"Night Flight" is a drama about the early years of the air mail service. This takes place in South America where the Trans-Andean European Air Mail service was initiating its night flights for connections with mail delivery to Europe. The plot is simple and has a considerable cast of prominent actors of the day. It has some good flying scenes, with a rather dark and plodding screenplay. There's very little dialog with the pilots who are flying routes from Santiago, Chile, over the Andes, and from the south to Buenos Aires, and then on to Rio de Janeiro.
The film moves between the different flights and pilots, the air service headquarters, and two women who wait anxiously for their husbands. The pilots are played by Clark Gable, Robert Montgomery and William Gargan. Helen Hayes and Myrna Loy are the worried wives. And, John and Lionel Barrymore play the boss of the company and his lieutenant, the inspector, respectively. There's very little dialog -- hardly any among the fliers, who pass notes to communicate with their radio operators who sit behind them. Some good special effects show perilous scenes of flight in a storm and above ocean waves; and one good sequence of flying through passes and a canyon between mountain peaks.
For all the talent assembled in this picture, it's mostly a drama with acting by the Barrymore brothers. John plays a hard-nosed, angry-looking, overly dramatic Riviere, the head of the company. Lionel plays Inspector Robineau who is his second in command. A pretty good musical score helps with the flying scenes. There are some nail-biting instances, and a tragedy toward the end. A subplot, but opening for the film, is the need to rush a serum supply from Santiago to Rio de Janeiro to fight an outbreak of infantile paralysis
An interesting and educational aspect is the radio operators cranking out an antenna below the plane to help pick up and transmit radio signals. In the storm, it's hazardous to use because of lightning. The film is based on a 1931 novel of the same title by French author and early aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Some of the mountain flying and airport scenes were filmed at Denver, Colorado.
The film moves between the different flights and pilots, the air service headquarters, and two women who wait anxiously for their husbands. The pilots are played by Clark Gable, Robert Montgomery and William Gargan. Helen Hayes and Myrna Loy are the worried wives. And, John and Lionel Barrymore play the boss of the company and his lieutenant, the inspector, respectively. There's very little dialog -- hardly any among the fliers, who pass notes to communicate with their radio operators who sit behind them. Some good special effects show perilous scenes of flight in a storm and above ocean waves; and one good sequence of flying through passes and a canyon between mountain peaks.
For all the talent assembled in this picture, it's mostly a drama with acting by the Barrymore brothers. John plays a hard-nosed, angry-looking, overly dramatic Riviere, the head of the company. Lionel plays Inspector Robineau who is his second in command. A pretty good musical score helps with the flying scenes. There are some nail-biting instances, and a tragedy toward the end. A subplot, but opening for the film, is the need to rush a serum supply from Santiago to Rio de Janeiro to fight an outbreak of infantile paralysis
An interesting and educational aspect is the radio operators cranking out an antenna below the plane to help pick up and transmit radio signals. In the storm, it's hazardous to use because of lightning. The film is based on a 1931 novel of the same title by French author and early aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Some of the mountain flying and airport scenes were filmed at Denver, Colorado.