More than decent Columbia programmer about an upstart airline company trying to raise cash & avoid a buyout who come under attack by a Mad Scientist (secretly funded by a rival outfit) shooting their planes out of the sky with a high-tech experimental Ray Gun. Yikes! Nicely shot by Henry Freulich, it helps make up for Albert Rogell’s by-the-numbers megging. Ralph Bellamy is reasonably manly as the tough company boss helplessly watching his fliers (including a married brother) die in burning planes, yet still finding time to romance swanky ‘chanteusy’ Tala Birell, a Romanian Hollywood import who didn’t ignite. Main interest now is in Mad Inventor Edward Van Sloan (Universal Horror stalwart: FRANKENSTEIN; DRACULA; THE MUMMY) working his secret laser weapon (quite the contraption!); and in seeing third-billed Wiley Post in a brief cameo, America’s best-known one-eyed/record-busting aviator in his only film appearance, only months away from his fatal flight with celebrity passenger Will Rogers. This film likely playing second-run houses when they crashed in Alaska.
DOUBLE-BILL: Though not credited, this is something of a low-rent version of John Ford’s AIR MAIL/’32 (Bellamy in much the same role), from a Frank Wead story that ‘inspired’ Howard Hawks’ ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS/’39. Hawks having already done Wead’s own revamp: CEILING ZERO/’36. All three pics working on an entirely different plane than AIR HAWKS.
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