''The Sky Parade'' is a 1936 American

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

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 ...

directed by

Otho Lovering Otho Lovering (December 1, 1892 – October 25, 1968) was an American filmmaker with about eighty editing credits on feature films and television programs. Biography Born in 1892, he was the son of Frank Lovering, a stenographer, and Georgia L ...

and written by Arthur J. Beckhard, Robert M. Burtt, Brian Marlow, Wilfred G. Moore and Byron Morgan. Starring Jimmie Allen,

William Gargan William Dennis Gargan (July 17, 1905February 16, 1979) was an American film, television and radio actor. He was the 5th recipient of the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 1967, and in 1941, was nominated for the Academy Award for Be ...

Katherine DeMille Katherine Lester DeMille (born Katherine Paula Lester; June 29, 1911 – April 27, 1995) was an American actress who played 25 credited film roles from the mid-1930s to the late 1940s. The adopted daughter of director Cecil B. DeMille, she was ...

Kent Taylor Kent Taylor (born Louis William Weiss; May 11, 1906 – April 11, 1987) was an American actor of film and television. Taylor appeared in more than 110 films, the bulk of them B-movies in the 1930s and 1940s, although he also had roles in more pr ...

Grant Withers Granville Gustavus Withers (January 17, 1905 – March 27, 1959), known professionally as Grant Withers, was an American film actor. He began working in motion pictures during the last years of the silent era. Withers moved into sound films, ...

and

Syd Saylor Syd Saylor (born Leo Sailor; March 24, 1895 – December 21, 1962) was an American comedic actor and movie cowboy sidekick who appeared in 395 films and television series between 1926 and 1962. Early years Saylor was born Leo Sailor in 18 ...

, it was released on April 17, 1936, 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 Sky Parade'' was based on the radio series ''

The Air Adventures of Jimmie Allen ''The Air Adventures of Jimmie Allen'' is an American radio adventure serial broadcast from 1933 until 1937. The 15-minute syndicated program was created by writers Robert M. Burtt and Wilfred G. Moore, both of whom were from Kansas City, Missou ...

'' created by Robert M. Burtt and Wilfred G. Moore (first broadcast in 1933). After years of Jimmie Allen

radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the liste ...

episodes, "Jimmie makes his (screen) début in "The Sky Parade," The film was also notable as "the first film to use a number of incidents which would later become common within the sub-genre: the attempted hijack."

Plot

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

fighter pilot Scotty Allen ( Robert Fiske) returns home to learn his wife died giving birth to their first son Jimmie. After the Armistice, Scotty refuses to see his son until his fellow airmen, "Speed Robertson" (

) and Tommy Wade (

), convince him it is his duty to raise Jimmie. Speed and Scotty join an old buddy Casey Cameron (

) who has a flying circus. Tommy, however, joins his father's bank. For years, the flying circus makes record-breaking flights and in 1924, Casey adds parachutist Geraldine "Geri" Croft (

) to the troupe. Casey then leaves the circus to smuggle goods for "Gat" Billings (

Edgar Dearing Edgar Dearing (May 4, 1893 – August 17, 1974) was an American actor who became heavily type cast as a motorcycle cop in Hollywood films. Biography Born in 1893, Dearing started in silent comedy shorts for Hal Roach, including several with Lau ...

). Tommy's father offers to back Scotty and Speed in their work, while Geri agrees to put Jimmie through school. In 1927, Speed and Scotty attempt to cross the Atlantic in 36 hours but they crash on take-off, and Scotty is killed. Other transatlantic flights take place by

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 ...

and

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( ; July 24, 1897 – January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer. On July 2, 1937, she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the world. During her li ...

. Speed proposes to Geri, she refuses, believing he only wants to protect young Jimmie. By 1933, their airline, Continental, has become incorporated. Casey returns, following Billings' run-in with the authorities, and asks for a job, but Speed refuses. Continental, meanwhile, is perfecting an automatic pilot device, which Billings hopes to sell to Russian Baron Ankrevitch (Georges Renavent). Casey spies on the project. After a five-year absence, Geri returns with high school graduate Jimmie, who wants to learn to fly. Although Speed and Geri still carry a silent flame for each other, she dates Casey until Speed finally asks her to dinner. Casey then offers to let Jimmie take his first flight to test the

automatic pilot An autopilot is a system used to control the path of a vehicle without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator's control of the vehicle, allow ...

. Continental loses its mail contract to the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

. The airline plans to fly to Washington, D.C. and secure a patent for the auto-pilot. When the aircraft takes off from Las Vegas, Billings and Casey appear and hold Geri and Speed hostage. Jimmie hides in the aircraft, and after Casey and the pilot are shot, he lands the aircraft with directions radioed by Speed. Finally, Geri and Speed make plans to marry, and Continental gets its mail contract. Jimmie now is a genuine pilot working for Continental.

Cast

* Jimmie Allen as himself *

as "Speed" Robertson *

as Geraldine "Geri" Croft *

as Tommy Wade *

as Casey Cameron *

as "Flash" Lewis * Robert Fiske as Scotty Allen *

as "Gat" Billings (uncredited) * Georges Renavent as Baron Ankrovith (uncredited)

Production

Production on ''The Sky Parade'' began in early December 1935. The film introduced a number of unique or unusual aviation technology, including the

autopilot An autopilot is a system used to control the path of a vehicle without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator's control of the vehicle, allow ...

and

air-to-ground communication Air-to-ground communication was first made possible by the development of two-way aerial telegraphy in 1912, soon followed by two-way radio. By the Second World War, radio had become the chief medium of air-to-ground and air-to-air communication. S ...

. "It was the first film where an unqualified pilot is 'talked down' by radio from the airport control tower." ''The Sky Parade'' featured a number of aircraft, including a

Stearman C3 The Stearman C3 was an American-built civil biplane aircraft of the 1920s, designed by Stearman Aircraft of Wichita, Kansas. It was also the first Stearman aircraft to receive a type certificate. Development The C3 was a rugged biplane wit ...

, Thomas-Morse S-4C,

Travel Air 4000 The Travel Air 4000 is an American general-purpose biplane of the 1920s, a member of the family of aircraft that began with the Travel Air Model A.Taylor 1993, pp.856,865 It was later known as the Model 4.Pelletier 1995, p.32 Derived from th ...

and

Waco 10 The Waco 10/GXE/Waco O series was a range of three-seat open-cockpit biplanes built by the Advance Aircraft Company, later the Waco Aircraft Company. Design and development The Waco 10 was a larger span development of the Waco 9, both single ...

Reception

Benjamin R. Crisler in his review for ''

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 ...

'', gave an overall positive review, acknowledging that the audience for ''The Sky Parade'' was a youthful one, "...everybody plays the picture as it should be played; that is, as much like a Saturday afternoon episode of ' The Perils of Pauline' as possible."Crisler, B.R. (B.R.C.
"Movie Review: 'The Sky Parade'; at the Rialto."
''

'' (NYTimes.com, April 20, 1936. Retrieved: June 2, 2019. Aviation film historian Stephen Pendo in ''From the Wright Brothers to Top Gun: Aviation, Nationalism, and Popular Cinema'' (1995), considered ''The Sky Parade'', a continuation of the earlier radio dramas starring Jimmie Allen.Pendo 1985, p. 15. Aviation film historian Michael Paris in ''Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation'' (1984), had a similar reaction, saying that ''The Sky Parade'' was "... An inconsequential production in many respects. 'Sky Parade' was pure aviation adventure in which hijackers take over an airliner and kill the pilot. Young Jimmie, travelling as a passenger, defeats the hijackers and manages to land the plane safely."Paris 1995, p. 72.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Farmer, James H. ''Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation''. Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania: Tab Books Inc., 1984. . * Paris, Michael. ''From the Wright Brothers to Top Gun: Aviation, Nationalism, and Popular Cinema.'' Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1995. . * Pendo, Stephen. ''Aviation in the Cinema''. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1985. .

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sky Parade 1936 films American black-and-white films Films directed by Otho Lovering Films scored by Gerard Carbonara Paramount Pictures films American drama films 1936 drama films American aviation films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films