Pilot disobeys unsafe orders and loses his job. He then starts a flying school which receives a boost when the government launches a program which it hopes will produce 20,000 pilots a year.
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Title: 20,000 Men a Year (1939)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Randolph Scott | ... | Brad Reynolds | |
| Preston Foster | ... | Jim Howell | |
| Margaret Lindsay | ... | Ann Rogers | |
| Mary Healy | ... | Joan Marshall | |
| Robert Shaw | ... | Tommy Howell | |
| George Ernest | ... | Skip Rogers | |
| Jane Darwell | ... | Mrs. Allen | |
| Kane Richmond | ... | Al Williams | |
| Maxie Rosenbloom | ... | Walt Dorgan (as Max 'Slapsie Maxie' Rosenbloom) | |
 |
Douglas Wood | ... | Crandall |
| Victor Sen Yung | ... | Harold Chong | |
| Paul Stanton | ... | Gerald Grant | |
| Tom Seidel | ... | Wally Richards | |
| Edward Gargan | ... | Dunk | |
| Harry Tyler | ... | Joe Hungerford | |
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
Jim Howell, a Civil Aeronautics Authorty official, has grounded Brand Reynolds for reckless flying. Reynolds starts a flying school but has little success until Howell has the CAA make Brad's school a center in its civilian pilots' training program. Howell does this anonymously as Brad still bears a grudge against him. Among the college students taking flying lessons are "Skip" Rogers, whose sister, Ann Rogers, opposes his flying until she meets and falls in love with Brad. Jim Howell's brother, Tommy, is also a student. Tommy confesses to Brad that he is afraid to fly, and Brad takes him up on a special training flight which ends in disaster. The engine stalls, Tommy faints and Brad opens his parachute and throws him out of the plane in order to save his life. Brad lands the plane safely in a tree. (Actually, Paul Mantz lands the airplane safely in a tree.) Brad then takes another plane to search for Tommy, and "Skip" goes along as a stowaway. Written by Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>
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They lived on the end of a smoldering fuse!Parents Guide:
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
27 October 1939 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
20,000 hombres al año See more »Filming Locations:
20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA See more »Company Credits
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Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA High Fidelity Recording)Color:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1Frequently Asked Questions
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Although I have never seen this movie I can confirm that the flying sequences were shot at Monrovia Airport near Pasadena. This airport closed in 1953, according to the website "Abandonned and little known airports", which details many airports in California and elsewhere which were used as movie locations. Interestingly very close to the airport was the site of the very first Macdonalds restaurant. There is now no sign whatsoever that there ever was an airport there, like many old airports in the LA area the unstoppable tide of housing and commercial development has erased all memory. Laurel and Hardy also filmed at the airport on occasion, and I have seen amateur colour footage of a Boeing 247 being used during the filming of a scene at Monrovia from an unknown "gangster" movie.