''Flight for Freedom'' (also known as ''Stand to Die'') is a 1943 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Lothar Mendes Lothar Mendes (19 May 1894 – 24 February 1974) was a German-born screenwriter and film director. His two best known films are ''Jew Süss (1934 film), Jew Süss'' (1934) and ''The Man Who Could Work Miracles'' (1936), both productions for Briti ...

and starring

Rosalind Russell Catherine Rosalind Russell (June 4, 1907November 28, 1976) was an American actress, model, comedian, screenwriter, and singer,Obituary '' Variety'', December 1, 1976, p. 79. known for her role as fast-talking newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson in ...

Fred MacMurray Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...

and

Herbert Marshall Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall (23 May 1890 – 22 January 1966) was an English stage, screen, and radio actor who starred in many popular and well-regarded Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s. After a successful theatrical career in the Un ...

. Film historians and Earhart scholars consider ''Flight for Freedom'' an à clef version of

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( ; July 24, 1897 – January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer. On July 2, 1937, she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the world. During her li ...

's life story, concentrating on the sensational aspects of her disappearance during her 1937 world flight. The film's ending speculated that the main character's disappearance was connected to a secret mission on behalf of the U.S. government. As a

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

film, the Japanese characters in ''Flight for Freedom'' were portrayed as devious and evil.

Plot

In the aviation establishment of the 1930s, well-known

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...

Tonie Carter is fighting the prejudice against women pilots. One of her rivals, pilot Randy Britton, is attracted to her. After setting flight records flying for her former mentor, Paul Turner, Tonie embarks on a solo

circumnavigation Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical object, astronomical body (e.g. a planet or natural satellite, moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first circumnaviga ...

of the globe. When her plans are made public,

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

Admiral Graves seeks to convince her to undertake a top-secret mission involving flying over Japanese-held territory in the Mandated Islands. Flying for the navy, Randy has discovered the Japanese-mandated islands have hidden military installations. When Tonie receives a classified message in Hawaii, she aborts her takeoff in order to meet Graves who asks her to turn her record-breaking flight into a spy mission. Awaiting the repair of her aircraft, Tonie travels back to mainland United States accompanied by Paul Turner, who reveals he wants to marry her at the conclusion of the flight. Turner, however, is apprehensive about the dangers involved in her flight. One of the concerns is that Gull Island, a tiny island rendezvous in the Pacific is a daunting challenge for even the best navigator. The U.S. Navy sends Randy Britton to join Tonie in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

as her navigator. She finds out that the Japanese will be waiting for her on Gull Island. Not wanting to jeopardize Randy, her true love, Carter takes off early in the morning before he reaches the airport. She vanishes during the latter part of the world flight, triggering a massive search which proves fruitless.

Cast

Production

''Flight for Freedom'' was produced by

RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Kei ...

, whose CEO,

Floyd Odlum Floyd Bostwick Odlum (March 30, 1892 – June 17, 1976) was an American lawyer and industrialist. He has been described as "possibly the only man in the United States who made a great fortune out of the Depression", referring to the Great Depre ...

, was married to

Jacqueline Cochran Jacqueline Cochran (May 11, 1906 – August 9, 1980) was an American pilot and business executive. She pioneered women's aviation as one of the most prominent racing pilots of her generation. She set numerous records and was the first woman to br ...

, one of Earhart's close friends and a renowned aviator in her own right. It was claimed to be based on a screenplay submitted by Amelia Earhart's husband, George P. Putnam. Rosalind Russell's characterization of the Earhart-like aviator shows Carter establishing a reputation as "the Lady Lindbergh" and setting numerous aviation records. Other characters are loosely drawn from real life, such as Earhart confidant and instructor

Paul Mantz Albert Paul Mantz (August 2, 1903 – July 8, 1965) was an American air racing and 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. Early years Ma ...

, as well as

Fred Noonan Frederick Joseph Noonan (born April 4, 1893 – disappeared July 2, 1937, declared dead June 20, 1938) was an American flight navigator, sea captain and aviation pioneer, who first charted many commercial airline routes across the Pacific Ocean ...

, albeit in the role of pilot Randy Britton, played by Fred MacMurray, on loan from

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

. Principal photography, under the working title ''Stand to Die'', was completed from late-August to late-October 1942, with additional scenes shot in December, as the release was held back to coincide with the headline news surrounding the

Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II, Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of t ...

. Newsreel footage was incorporated to show naval missions over the area that Tonie Carter was portrayed as having overflown.

Reception

''Flight for Freedom'' furthered a belief that Earhart was spying on the Japanese in the Pacific at the request of the

Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

administration."Common Earhart myths."
''tighar.org'', 2009. Retrieved: November 28, 2009.

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though some ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', in his contemporary review, echoed the popular notion that the film was based on the life of Amelia Earhart. His lukewarm review touched on the central theme as being provocative. His review noted: "As a movie, this 'Flight for Freedom' bumps along interminably before it lifts, mainly because it has trouble pulling out of a conventional rut. Mostly it is a routine story of one of those unsatisfactory romances, wherein a woman flier and a gentleman (also a flier) stay apart. He is a reckless, wolfish rascal; she is a steady, four-square type. While she is becoming famous he is becoming a bum. But then the Navy secretly invites her to join in a ruse upon the Japs. For one brief moment before oblivion she meekly acknowledges her love." ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' announced that the proceeds from the Hollywood premiere were given to war charities. Rosalind Russell later reprised her role in a ''

Lux Radio Theatre ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a old-time radio, classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the Blue Network, NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of A ...

'' broadcast on September 20, 1943, co-starring

George Brent George Brent (born George Brendan Nolan; 15 March 1904 – 26 May 1979) was an Irish-American stage, film, and television actor. He is best remembered for the eleven films he made with Bette Davis, which included ''Jezebel'' and ''Dark Victory ...

as Randy Britton.

Awards

Albert S. D'Agostino Albert S. D'Agostino (December 27, 1892 – March 14, 1970) was an American art director. He was nominated for five Academy Awards in the category Academy Award for Best Production Design, Best Art Direction. He worked on 339 films between 1 ...

Carroll Clark Carroll Clark (February 6, 1894 – May 17, 1968) was an American art director. He was nominated for seven Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction. He worked on 173 films between 1927 and 1968. He was born in Mountain View, Califo ...

, Darrell Silvera and Harley Miller were nominated for the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

for Best Art Direction (Black-and-White)."Academy Awards Database: 1943 (16th)."
''The Official Academy Awards Database''. Retrieved: April 14, 2015.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Butler, Susan. ''East to the Dawn: The Life of Amelia Earhart''. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1997. . * Cochran, Jacqueline. ''Stars at Noon''. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1954. * Goldstein, Donald M. and Katherine V. Dillon. ''Amelia: The Centennial Biography of an Aviation Pioneer''. Washington, D.C.: Brassey's, 1997. . * Lovell, Mary S. ''The Sound of Wings''. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989. . * Rich, Doris L. ''Amelia Earhart: A Biography''. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1989. .

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flight For Freedom 1943 films 1943 drama films American aviation films American drama films American black-and-white films American women aviators Films scored by Roy Webb Films directed by Lothar Mendes Films with screenplays by Jane Murfin Cultural depictions of Amelia Earhart RKO Pictures films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films