''Atlantic Flight'' is a 1937 American film made by

Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios i ...

chiefs

Trem Carr Tremlet C. Carr (November 6, 1891– August 18, 1946) was an American film producer, closely associated with the low-budget filmmaking of Poverty Row. In 1931 he co-founded Monogram Pictures, which developed into one of the leading specialist p ...

and W. Ray Johnston who had just reformed the studio after having had a troubled merger for two years with Herbert J. Yates and

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures is currently an acquisition-only label owned by Paramount Pictures. Its history dates back to Republic Pictures Corporation, an American film studio that originally operated from 1935 to 1967, based in Los Angeles, California ...

. This film was conceived as a low-budget feature meant to capitalize on

Dick Merrill Henry Tyndall "Dick" Merrill (February 1, 1894 – October 31, 1982) was an early aviation pioneer. Among his feats he was the highest-paid air mail pilot, flew the first round-trip transatlantic flight in 1936, was Dwight D. Eisenhower's persona ...

's and Jack Lambie's historic "Coronation Flight", which made them world-famous. Recreating the flight that made him famous, Dick Merrill, along with co-pilot Jack Lambie reprise their real-life roles as pilots.

Plot

When pilot Dick Bennett (Dick Merrill) undertakes a flight in stormy conditions to save a dying girl, he brings the aircraft in, despite warnings that it is too dangerous. Later, he meets socialite Gail Strong (Paula Stone), who is interested in aviation and persuades Bennett's aircraft engineer friend Bill Edwards (Weldon Heyburn) to try a parachute jump. Her fiancé, Baron Hayygard (Ivan Lebedeff) pledges that he will win the Stanley Trophy Race, to make her keep her promise to marry him, and resorts to desperate measures, knocking out Bennett. When Bennett is unable to fly his untested racer, Edwards takes it up instead, but crashes. Strong realizes she is in love with Edwards, but he is critically injured. A doctor in England has life-saving serum that Bennett and Jack Carter (Jack Lambie) are determined to bring back to save their friend, by making a record-breaking round-trip to London. Coming back through a raging storm over the Atlantic, their aircraft is struck by lightning, disabling their radio. When contact is lost, Coast Guard ships are deployed, but the intrepid flyers make it in.

Cast

As appearing in screen credits:"Full credits: 'Atlantic Flight' (1937)."
''IMDb''. Retrieved: May 5, 2017. *

as Dick Bennett * Jack Lambie as Jack Carter *

Paula Stone Paula Stone (January 20, 1912 – December 23, 1997) was an American theater and motion pictures actress from New York City. Early life She was the daughter of Fred Stone, a stage actor, dancing comedian, and owner of the Fred Stone theatri ...

as Gail Strong * Weldon Heyburn as Bill Edwards *

Milburn Stone Hugh Milburn Stone (July 5, 1904 – June 12, 1980) was an American actor, best known for his role as "Doc" (Dr. Galen Adams) on the Western (genre), Western series ''Gunsmoke''. Early life Stone was born in Burrton, Kansas, to Herbert Stone an ...

as Henry Wadsworth "Pokey" Schultz *

Ivan Lebedeff Ivan Lebedeff (born Ivan Vasilyevich Lebedev (), 18 June 1894 – 31 March 1953) was a Russian film actor, lecturer and writer. He appeared in 66 films between 1926 and 1953. In 1940, his novel, ''Legion of Dishonor'', was published. Biography ...

as Baron Hayygard * Lyle Morraine as Navy Lt. Lyle

Production

In 1937 Merrill was hired by Hearst Publishing to repeat the "Ping-Pong Flight", co-piloted by 27-year-old Jack Lambie in a Lockheed Model 10E Electra dubbed "Daily Express". Hearst wanted to scoop other American newspapers by acquiring photos of the May 10, 1937 coronation of King George VI after the abdication of his brother, King Edward VIII. Merrill carried photos (not newsreels, as often claimed) of the Hindenburg disaster, which occurred shortly before the flight. Hearst papers on both sides of the Atlantic published the first pictures of each event, and Merrill earned the Harmon Trophy for 1937 for his achievement. Footage from this flight was used to make the ''Atlantic Flight''. Dramatic air race and crash scenes were also used.

who played aircraft mechanic Henry Wadsworth "Pokey" Schultz, was in his first major role; his cousin, Paula Stone appeared as Gail Strong. Both Dick Merrill and Jack Lambie, his real-life "Coronation Flight" co-pilot and co-star in the film, received $2,500 for their roles in this movie. Dick had not taken the filming seriously but gladly accepted the windfall. He was a teetotaler in an age when the "hard-drinking" "fun-loving" aerial adventurer was seen as the norm. Considered very easy-going yet serious, his one foible, however, was that he was an inveterate gambler throughout his life. Merrill blew his entire salary from the film at Santa Anita the weekend after shooting wrapped.Cooper. Ralph
"Henry Tyndal Merrill, 1894–1982: AKA Henry 'Dick' Merrill."
''earlyaviators.com,'' October 13, 2009. Retrieved: July 16, 2010. Merrill made two more transatlantic flights, the last of these, on May 14, 1937, set the new record at 24 hours, 25 seconds.
''time.com''. Retrieved: September 7, 2009.

Aircraft used in the film

* Lockheed Model 10E Electra *

Northrop Gamma The Northrop Gamma is a single-engine all-metal monoplane cargo aircraft used in the 1930s. Towards the end of its service life, it was developed into the A-17 light bomber. Design and development The Gamma was a further development of the suc ...

Vultee V-1 The Vultee V-1 is a 1930s American single-engined airliner built by the Airplane Development Corporation, designed by Gerard Vultee and financed by automobile manufacturer Errett Cord. Design and development On 19 February 1933, the V-1 pr ...

Reception

Strictly a "B" feature, the ''Atlantic Flight'' is best considered a historical record, with a great deal of aviation footage of the period to commend it.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Backstreet, Jack
"Don Dwiggins, Mini Biography."
''IMDb.com''. Retrieved: January 3, 2008. * King, Jack. ''Wings of Man: The Legend of Dick Merrill''. Seattle: Aviation Book Co., 1981. .

External links

* * * {{William Nigh 1937 films American aviation films American black-and-white films Monogram Pictures films American action drama films 1930s action drama films 1937 romantic drama films American romantic drama films Films directed by William Nigh 1930s English-language films 1930s American films English-language action drama films English-language romantic drama films