''Death in the Air'' (aka ''Pilot X'' and ''The Mysterious Bombardier'') is a 1937 American film directed by

Elmer Clifton Elmer Clifton Forsyth (March 14, 1890 – October 15, 1949) was an American director, screenwriter, and actor from the early silent days. Early life Elmer Clifton Forsyth was born in Toronto, Canada, to Cecil Carl Forsyth and Margaret Nicoll ...

and starring

Lona Andre Lona Andre (born Launa Anderson; March 2, 1915 – September 18, 1992) was an American film actress, golfer, and businesswoman. Biography Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Andre attracted attention with her first films in Hollywood and was named ...

, John Carroll,

Leon Ames Leon Ames (born Harry Leon Wycoff;U.S. Federal Census for 1910 for Fowler, Center Township, Benton County, State of Indiana, access via Ancestry.com January 20, 1902 – October 12, 1993) was an American film and television actor. He is best rem ...

and Henry Hall. The film is also known as ''Murder in the Air'' in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and as ''The Mysterious Bombardier'' (American reissue title). The film was

Fanchon Royer Fanchon Royer (1902–1986) was an American film producer, active during the 1930s. She was one of the few woman producers in Hollywood during the era, associated with low-budget independent studios such as Mayfair Pictures. After graduating fr ...

's first production for her new company, Fanchon Royer Features, Inc. ''Film Daily'' reported that former FBI agent

Melvin Purvis Melvin Horace Purvis II (October 24, 1903 – February 29, 1960) was an FBI agent instrumental in capturing bank robbers John Dillinger and Pretty Boy Floyd in 1934. All of this would later overshadow his military career which saw him directl ...

was offered a role in the film but declined.

Plot

Inspector Gallagher of the

United States Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce (DOC) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for gathering data for business and governmental decision making, establishing industrial standards, catalyzing econ ...

views a number of crashes and disappearances of the Goering-Gage Aviation Corporation aircraft as suspicious. With test pilot Jerry Blackwood, Gallagher visits the company. Jerry test flies Goering-Gage aircraft but finds nothing wrong. When a crash survivor claims that a mystery aircraft had attacked his plane, its owner, Henry Goering, hires psychiatrist Dr. Norris to question the man. Dr. Norris believes that a psychotic ex-World War I flying ace, whom he dubs "Pilot X," may be responsible for the attacks. With the help of Blackwood, Goering and Norris assemble a group of five former flying aces who may have a connection with the mysterious Pilot X. He recruits German lieutenant Baron von Guttard, French lieutenant Rene Le Rue, British captain Roland Saunders, Canadian lieutenant Douglas Thompson and American lieutenant John Ives. The group meets in a mansion to devise a plan for confronting Pilot X. However, von Guttard comes under immediate suspicion because of his son Carl, a former German

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

. On the team's first patrol, Pilot X attacks, killing von Guttard. Later that day, Le Rue is killed by Pilot X and the next day, Saunders experiences a mental breakdown. Blackwood receives a note from Pilot X asking him to meet him in the sky the next morning. Thompson receives a similar note but Pilot X, who is on the airfield, paints an "X" on Thompson's aircraft. Blackwood mistakes Thompson for Pilot X and kills him. When a paint can is found in Ives' locker, all accuse him of being Pilot X. That night, Dr. Norris calls the elder Goering, telling him that he knows the identify of Pilot X, but he is murdered. Gallagher believes that Blackwood is Pilot X and sends Ives and Saunders after him. Helen Gage, Henry's ward, however, first finds part of Saunders' goggles near Norris' dead body, then finds the other half in his aircraft. Saunders pursues Blackwood with Helen trapped on his aircraft. Once in the sky, Pilot X appears and attacks Saunders, wounding him. In a fierce dogfight, Pilot X attacks Blackwood but is downed. In the wreckage of Pilot X's aircraft, the body of Carl Goering is discovered, along with a photograph of him in a German uniform. He was not in fact a prisoner of war, but had deserted and joined the German Air Force. With the mystery solved, Blackwood and Helen realize that they are attracted to one another and embrace.

Cast

as Helen Gage * John Carroll as Jerry Blackwood *

as Carl Goering * Henry Hall as Henry Goering *

Hans Joby Hans Joby (3 August 1884 – 30 April 1943) was an Austrian film actor. He appeared in 63 films between 1920 and 1944. He was also billed as "Captain John Peters", and often played aristocratic Prussian-types, memorably in Laurel and Hardy' ...

as Lt. Baron von Guttard (credited as John S. Peters) *

Gaston Glass Gaston Glass (born Jacques Gaston Oscar Glass; December 31, 1899 – November 11, 1965) was a French-American actor and film producer. He was the father of the composer Paul Glass (born 1934). Selected filmography * ''The Corsican Brothers ...

as Lt. Rene La Rue *

Pat Somerset Pat Somerset (28 February 1897 – 20 April 1974) was an English stage and film actor. Biography Born Patrick Holme-Sumner, after appearing in some British silent films early in his career, he moved to the United States. In 1922 he starred on ...

as Capt. Roland Saunders *

Wheeler Oakman Wheeler Oakman (born Vivian Eichelberger; February 21, 1890 – March 19, 1949) was an American film actor. Early years Oakman was born as Vivian Eichelberger in Washington, D.C., and educated in that city's schools—specifically Henry School ...

as Lt. Douglas Thompson *

Reed Howes Hermon Reed Howes (July 5, 1900August 6, 1964) was an American model who later became an actor in silent and sound films. Early life Howes spent the beginning of his childhood in Washington, D.C. before moving with his parents to Ogden, Utah, Og ...

as Lt. John Ives * Willard Kent as Inspector Gallagher * John Elliott as Dr. Norris

Production

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

for ''Death in the Air'' under the working title of ''Pilot X'' began on June 25, 1936. A series of name changes ensued, and an affidavit was filed on March 10, 1938 with New York State censors to change the title to ''Pilot X''. On May 13, 1943, the production was retitled and reissued as ''Mysterious Bombardier''."Notes: 'Death in the Air' (1937)."
''Turner Classic Movies''. Retrieved: April 1, 2017. The aircraft used in the film include the Waco INF, Pitcairn PA 7S "Mailwing Sport", Fleet 2 and Stinson SR 8B. Stock footage from '' Hell's Angels'' (1930) with scenes of the

Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII is a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the '' Fokker-Flugzeugwerke''. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII ...

and Sikorsky S-29-A was incorporated into the film. In addition, sequences of

Boeing F2B The Boeing F2B was an American biplane fighter aircraft of the United States Navy in the 1920s, familiar to aviation enthusiasts of the era as the craft of the Three Sea Hawks aerobatic flying team, famous for its tied-together formation flying ...

fighter aircraft filmed at

air show An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are trade fair, exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without which they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground. The ...

s were used.

Reception

In the book ''Aviation in the Cinema'', aviation film historian Stephen Pendo considered ''Death in the Air'' "a very bad, quickly made melodrama about a murder-bent ex-war pilot ... it used much stock footage."Pendo 1985, p. 15.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Pendo, Stephen. ''Aviation in the Cinema''. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1985. . * Wynne, H. Hugh. ''The Motion Picture Stunt Pilots and Hollywood's Classic Aviation Movies''. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1987. .

External links

* * *
Review: Pilot X
{{DEFAULTSORT:Death In The Air American mystery films American aviation films American black-and-white films Films directed by Elmer Clifton 1937 mystery films 1937 films 1930s American films 1930s English-language films English-language mystery films