''Forced Landing'' is a 1941 American

action film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

directed by

Gordon Wiles Gordon Wiles (October 10, 1904 – October 17, 1950) was an American art director and film director. He won an Oscar for Best Art Direction for the film '' Transatlantic''. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes ...

and distributed by

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 ...

. The film recounts the exploits of a pilot in Mosaque, an imaginary country in the midst of turmoil. ''Forced Landing'' stars Richard Arlen,

Eva Gabor Eva Gabor ( ; February 11, 1919 – July 4, 1995) was a Hungarian-American actress and socialite. Gabor voiced Duchess and Miss Bianca in the Disney animations ''The Aristocats'' (1970), ''The Rescuers'' (1977), and ''The Rescuers Down Under'' ...

, J. Carrol Naish,

Nils Asther Nils Anton Alfhild Asther (17 January 1897 – 19 October 1981)Swedi ...

and

Evelyn Brent Evelyn Brent (born Mary Elizabeth Riggs; October 20, 1895 – June 4, 1975) was an American film and stage actress. Early life Brent was born in Tampa, Florida and known as "Betty." When she was 10 years old, her mother Eleanor ( Warner) die ...

Plot

In faraway tropical Mosaque, as soon as American pilot Dan Kendall ( Richard Arlen) joins the country's Air Corps, he is in trouble. Along with his mechanic Christmas (

Mikhail Rasumny Mikhail Rasumny (May 13, 1884 – February 17, 1956) was a Soviet and American film actor. Biography Rasumny was born in Odessa, son of the famous cantor Ephraim Zalman (Solomon) Razumny, who was chief cantor of the choral synagogues in Kishine ...

), he is thrown into the military prison. His troubles start at a cantina after buying exotic beauty Johanna Van Deuren (

) a drink, not realizing he has antagonized her fiancé, Colonel Jan Golas (

Nils Asther Nils Anton Alfhild Asther (17 January 1897 – 19 October 1981)Swedi ...

). A fight breaks out, leading to the pilot's arrest. Colonel Golas releases Dan from prison when he learns that his fiancée had nearly been run down by a car and Dan had come to her rescue. The bargain he makes with Dan is that the stranger has to resign from the military and take a job with the Mosaque Civil Airline. Golas has an ulterior motive for helping Dan, as he has been responsible for the airline being sabotaged on its last flights to bring payrolls to workers at the local fort. Unknown to him, Dan's pilot friend Petchnikoff (Harold Goodwin) lost his life in a crash engineered by Golas. Johanna, accompanied by Dan, flies to the fort to visit her sick father (Victor Varconi), only to find the disgruntled and penniless workers there are set to revolt. Dan promises to have their pay flown to the workers within three days. When he spots his friend's aircraft on the ground, after landing and searching for Petchnikoff, Dan and Johanna are captured by Andros Banshek ( J. Carrol Naish), a bandit who has been working against the government in Mosaque. Banshek is sure the two would reveal his hideout unless they are silenced. When Banshek's son Nando (Bobby Dillon) is shot during their attempt to escape, Banshek implores Dan to fly his son to a doctor. While Nando is saved, Banshek is captured in Mosaque and killed by the police. Workers at the fort finally revolt, forcing Golas to react. Dan will fly with the payroll while Golas will fly as an escort. Johanna, afraid her father is in danger, stows away on Dan's aircraft. She is alarmed that the box containing the payroll is smoking. Dan dumps the box out of the aircraft just as it explodes. Golas then tries to shoot down Dan's aircraft but is himself downed by a box of metal parts that Dan throws out. When Golas crashes to his death, Dan brings the workers their pay and is able to quell the rebellion. The general (John Miljan) in charge of the military, absolves Banshek of his crimes and declares that he was a true patriot. Dan marries Johanna, with the newlyweds leaving Mosaque to go to the United States.

Cast

* Richard Arlen as Dan Kendall *

as Johanna Van Deuren * J. Carrol Naish as Andros Banshek *

Nils Asther Nils Anton Alfhild Asther (17 January 1897 – 19 October 1981)Swedi ...

as Colonel Jan Golas *

as Doctor's housekeeper * Mikhail Rasumny as Christmas * Victor Varconi as Hendrick Van Deuren * John Miljan as The General *

Frank Yaconelli Frank Yaconelli (October 2, 1898 – November 19, 1965) was an Italian-born American film actor. Biography When he was a child his family emigrated to the United States, settling in Boston. Yaconelli was a character actor playing supporting rol ...

as Zomar, the grocer * Harold Goodwin as Petchnikoff * Thornton Edwards as Felig, rebel lieutenant * Bobby Dillon as Nando Banshek * John Gallaudet as Major Xanders * Philip Churchill as Nick * Harry J. Worth as Dr. Vidalek

Production

''Forced Landing'' was the second from Pine-Thomas Productions, whose first three films were all aviation dramas starring Richard Arlen. The film was shot over 12 days but involved 10 weeks of planning and three weeks of rehearsal to enable specially designed sets and a speedy shoot. Principal photography for ''Forced Landing'' took place from April 18 to early May 1941 at the Fine Arts Studios in California. The aerial scenes in ''Forced Landing'' were a mix of studio footage and live action, including the opening scene that incorporated the fiery crash of a

Ford Trimotor The Ford Trimotor (also called the "Tri-Motor", and nicknamed the "Tin Goose") is an American Trimotor, three-engined transport plane, transport aircraft. Production started in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and ended on June 7, 1933, afte ...

from ''

Only Angels Have Wings ''Only Angels Have Wings'' is a 1939 American adventure romantic drama film directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant and Jean Arthur, and is based on a story written by Hawks. Its plot follows the manager of an air freight company in a r ...

'' (1939). New aerial sequences were flown by Garland Lincoln, a pilot and supplier of aircraft for motion picture work, along with pilots Herb White, Richard Probert and Joel Thorne."Full Credits: 'Forced Landing' (1941)."
''Turner Classic Movies''. Retrieved: September 2, 2014. The climactic air duel is fought between an armed Culver Dart G and a Pilgrim 100 airliner. The film "...was the first in a series of three Pine-Thomas war adventures ('Forced Landing', ' Flying Blind' and '

Submarine Alert ''Submarine Alert'' is a 1943 American film directed by Frank McDonald (director), Frank McDonald, produced by Pine-Thomas Productions and released by Paramount Pictures. The film stars Richard Arlen, Wendy Barrie, Nils Asther, Roger Pryor, Marc L ...

') featuring Asther as a villainous European trying to steal American military secrets, only to be thwarted by a heroic Richard Arlen."

Reception

''Forced Landing'' earned over six times its cost. The ''Los Angeles Times'' called it an "effective melodrama".E. S. "Review: 'Forced Landing'; Spirited melodrama of aviation." ''Los Angeles Times'' July 1, 1941, p. 16.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985)''. London: Orbis Publishing, 1985. * Simpson, Rod. ''Airlife's World Aircraft''. Ramsbury, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 2001. . * Wynne, H. Hugh. ''The Motion Picture Stunt Pilots and Hollywood's Classic Aviation Movies.'' Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1987. .

External links

* *
Complete film
at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

{{Gordon Wiles 1940s action films American mystery films American aviation films American black-and-white films Films scored by Dimitri Tiomkin Films directed by Gordon Wiles Films set in fictional countries Paramount Pictures films American action films 1941 mystery films 1941 films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films English-language action films English-language mystery films