''The Flying Irishman'' (aka ''Born to Fly'') is a 1939 biographical

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

produced by

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the major film studios, "Big Five" film studios of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood's Clas ...

about

Douglas Corrigan Douglas Corrigan (born Clyde Groce Corrigan; January 22, 1907 – December 9, 1995) was an American aviator, nicknamed "Wrong Way" in 1938. After a transcontinental flight in July from Long Beach, California, to New York City, he then flew from ...

's unofficial

transatlantic flight A transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe, Africa, South Asia, or the Middle East to North America, South America, or ''vice versa''. Such flights have been made by fixed-wing aircraft, airships, bal ...

the previous year in a dilapidated

Curtiss Robin The Curtiss Robin, introduced in 1928, is an American high-wing monoplane built by the Curtiss-Robertson Airplane Manufacturing Company. The J-1 version was flown by Wrong Way Corrigan who crossed the Atlantic after being refused permission to ...

light aircraft. The film was directed by

Leigh Jason Leigh Jason (July 26, 1904 – February 19, 1979) was an American film director and screenwriter. He was born in New York, New York, and died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. He married Ruth Harriet Louise in 1927 at Temple B'nai B'rith, w ...

based on a screenplay by

Ernest Pagano Ernest S. Pagano (January 16, 1901 – April 29, 1953) was an American screenwriter. He began in showbusiness as a "gag-man" in silent films. He wrote for 66 films between 1927 and 1947. He was born in Florence, Colorado, and died in Los A ...

and

Dalton Trumbo James Dalton Trumbo (December 9, 1905 – September 10, 1976) was an American screenwriter who scripted many award-winning films, including ''Roman Holiday'' (1953), '' Exodus'', ''Spartacus'' (both 1960), and '' Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo'' (194 ...

. ''The Flying Irishman'' covers the material of Corrigan's 1938 autobiography, ''That's My Story'', from his early life to his return from his wrong-way flight. Because of the huge popularity of Corrigan and his flight, the screenplay assumes that the material is already familiar to its audience.

Plot

In 1938, an unlikely event unfolds as pilot Douglas Corrigan returns to the United States after his transatlantic flight, made "the wrong way" across the Atlantic. The passion to fly was there from an early age as young Douglas faced some hardships as his parents separated, leaving his mother (Dorothy Peterson) to rear two sons and a daughter. When his mother dies, Douglas becomes the family breadwinner, putting his brother Henry (

Eddie Quillan Edward Quillan (March 31, 1907 – July 19, 1990) was an American film actor and singer whose career began as a child on the vaudeville stages and silent film and continued through the age of television in the 1980s. Vaudeville and silent fi ...

) through college. With his own funds, he becomes partners with his friend Butch ( Paul Kelly), an experienced pilot, in the purchase of an aircraft. Doug aspires to attain a pilot's job, but increasing regulation of commercial aviation keeps putting the job beyond his grasp: by the time he gains the experience required, the qualification standards have been increased again. After a series of setbacks, including losing his aircraft in a crash and seeing the qualification requirements include a college degree beyond his means, Doug begins to plan an audacious feat, flying across the Atlantic just like

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York (state), New York to Paris, a distance of . His aircra ...

(who also did not have a college education), to prove his exceptional ability. After earning enough money as a welder to purchase and modify a second-hand aircraft, Doug goes into business with Henry as a barn-stormer to finance a transatlantic attempt, but Henry eventually tires of the drudgery of eking out a living day to day. Doug learns about a new commercial airline route to Ireland and decides to make a solo flight to prove his qualifications. In New York, after his plane is grounded by an inspector, Doug's brother arranges a return flight to San Diego, lifting the flight ban. Once in the air, Doug instead heads off to Ireland, and, 28 hours later, makes it successfully to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. When Doug rejects an airline offer of a job as vice-president and chief pilot because he only wants to be a pilot, he is told that his goal is impossible, because passengers going "to

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

" want to be confident of arriving at the correct destination!

Cast

as himself * Paul Kelly as Butch Brannan *

Robert Armstrong Robert Armstrong may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Robert Armstrong (actor) (1890–1973), film actor *Robert Armstrong (cartoonist) (born 1950), American underground comics artist and musician, coined the term "couch potato" Fictional charac ...

as Joe Alden, the flying instructor *

Gene Reynolds Eugene Reynolds Blumenthal (April 4, 1923 – February 3, 2020) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, and actor. He was one of the developers and producers of the TV series '' M*A*S*H''. Early life Reynolds was born on April 4, 1923 ...

as Douglas Corrigan as a boy *

Donald MacBride Donald Hugh MacBride (June 23, 1893 – June 21, 1957) was an American character actor on stage, in films, and on television. MacBride launched his career as a chorister at St Thomas Fifth Avenue and then at Garden City Cathedral in New Yo ...

as Roy Thompson *

as Henry Corrigan, Douglas' brother * J. M. Kerrigan as Clyde Corrigan Sr., Douglas' father *

Dorothy Peterson Bergetta "Dorothy" Peterson (December 25, 1897 - October 3, 1979) was an American actress. She began her acting career on Broadway before appearing in more than eighty Hollywood films. Early years Peterson was born in Hector, Minnesota, the ...

as Mrs. Corrigan *

Olaf Hytten Olaf Hytten (3 March 1888 – 11 March 1955) was a Scottish actor. He appeared in more than 280 films between 1921 and 1955. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and died in Los Angeles, California from a heart attack, while sitting in his car ...

as Radio Operator (uncredited) *

Lloyd Ingraham Lloyd Chauncey Ingraham (November 30, 1874 – April 4, 1956) was an American film actor and director. Biography Born in Rochelle, Illinois, Ingraham appeared in more than 280 films between 1912 and 1950, as well as directing more than 100 f ...

as Doctor (uncredited)

Production

''The Flying Irishman'' was made quickly, with principal photography taking place from November 15 to December 1938 in

Van Nuys Van Nuys ( ) is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1 ...

and

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...

, to exploit the huge public interest in the adventure. Although the production attempted to provide an accurate account of his life story, with Corrigan as himself in the lead role, many of the other parts were played by established character actors, which undermined its attempt at realism.

Reception

''The Flying Irishman'' was a typical "B" film in terms of length and treatment as well as having an obviously uncomfortable individual featured in the lead role, yet the "fun" of the unlikely tale was conveyed.

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

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' charitably called it a "freak picture" that, nonetheless, was "... lively, unassuming, natural and thoroughly entertaining."Nugent, Frank
"The Flying Irishman (1939); The Screen; Doug Corrigan acts the wrong way in his biography, 'The Flying Irishman,' at the Rialto at the Teatro Latino".
''

'', April 12, 1939.

References

Notes Citations Bibliography * Corrigan, Douglas. ''That's My Story''. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1938.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flying Irishman 1939 films American aviation films American black-and-white films Films scored by Roy Webb Films directed by Leigh Jason RKO Pictures films Films with screenplays by Dalton Trumbo 1930s biographical drama films American biographical drama films 1939 drama films Biographical films about aviators 1930s English-language films 1930s American films English-language biographical drama films