''Flight at Midnight'' is a 1939 American action film directed by

Sidney Salkow Sidney Salkow (June 16, 1911 – October 18, 2000) was an American film director (more than 50 motion pictures), screenwriter, and television director. Salkow was educated at the City College of New York, Columbia University and Harvard Law Schoo ...

and written by Eliot Gibbons. The film stars Phil Regan,

Jean Parker Jean Parker (born Lois May Green; August 11, 1915 – November 30, 2005) was an American film and stage actress. A native of Montana, indigent during the Great Depression, she was adopted by a family in Pasadena, California at age ten. She i ...

Roscoe Turner Roscoe Turner (September 29, 1895 – June 23, 1970) was a record-breaking American aviator who was a three-time winner of the Thompson Trophy air race and widely recognized by his flamboyant style and his pet, Gilmore the lion, Gilmore the L ...

, Robert Armstrong,

Noah Beery Jr. Noah Lindsey Beery (August 10, 1913 – November 1, 1994) was an American actor often specializing in warm, friendly character roles similar to many portrayed by his Oscar-winning uncle, Wallace Beery. Unlike his more famous uncle, however, ...

and

Harlan Briggs Harlan Briggs (August 17, 1879 – January 26, 1952) was an American actor and Vaudeville performer who was active from the 1930s until his death in 1952. During the course of his career he appeared on Broadway, in over 100 films, as well a ...

. ''Flight at Midnight'' was released on August 28, 1939 by

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City a ...

Plot

Norwark's field director "Pop" Hussey has a lot of trouble. His airport is well-equipped, but a high-voltage line located on the edge leads the administration to close it and Hussey is given two months to find a solution. Hussey does not have the money to move the line, and the municipality is turning a deaf ear. The CAA inspector is still present when a student pilot crashes after narrowly avoiding power lines. "Spinner" McGee is a Midway Airlines pilot who hauls mail at night. He is also a true romantic and is often lovestruck. After a hectic flight during which McGee also narrowly avoids high-voltage cables, he meets the beautiful

air hostess A flight attendant, also known as steward/stewardess or air host/air hostess, is a member of the aircrew aboard commercial flights, many business jets and some government aircraft. Collectively called cabin crew, flight attendants are prim ...

Maxine. He learns that he has been suspended for two months because of his repetitive delays and bad judgment. He then opens a flying school, with much publicity, and its success endangers the mail flights. McGee is to test a new aircraft that interests the

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...

. But because he late, his mechanic takes his place and is killed in a crash. McGee feels the loss very deeply. Hussey interests the local authorities in the future of his airport, stressing that he needs help. While the notables are in an aircraft piloted by

, the mayor, from the air, can address the crowd below. But the aircraft has engine trouble and must land immediately but the electrical wires are in its path. Just then, an aircraft piloted by McGee suddenly cuts in front of them before crashing to the ground. The airliner and its passengers and pilot are saved and McGee is taken to the hospital, where he finds Maxine running to console him.

Cast

* Phil Regan as "Spinner" McGee *

as Maxine Scott *

as Col. Roscoe Turner * Robert Armstrong as Jim Brennan *

as "Torpy" McDonald *

as "Pop" Hussey * Helen Lynd as Josephine *

Barbara Pepper Barbara Pepper (born Marion Pepper; May 31, 1915 – July 18, 1969) was an American stage, television, radio, and film actress. She is best known as the first Doris Ziffel on the sitcom ''Green Acres''. Early life and career Marion Pepper ...

as Mildred *

Harry Hayden Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

as Hank Neary *

Raymond Bailey Raymond Thomas Bailey (May 6, 1904 – April 15, 1980) was an American actor, and comedian on the Broadway stage, films, and television. He is best known for his role as greedy banker Milburn Drysdale in the television series ''The Beverly Hillb ...

as Bill Hawks

Production

Principal location photography took place at Grand Central Air Terminal and featured the famous race pilot

, who was also prominently featured in the film's advertising materials. The aircraft seen in ''Flight at Midnight'' were: * Stinson Model R (N12152) * Kinner Sportster K (NC14237) * Luscombe 8 *

Ryan ST The Ryan STs were a series of two seat, low-wing monoplane aircraft built in the United States by the Ryan Aeronautical Company. They were used as sport aircraft, as well as trainers by flying schools and the militaries of several countries ...

* Stinson Model A trimotor *

Lockheed Model 10 Electra The Lockheed Model 10 Electra is an American twin-engined, all-metal monoplane airliner developed by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation in the 1930s to compete with the Boeing 247 and Douglas DC-2. The type gained considerable fame as one was ...

Santoir, Christian
"Review: 'Flight at Midnight'."
''Aeromovies'', October 21, 2010. Retrieved: September 5, 2019.

Reception

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' film reviewer

Frank Nugent Frank Stanley Nugent (May 27, 1908 – December 29, 1965) was an American screenwriter, journalist, and film reviewer, who wrote 21 film scripts, 11 for director John Ford. He wrote almost a thousand reviews for ''The New York Times'' before le ...

wrote: "As a suggestion to the War Department, couldn't something be done about providing filmgoers with their own anti-aircraft batteries to bring down such Jennies, such crates, such menaces to commercial aviation movies as 'Flight at Midnight', which pancaked into the Criterion yesterday? For this is the baling-wired veteran of a thousand screen engagements which has, at its controls, the carefree, rule-breaking, heart-breaking pilot who has to be sobered by his best friend's death into realizing that there is a sterner code in flying, etc. With Phil Regan as the pilot, Robert Armstrong as the disciple of duty. Jean Parker as the flying hostess and a few stock shots of plane crashes, the picture should have been grounded in a neighborhood house on a double bill, not permitted to solo on Broadway."Nugent, Frank S
The Screen: 'Flight at Midnight'."
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', September 7, 1939.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Wynne, H. Hugh. ''The Motion Picture Stunt Pilots and Hollywood's Classic Aviation Movies''. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1987. .

External links

* {{Sidney Salkow 1939 films American aviation films 1930s English-language films American action films 1930s action films Republic Pictures films Films directed by Sidney Salkow American black-and-white films 1930s American films