol = Joe Czanoczek, Gail Russell = Janet Page. A group of cadets have assorted problems at Randolph Field. Alternate title: Jet Men of the Air.
AIRCRAFT: F-80.
Trivia: Astronaut Virgil I "Gus" Grissom appears in a bit part.
Air Circus (Fox 1928, 118m, silent with part sound) D: Howard Hawks, Louis Seiler. Sue Carol = Sue Manning, Arthur Lake = Speed Doolittle, David Rollins = Buddy Blake. Screenplay: Norman McLeod, C Graham Baker. Aerials by Leo Nomis, Moye Stephens. Filmed at Clover Field, Santa Monica CA.
Air Combat (tv documentary; History Channel c.2000, 51m). Excellent series of period air-war scenarios from WW1 to the present featuring personal interviews, archival film clips, and some outstanding computer graphics marred only by constant reminders that you are really watching a video game—the absurd "camera jiggle" whenever a plane coming head-on passes by, the repetitive scenes, and the ear-wrenching soundtrack of some adolescent aimlessly beating on drums.
Air Derby, The (??, 1929, Silent) D: Harry Joe Brown. No data found.
Air Devils (Universal 1938, 58m) D: John Rawlins. Larry Blake = Horseshoe, Charles Brokaw = Frederick Burton, Dick Purcell = Slats, Beryl Wallace = Marcia Bradford, Minnie Urecal. Purcell and Blake imitate a James Cagney-Pat O'Brien rivalry in a bland tale of a South Sea island constabulary, comprised of former US servicemen, who deal with a native uprising. Flying scenes are few and far between. DVD release is 62m.
Air Eagles (Continental 1931, 72m) D: Phil Whitman. Shirley Grey = Eve, Lloyd Hughes = Bill Ramsey, Matty Kemp = Eddie Ramsey, Norman Kerry = Otto Schumann. Screenplay: Hampton Del Ruth. Post-WW1 love triangle involving Eve and two ex-combat pilots, one German and the other American.
Air Force (Warner Bros 1943, 124m) D: Howard Hawks. Harry Carey = Sgt Robby White, John Garfield = Sgt Joe Winocki, Arthur Kennedy = Lt Tom McMartin, John Ridgley = Capt Mike Quincannon, George Tobias = Cpl Weinburg, Gig Young = Lt Bill Williams. Screenplay: Dudley Nichols. Maltin review: "Archetypal WW2 movie, focusing on archetypal bomber crew. Tough to stomach at times ('Fried Jap going down,' chimes Tobias after scoring a hit), but generally exciting, well-done." Filmed at Tampa FL. Aerials by Paul Mantz and others.
AIRCRAFT: B-17C/D, P-39D, P-40C; as Japs: AT-6, B-26C, P-43.
Air Force One (Columbia 1997, 124m) D: Wolfgang Peterson. Glenn Close = Kathryn Bennett, Harrison Ford = James Marshall, Paul Guilfoyle = Lloyd Shepherd, Gary Oldman = Igor Korshunov, Dean Stockwell = Walter Dean. Screenplay: Andrew Marlowe. Maltin comments: "Brutal Kazakhstani terrorists take over Air Force One and hold the President, his family, and his entourage hostage in mid-air. Intense, violent, edge-of-your-seat popcorn fodder, anchored by Ford as a two-fisted president who's not afraid to fight. Requires the usual suspension of disbelief, but pays back in spades."
Trivia: (1) The pilot and copilot both put their hands on the throttle levers twice to increase them to full power. (2) None of the planes used as the real Air Force One have an escape pod. (3) Russian Army personnel are prohibited by regulations from wearing a beard, and only salute with a hand when wearing hats.
Air Fright (Hal Roach/MGM 1933, 19m) D: Gus Meins. Don Barclay = Passenger, Billy Bletcher = Aviator, Charlie Hall = Pilot, Patsy Kelly = Patsy, Thelma Todd = Thelma. Comedy short about stewardesses and an experimental airline.
Air Group 16 (Drescher Films/PBS documentary 2006, c.30m) Story and memoirs of WW2 aircrews who served aboard carrier USS Lexington and their final reunion and journey to Washington DC for dedication of the National World War II Memorial in 2004.
Air Hawk, The (FBO 1924, silent) D: Bruce Mitchell. Virginia Brown Faire = Edith, Emmett King = John Ames, Frank Tomick = Major Falles, Al Wilson = Al Parker/The Air Hawk. Screenplay: George W Pyper.
Air Hawks (Columbia 1935, 68m) D: Albert S Rogell. Ralph Bellamy = Maj Barry Eldon, Tara Birell = Renee DuPont, Douglass Dumbrille = Victor Arnold, Wiley Post = himself. Plays like a Saturday serial, with mad scientist and his "death ray" commissioned by rival airline company to blast Eldon's air mail planes from the sky. Athough billed third, Post shows up only briefly in the final scene. Filmed at Metropolitan Airport (Van Nuys CA).
Air Hostess (Columbia 1933) D: Albert S Rogell. J M Kerrigan = Pa Kearns, Evelyn Knapp = Kitty King, James Murray = Ted Hunter, Thelma Todd = Sylvia Carleton. Screenplay: Keene Thompson. Aerials by Frank Clarke, Oliver LeBoutillier. Filmed in part at Grand Central Air Terminal.
AIRCRAFT: Catron-Fisk, Travel Air Speedwing.
Air Hostess (Columbia 1949, 60m) D: Lew Landers. Ann Doran = Virginia Barton, Ross Ford = Dennis Hogan, Gloria Henry = Ruth Jackson, Marjorie Lord = Jennifer White, Grady Sutton = Ned Jenkins.
Air Legion, The (FBO 1929, silent) D: Bert Glennon John Gough = McGonicle,. Ben Lyon = Dave, Antonio Moreno = Steve, Martha Sleeper = Sally. An air mail pilot loses his nerve.
Airline Travel, Zeppelin to Concorde (Great Britain, tv documentary; Movietone 2007?) Two one-hour episodes in subject shown in US on PBS in Sept 2007. Had the look of a classroom educational project, and with pervasive drumming soundtrack, but good narration.
Air Mail (Universal 1932, 83m) D: John Ford. Ralph Bellamy = Mike Miller, Pat O'Brien = Duke Talbot, Gloria Stuart = Ruth Barnes, Slim Summerville = Slim McCune, Jim Thorpe = an Indian. Screenplay: Dale Van Every, Frank "Spig" Wead. Miller runs an air mail base full of young pilots risking their lives to get the mail through regardless of the weather. Following the death of one pilot in a crash, Miller hires the wild and arrogant Talbot, and that's when his real troubles start! Filmed at Bishop CA. Aerials by Paul Mantz, doing his memorable hangar fly-through, and others. Cinematographer: Elmer Dyer.
AIRCRAFT: Boeing M-3, Fairchild KR-21, Ford 4-AT, Travel Air 16-K.
Air Mail Mystery, The (serial; Universal 1932) D: Ray Taylor. Walter Brennan = Holly, Lucile Browne = Mary Ross, James Flavin = Bob Lee, Wheeler Oakman = Judson Ward, Al Wilson = Jimmy Ross. Aerials by Frank Clarke, Roy Wilson, Frank Tomick. Filmed in part at Wilson Airport, San Fernando Valley.
Air Mail, The (Paramount-Lasky 1925, silent) D: Irvin Willat. Warner Baxter = Russ Kane, Mary Brian = Minnie Wade, Billie Dove = Alice Rendon, Douglas Fairbanks Jr = Sandy. Aerials by Frank Clarke. Filmed at Antelope Valley CA.
AIRCRAFT: Catron-Fisk.
Air Mail Pilot, The (Superlative 1928, silent) D: Gene Carroll. James Fulton = Jimmy Dean, DeWitt Jennings = Robert Ross, Earl Metcalf = Tom Miller. Screenplay: Harriet Virginia.
Air Maniacs (Educational Pictures 1933, 20m) D: unk. Vince Barnett, Billy Bevan, Walter Catlett, Frank Clark (not Clarke), Ron Rondell. Comedy short about movie stunt pilots, aerials by Roy Wilson.
Air Patrol, The (Universal-Laemmle 1928, silent) D: Bruce M Mitchell. Elsa Benham = Mary Lacy, Frank Clarke = an aviator, Art Goebel = an aviator, Monte Montague = Sid Swivel, Frank Tomick = Kelly, Al Wilson = Al Langdon. Aerials, of course, by Wilson, Tomick, Goebel, and Clarke.
Air Patrol, The (Fox 1962, 62m) D: Maury Dexter. Merry Anders = Mona Whitney, Russ Bender = Sgt Lou Kurnitz, Robert Dix = Sgt Bob Castle, Willard Parker = Lt Vern Taylor. Police helicopters in action.
Airplane! (Paramount 1980, 88m) D: Jim Abrahams, David Zucker. Lloyd Bridges = McCroskey, Peter Graves = Captain Oveur, Julie Hagerty = Elaine Dickinson, Robert Hays = Ted Striker, Leslie Nielsen = Doctor Rumack, Robert Stack = Kramer. Original title: "Kentucky Fried Airplane." Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture Comedy 1981. Maltin review: "Very funny spoof of 'Airport'-type pictures (and Arthur Hailey's 'Zero Hour' in particular), with a nonstop string of gags that holds up almost to the end (why carp?). Our favorite: the strange plight of Lt Hurwitz. Stay tuned through final credits." Followed by Airplane II: The Sequel (1982).
Air Police (Sono Art-Wide World 1931, 64m) D: Stuart Paton. Charles Delaney = Lt Andy Conroy, Josephine Dunn = Dolores, Ken Harlan = Lt Jerry Doyle. Screenplay: Bennett Cohen, Arthur Hoerl.
Air Show: Paris 1989 (documentary; McGraw-Hill 1989, 60m) Comprehensive coverage of the biggest and most exciting airshow ever. It may also be the most significant, because for the first time the Soviets put on an astonishingly open display of their latest and most sophisticated military hardware.
Air Strike (Lippert-Universal 1955) D: Cy Roth. Richard Denning = Cdr Stanley Blair, Don Haggerty = Lt Richard Huggins, Billy Halop = LtCdr Orville Swanson, Gloria Jean = Marge Huggins. Screenplay: Roth.
Air Tight (Hal Roach-MGM 1931, 17m) D: George Stevens. Grady Sutton comedy short in which his pals build a glider and he flies it into misfortunes. Low-level flight comedy.
All the Fine Young Men (tv documentary; PBS 19??, 60m) 8th AF B-17s.
All the Way Boys (Tiger Films 1972, 105m) D: Giuseppe Colizzi. Terence Hill = Plata, Reinhard Kolldehoff = Mr Ears, Riccardo Pizzuti = Naso, Bud Spencer = Salud. Screenplay: Barbara Alberti, Colizzi. Also titled Plane Crazy. A tropical spaghetti-western with Plata and Salud as bush pilots in Colombia, always looking for quick money, who land at a mining camp where they clash with a powerful diamond dealer. Some good aerial scenes. (— Christian Santoir 6/21/06)
AIRCRAFT: Cessna 182, DC-3, DHC2 Beaver, HS.748, PBY-5A, PT-17.
Always (1989, 106m) D: Steven Spielberg. Richard Dreyfuss = Pete Sandich, John Goodman = Al Yackey, Audrey Hepburn = Hap, Holly Hunter = Dorinda Durston, Brad Johnson = Ted Baker. Romantic adventure about a legendary pilot and his girl was a remake of A Guy Named Joe, changed from USAAF fighters to Forestry Service borate bombers, and never catches fire despite good flying scenes. Filmed at Libby MT, Ephrata WA. Aerials by Steve Hinton, Denny Lynch, et al.
AIRCRAFT: A-26, Beech 18, C-119, Cessna 337, Citabria Decathlon, PBY-5.
Trivia: In the beginning of the movie, when Pete starves both engines on the A-26, he wasn't seen feathering them. One would think that would be the first thing a pilot would do if he needed to stretch his glide. However, the aircraft shown rolling out after landing did have the props feathered. (— Richard Finley 2/3/02)
Amazing Howard Hughes, The (1977, 215m) D: William A Graham. Tovah Feldshuh = Katherine Hepburn, Ed Flanders = Noah Dietrich, James Hampton = Wilbur Peterson, Tommy Lee Jones = Howard Hughes. Made-for-tv bio of Hughes.
Amelia Earhart (Universal Television 1976, 150m) D: George Schaefer. Susan Clark = Amelia Earhart, John Forsythe = George Putnam, Stephen Macht = Paul Mantz, Susan Oliver = Neta Snook, Jane Wyatt = Amy Earhart. Screenplay: Carol Sobieski. Golden Globe nomination for Best Movie Made For TV 1977.
Amelia Earhart, The Final Flight (1994, 120m) D: Yves Simoneau. David Carpenter = Harry Kanning, Bruce Dern = George Putnam, Diane Keaton = Amelia Earhart, Paul Guilfoyle = Paul Mantz, Rutger Hauer = Fred Noonan. Screenplay: Doris L Rich, Anna Sandor. Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress (Keaton), Outstanding Camera Production (Michael Ornstein) 1995; Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Made for TV (Keaton) 1995; SAG nomination for Outstanding Actress in a TV Movie (Keaton) 1995. Maltin review: "Keaton's single-minded Earhart is the center of this stunningly photographed, beautifully appointed, though indifferently acted bio, an episodic recreation of the aviatrix's lifelong fascination with aviation ending with her luckless last flight in 1937. Dern does a nice turn as publisher Putnam, her impresario husband/manager/press agent."
Trivia: (1) On departing from Miami, mountains are seen in the background but Florida there is flat as a pancake. (2) At the picnic, mustard comes from squeeze-bottles, which hadn't been invented yet.
American Eagle Reported Universal film was filmed at San Diego c.1928, inspired by or based on Lindbergh's flight, but no record was found about its completion or release.
American Eagle (1982) SEE Deadly Encounter.
American Fighter Pilots (CBS TV 2002, 60m) - Eight episodes dealing with F-15 pilot training, and their private lives. Filmed at Tyndall AFB in Florida. More info as is found.
American War Eagles Documentary series produced in 2001 by Kit Ellis and Howard Selfe, narrated by Carl Conway. No info found except for three chapter titles: Bolt From the Blue (P-47), Thunder From the Skies (F4U), and Wings of Destruction—all 53m each.
An Aviator's Success (1912, silent) Blanche Scott = herself.
Angels One Five (Great Britain; Templar 1952, 98m) D: George More O'Ferrall. Michael Denison = Peter Moon, John Gregson = "Septic" Baird, Jack Hawkins = "Tiger" Small. Baird joins a front-line RAF squadron at the height of the Battle of Britain in this story of "The Few" who managed to fight off the might of the Luftwaffe despite overwhelming German air power.
Annapolis Story, An (Allied Artists 1955, 81m) D: Don Siegel. John Derek = Tony Scott, Diana Lynn = Peggy Lord, Kevin McCarthy = Jim Scott, Don Kennedy = McLaren. Screenplay: Daniel Mainwaring, aka "The Blue and the Gold." Training jet pilots at the USN Academy.
Anne-Marie (France; Aurèa Films 1936, 109min) D: Raymond Bernard. Annabella = Anne-Marie, Paul Azaïs = the boxer, Christian Gèrard = her lover, Abel Jacquin = the detective, Pierre Labry = the peasant, Jean Murat = the thinker, Pierre Richard-Willam = the inventor. Screenplay: Raymond Bernard and Andrè Lang, based on a story by Antoine de St Exupery. We're familiar with love triangles, but here we have the love heptagon, even though only one will get the girl. A female aviation engineer wants to learn to fly and meets five pilots who take charge of her training, but she will fall in love with another. This is the one scenario the famous flyer-writer de Saint Exupery had written specially for the screen. As in most European movies of that period, no models but real planes, and plenty of them—a true spotter's delight! Caudron and Renault supplied many aircraft, some brand new, in return for the good publicity. (— Christian Santoir 1/6/06)
AIRCRAFT: Breguet 272 TOE; Caudrons C.600, C.640, C.634, C.410, C.530, C.490, and C.272; Dewoitine D.500; Gourdon-Leseurre B6; Liore et Olivier 20; Potez 60.
Appointment in London (Great Britain; British Lion-Mayflower 1953, 96m) D: Philip Leacock. Dirk Bogarde = Wing Cdr Tim Mason, Ian Hunter = Grp Capt Logan, Dinah Sheridan = Eve Canyon. Life in a British bomber squadron. Mason leads a squadron of Lancasters on almost nightly raids from England. Having flown 87 missions, he will shortly be retired from flying, but the strain is showing.
AIRCRAFT: Avro Lancaster.
Arise My Love (Paramount 1940). An adventure set in the Spanish Civil War, while not qualifying as an aviation movie it does have glimpses of a Boeing 247, Stinson A tri-motor, and Stearman C3H/R in the opening sequence.
Army Air Force in the Pacific, The (US Treasury Dept 1945, 17m) - Gen "Hap" Arnold narrates a War Bonds promo.
Around the World in 18 Days (Universal 1923, silent) D: B Reeves Eason, Robert F Hill. Spottiswoode Aitken, William Desmond, Laura La Plante.
Around the World via Graf Zeppelin (documentary; Talking Picture Epics 1930).
Arrow, The (Canada tv miniseries; Manitoba Film & Sound Development 1997, 240m) D: Don McBrearty. Dan Aykroyd = Crawford Gordon, Nigel Bennett = James Floyd, Sara Botsford = Kate O'Hara, Aidan Devine = Jim Chamberlin, Ron White = Jack Woodman. The story of the world's fastest fighter plane ever built, the Avro Arrow in '50s Canada, and how the project was dropped due to economic reasons. Many will disagree with how the filmmakers portray the political figures involved, including [Prime Minister] Diefenbaker and Eisenhower. This movie makes it sound like Diefenbaker was a heavy, responsible for this aviation fiasco, while many will agree that is not totally true. Remember that "true story" movies are not always 100% true. It is visually brilliant and shows it had quite a big budget. And it really makes you feel sorry for the Arrow, wishing it would have really been put in service. (— Sergio Ortega)
Atlantic Flight (Monogram 1937, 59m) D: William Nigh. Weldon Heyburn = Bill, Jack Lambie = ?, Ivan Lebedeff = Baron, Dick Merrill = himself, Milburn Stone = Pokey, Paula Stone = Gail.
Au Grand Balcon (France; CICC 1949, 123m) D: Henri Decoin. Pierre Fresnay = Carbot, Georges Marchal = Fabien, Félix Oudart = Garandoux, Janine Crispin = Mlle Maryse. Screenplay: Joseph Kessel. South American sequel: Night Flight (1933). The beginnings of the French international air mail service, directed by Didier Daurat, with legendary pilots like Mermoz, St. Exupéry, and Guillaumet. The history ends with the first postal flight across the Atlantic in 1930. Flying is by a Breguet bomber converted as a mailplane; a torpedo bomber floatplane as the Laté 28 used for the Atlantic crossing. (— Christian Santoir 5/18/04)
AIRCRAFT: Breguet Latécoère 14.A2 and 298, Caudron 128/2, Morane-Saulnier 315.
Avalanche SEE Stürm über dem Mont Blanc.
Aviation Action (PBS tv documentary series 2005, 60m episodes (150m on DVD)) Profiles the maneuvers of biplanes-to-jets daredevils, USN Blue Angels, Canada's Snowbirds, USAF Thunderbirds.
Aviator (Warner Bros-Miramax 2004, 170m) D: Martin Scorsese. Alan Alda = Senator Brewster, Alec Baldwin = Juan Trippe, Kate Beckinsale = Ava Gardner, Cate Blanchett = Katharine Hepburn, Leonardo DiCaprio = Howard Hughes, Ian Holm = Professor Fitz, John C Reilly = Noah Dietrich. Screenplay: John Logan. Somewhat faithful (for Hollywood, at least) biopic of the life and times of Howard Hughes. 4 Golden Globe awards 2005.
Trivia: (1) When Hughes tries for the speed record, close-up shots of him and his plane while flying show an open cockpit, but long-shots in the same sequence show a closed cockpit. (2) At least one of the "Hell's Angels" Fokkers rolling for takeoff has an opposed engine. (3) The grounded TWA Constellations shown are Super-Gs with wing-tip fuel tanks, a model that did not fly until 1951. TWA was flying regular Constellations in 1947, when the scene was supposed to have taken place. (4) When Hughes takes Hepburn on a flight over L.A., in the first aerial shots are seen a couple of obviously modern buildings and part of a freeway. (5) When the model of the Hercules is brought out to promote the plane's construction, the props are turning in the wide shots, but not in the close-ups. And, at the party introducing Hercules, two shots of the model from the front show props turning, one shot from the back shows them stationary. (6) Hughes refers to the Lockheed "F-80" when talking to Noah and Odie about working with jet engines. Since that was day of the flight of the 'Spruce Goose,' 11/2/47, he should have called it the "P-80". USAF didn't drop the "P-for-Pursuit" designation until 1948. (7) The overhead shot of H-1 just before Hughes takes it off for its test flight shows the plane with its short wings (for speed records), but flying shots with its long wings (for cross-country flights). (8) When the 'Spruce Goose' first gets airborne, two members of the crew behind the cockpit can be seen exchanging a "high five"! (9) When Lockheed execs discuss the Constellation deal, the USAF insigne on the XF-11 is a post-1947 version—a red bar in the center of the white bars. A statement made about Truman being vice-president dates the conversation as before FDR's death (Apr 1945), so the insigne is incorrect. And for vegetarians only: (10) In 1928, Hughes orders "ten chocolate chip cookies," which were not invented until 1937 by Toll House. (11) In the dining scene with Hepburn and Flynn, Hughes' dinner is a steak and 12 peas. Flynn reaches over and eats a pea, but in the next shot there are still 12 peas. When Howard pushes his plate forward there are only 10 peas. Who swiped pea #11?
Aviator, The (Warner Bros 1929, 75m), silent D: Roy Del Ruth. Johnny Arthur = Hobart, Edward Everett Horton = Robert Street, Patsy Ruth Miller = Grace Douglas, Lee Moran = Brown.
Aviator, The (United Artists 1985, 90m) D: George Miller. Rosanna Arquette = Tillie Hansen, Christopher Reeve = Edgar Anscombe, Sam Wanamaker = Bruno Hansen, Jack Warden = Moravia. Screenplay: Mark Norman based on Ernest K Gann novel. Negligible flying. Maltin review: "Pioneer pilot Reeve crash-lands in the middle of some 1928 nowhere with whiny adolescent Arquette. Dull Gann story barely made it—and understandably so—to the theaters."
Aviator and the Autoist Race for a Bride, The (Champion 1912, silent) D: unknown. William Crane = an automobile driver, Lee Hammond = an aviator, Blanche Scott = an aviatrix (herself).
Aviator Spy, The (Great Britain; 1914, silent) D: Charles Calvert. Norman Howard, Douglas Payne = Paul Koffman. Alternate title: His Country's Honour.
Aviator's Wife (or Lady), The - (France "La Femme de l'Aviateur"; Les Films du Losange 1980, 106m). Reviewer Christian Santoir reports that this as an aviation movie in title only, with "not so much as a wing's shadow!"
¡A Volar Joven! (Mexico, 1947). Comedy starring Cantinflas (Mario Moreno) as a MAF private who is learning to fly. Short on both comedy and flying, it offers some air and ground shots of a Beech AT-11 in the last reel.
Awful Adventures of an Aviator, The (Selig Polyscope Co 1914, silent) D: Norval MacGregor. Roy L McCardell and unknown others.
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