Starring: Ralph Bellamy, Gloria Stuart, Pat O'Brien, Slim Summerville, Lilian Bond, Russell Hopton, David Landau, Leslie Fenton, Frank Albertson, Hans Fuerberg, Tom Carrigan, William Daly
Writers: Frank Wead & Dale Van Every
Cinematography: Karl Freund
Editor: Harry W. Lieb
Music: Gilbert Kurland
B&W, 1h 24m. 1.37:1 presentation.
Released on: November 3, 1932 by Universal Pictures.
My experience: YouTube
Following on the heels of the lofty but ultimately not wholly successful ambitions of Arrowsmith in the John Ford filmography comes Air Mail, a quintessential budget programmer from the early 1930s, with a solid cast, a couple of sets, some well done (for the time) visual effects sequences, and a generous dose of masculine camaraderie, infused throughout with a genuine lightheartedness by the staging and editing of John Ford, who no doubt was grateful to be free of the shackles of responsibility and stuffiness of the preceeding, more austere sensibilities of Arrowsmith.
A young-looking Ralph Bellamy, who was all of 28 years old at this time, plays Mike Miller, the manager and lead pilot of a US air mail waystation somewhere presumably in the Rockies, who is having problems renewing his pilots' licence as his sight is getting worse. When Joe Barnes (an uncredited Ward Bond), one of his pilots, is killed in a crash, he's left not only without a pilot, but with a grieving girlfriend, Joe's sister Ruth (Gloria Stuart, 65 years before her Oscar-nominated role in James Cameron's Titanic). Enter Duke Talbot (Pat O'Brien), a sarcastic ne'er do well with a glorious flying record and a not-too-comfy past with Mike, who only seems out for himself. And out for the attentions of Irene Wilkins (Lilian Bond), the wife of Dizzy Wilkins (Russell Hopton), one of the other pilots at the waystation.
The station is filled with other characters of the type you'll find in the typical John Ford male-dominated movie, such as the older, world-weary yet kindhearted Pop (David Landau), the man with a secret Tony Dressel (Leslie Fenton), the young buck who seems to be touched with luck until he isn't (Tommy Bogan, played by Frank Albertson), the sardonic comic relief of Slim McCune (Slim Summerville), and of course the ethnic -- if not stereotypes then at least, shall we say -- representations of German (Heinie Kramer, played by Hans Fuerberg), Irish-American (Sleepy Collins, played by silent film actor Tom Carrigan in his final credited role), and good ole boy from the American South (Tex Lane, played by William Daly).
The plot of the film is quite simple. A massive storm is heading into the area, making it difficult for the pilots to do their job (as if their personal lives weren't already interfering in some cases), and rerouting some passenger planes with their often ungrateful clientele to the tiny airport to be switched to a plane. After a couple of casualties, Mike decides it's up to him to make sure that the mail must go through. After all, as the quote at the beginning AND the end of the film states:
"Neither snow, nor rain,
Nor heat, nor gloam
of night stays these
carriers from the swift
completion of their
appointed rounds"
John Ford seems much at home with this film than he did with his previous endeavour. He's always been an interesting study as he cherishes both individuality and the organization of men into a cohesive whole. I think this is why his military films are done so well, because he is able to indulge his devotion of routine, order and rigidity while also making sure each individual in the films stand out. Here he embraces the community of air mail pilots, a rather topical film as it would turn out to be, as the US Air Mail Service would only be around for two more years, being cancelled by President Franklin Roosevelt (who Bellamy would go on to portray the 32nd president of the US in the miniseries Winds of War and War and Remembrance, based on the books of the same name by Herman Wouk) ... but I digress.
It was interesting seeing Gloria Stuart in such an early role, although she didn't make much of an impression to be honest. Lilian Bond did a good job of playing what ostensibly is a "bad girl" role, but she makes her character's behaviour believable and rational, given the circumstances she's put in. Slim Summerville is amusing as always as the comic relief, with some nice sound effects work helping him along. And Bellamy and O'Brien are strong as always, although these days you don't see too many Pat O'Brien star turns in which he's not acting alongside Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, or another of the Warner Bros. stable of 1930s gangsters.
The cinematography for this film was done by Karl Freund, who had previously wielded a camera on Fritz Lang's Metropolis, Paul Wegener's Der Golem, and F.W. Murnau's The Last Laugh -- in short, he has a strong background in the shadow and light expressionism of 1920s German cinema. A couple of his more recent Hollywood efforts before Air Mail were Tod Browning's 1931 version of Dracula and Robert Florey's Murders In The Rue Morgue. For his next film, Universal would hand him the director's keys for the original 1932 The Mummy, starring Boris Karloff. As he was probably already in preparations for his directorial debut at the time of filming this, it's understandable if his work in Air Mail is slightly less memorable than his previously mentioned efforts; however, the camera work here is nothing if not solidly professional, and everything is lit well, almost like a slightly less chiaroscuro Casablanca ten years before the fact.
Another thing worth mentioning is this seems to be the first time Ford and his editor, in this case Harry W. Lieb, used graphic wipes as an editing technique. It's not something he does often, usually preferring either slow dissolves, quick cuts, or fades to black. He'll use this technique, although sparingly, in the future, yet another tool in his box.
I quite enjoyed Air Mail, a B-movie programmer made by A-list talent, for its heart, its humour, and its refusal to take itself seriously. Consider it a prototype for Howard Hawks' 1939 masterpiece Only Angels Have Wings. There would be greater things ahead in Ford's future (along with a few lesser efforts), but Air Mail finds both John Ford and his fans back on solid ground entertainment-wise.
Seven frolicking flyers out of ten.
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