''Dirigible'' is a 1931 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, ani ...

directed by

Frank Capra Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-born American film director, producer and writer who became the creative force behind some of the major award-winning films of the 1930s ...

for

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

and starring Jack Holt,

Ralph Graves Ralph Graves (born Ralph Horsburgh; January 23, 1900 – February 18, 1977) was an American screenwriter, film director and actor who appeared in more than 90 films between 1918 and 1949. Biography Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Graves had already ...

and

Fay Wray Vina Fay Wray (September 15, 1907 – August 8, 2004) was a Canadian/American actress best known for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film ''King Kong''. Through an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, Wray attained international r ...

. The picture focuses on the competition between naval fixed-wing and

airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

pilots to reach the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

by air. The female lead is played by Fay Wray. The action scenes feature the stars Jack Holt and Ralph Graves, who also played fliers two years earlier in Capra's 1929 airborne adventure ''

Flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

''. This film had been intended to emulate the success of ''

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expre ...

'' (1927), another production with a similar plot. ''Dirigible'' was characterized as "marginally

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

al" by scifilm.org. (Capra later planned to make a fully science fictional movie but was never able to.)

Plot

When the famed explorer Louis Rondelle (

Hobart Bosworth Hobart Van Zandt Bosworth (August 11, 1867 – December 30, 1943) was an American film actor, director, writer, and producer. Early life Bosworth was born on August 11, 1867, in Marietta, Ohio. His father was a sea captain in the Civil W ...

) requests the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

's assistance in reaching the South Pole, officer Jack Bradon (Jack Holt) convinces Rear Admiral John S. Martin (Emmett Corrigan) to offer his dirigible, the USS ''Pensacola'', for the attempt. Jack asks his best friend, "Frisky" Pierce (Ralph Graves), to pilot the

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a ...

that will be carried on the airship. Frisky, who is adventurous to the point of recklessness, is eager to go even though he has just completed a record-setting coast-to-coast flight and has barely spent any time with his wife, Helen (Fay Wray). Basking in the acclaim, he has even forgotten to read the sealed love letter she gave him to open when he arrived. Helen loves Frisky but cannot make him believe how much she is hurt by the risks he takes. She sees Jack without her husband's knowledge and begs him to drop Frisky from the expedition, and for the sake of their marriage, not tell him why. Jack, who also loves her, agrees. Frisky, assuming Jack does not want to share the fame, ends their friendship. The expedition soon ends in disaster: the ''Pensacola'' breaks in two and crashes into the ocean during a storm. Frisky participates in the rescue of the expedition by

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

. He now gets a leave of absence from the Navy to pilot a

Fokker Trimotor The Fokker F.VII, also known as the Fokker Trimotor, was an airliner produced in the 1920s by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker, Fokker's American subsidiary Atlantic Aircraft Corporation, and other companies under licence. Design and dev ...

transport aircraft for Rondelle's next attempt at the South Pole. This proves too much for Helen. When she is unable to get Frisky to change his mind, she gives him another sealed letter (to be read when he reaches the Pole), but this time it says that she is divorcing him and will ask Jack to marry her. Frisky, Rondelle, Sock McGuire (

Roscoe Karns Roscoe, also spelled Rosco or Roscow, may refer to: People * Roscoe (name) Places United States * Roscoe, California (disambiguation) * Roscoe Township (disambiguation) * Roscoe, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Roscoe, Illinois, a villag ...

), and Hansen ( Harold Goodwin) reach the South Pole. When Frisky suggests landing on the snow, Rondelle accepts his judgment that there will be no danger. But in fact the aircraft flips over and bursts into flames, destroying most of their supplies. Rondelle's leg is broken and Sock's foot is injured. After radioing their base camp, they attempt to walk the 900 miles back to it, dragging Rondelle on a sled. Rondelle soon dies and is buried. Later, Frisky has to amputate Sock's foot. When Sock realizes he is too much of a burden, he drags himself away to die while the other two are sleeping. They carry on, but Hansen breaks down when he finds they have been going in a circle and have returned to Rondelle's grave. Frisky refuses to give up and forces Hansen to continue on. When Helen hears the news of the crash, she realizes she no longer wants a divorce and wishes she could go to Frisky. Jack realizes he can, and talks Rear Admiral Martin into letting him attempt a rescue with his new dirigible, the USS ''Los Angeles''. The two survivors are found and rescued. On the way back, Frisky remembers that he has again forgotten to read Helen's letter, but he has

snow blindness Photokeratitis or ultraviolet keratitis is a painful eye condition caused by exposure of insufficiently protected eyes to the ultraviolet (UV) rays from either natural (e.g. intense sunlight) or artificial (e.g. the electric arc during welding) ...

and asks Jack to read it to him. Jack quickly substitutes his own improvised version, in which Helen is proud of his accomplishment and waiting for her husband with undiminished love. He then destroys the letter. When they return, Frisky uncharacteristically skips a

ticker tape parade A ticker-tape parade is a parade event held in an urban setting, characterized by large amounts of shredded paper thrown onto the parade route from the surrounding buildings, creating a celebratory flurry of paper. Originally, actual ticker ta ...

through

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to be with his wife. He is the first to mention the contents of the letter; to Helen's great relief, she realizes that Jack has not only brought Frisky back to her but also saved their marriage.

Cast

Main roles and screen credits, as appearing in the film:"Credits: Dirigible."
''Turner Classic Movies.'' Retrieved January 6, 2013. * Jack Holt as Jack Bradon *

as "Frisky" Pierce *

as Helen Pierce *

as Louis Rondelle *

as Sock McGuire * Harold Goodwin as Hansen *

Clarence Muse Clarence Muse (October 14, 1889 – October 13, 1979) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, singer, and composer. He was the first African American to appear in a starring role in a film, 1929's ''Hearts in Dixie''. He acted for ...

as Clarence *Emmett Corrigan as Rear Admiral John S. Martin * Adrian Morris as Crewman

Production

Capra and Columbia considered ''Dirigible'' as a step forward into the big time, with a $650,000 budget, the highest amount the studio had ever invested.McBride 1992, p. 223. Shot at

Lakehurst, New Jersey Lakehurst is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 2,654,''Graf Zeppelin'' and the ''Hindenburg''. The Navy gave "its full resources at Lakehurst" including the pride of the fleet, the USS ''Los Angeles'' to lend an air of authenticity to the production.McBride 1992, p. 224. The ''Los Angeles'' was featured prominently and also portrayed the fictional USS ''Pensacola''. US Navy Lieutenant Commander Frank "Spig" Wead, a former pilot, was given the story credit and stayed on as a technical consultant. As production began, the old Arcadia airfield was converted into a set, complete with "artificial snow, fake ice mounds and painted backdrop attached to the back side of the dilapidated Army barracks." With principal photography slated for September, dry ice in metal containers stuffed in actor's mouths sufficed for the usual Arctic breath. In a 1972 interview director Frank Capra, on TV's "Dick Cavett Show", Capra recalled a horrible accident on set. Capra asked actors to used dry ice encased in small cages in the mouth, to simulate foggy breath in the scene. Because the small cages were cumbersome in the mouth, a frustrated Hobart Bosworth removed the ice and popped it directly into his mouth for the scene. Soon, Bosworth was rushed to hospital with ice burns in his mouth, resulting in removal of some teeth, jaw bone, and tissue. Two years later, Fay Wray played the leading role, a woman menaced by a giant gorilla, in the original version of ''

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

''.

Aviation aspects

This film is historically important to aviation buffs. A mid-air docking and recovery of a fighter aircraft with a dirigible is shown. The crash of an airship during a storm is accurately depicted. The aircraft carrier USS ''Lexington'', with her 8-inch guns, can be spotted in the background during the takeoff of an aircraft. The aerial cinematography was coordinated by

Elmer Dyer Elmer Dyer, A.S.C. (August 24, 1892 – February 8, 1970) was an American cinematographer, the first film cameraman to specialize in aerial photography. Dyer was born in Lawrence, Kansas and died in Hollywood. During World War II Dyer was assi ...

Reception

''Dirigible'' was Capra's and Columbia's first film to be given prominence with a premiere at

Grauman's Chinese Theatre Grauman's Chinese Theatre (branded as TCL Chinese Theatre for naming rights reasons) is a movie palace on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States. The original Chinese ...

, but despite high hopes, the film received lukewarm reviews. ''Variety'' called it "unconvincing." A more recent review noted its "odd mix of romantic cliches, nascent disaster elements, and adventurism .... It works, partly because Capra intermingles so much documentary-styled footage of the airship and Antarctic expedition."Hasan, Mark R
2010 "Dirigible (1931)."
''kqek.com,'' 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2012.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Capra, Frank. ''Frank Capra, The Name Above the Title: An Autobiography''. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1971. . * McBride, Joseph. ''Frank Capra: The Catastrophe of Success''. New York: Touchstone Books, 1992. . * Scherle, Victor and William Levy. ''The Films of Frank Capra''. Secaucus, New Jersey: The Citadel Press, 1977. .

External links

* *
''Dirigible'' at scifilm.org
{{Jo Swerling 1931 films Films directed by Frank Capra American black-and-white films American aviation films 1931 adventure films Films with screenplays by Jo Swerling Columbia Pictures films American adventure films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films