Movie Review: Flying Blind (1941)
Synopsis: After falsely being accused and disciplined for a bad landing, pilot Jim Clark goes into business for himself, shuttling couples to Las Vegas to be married. Honeymoon Air is a success, thanks mostly to Jim's stewardess girlfriend, Shirley. However, their relationship becomes strained when Shirley realizes Jim is reluctant to marry her because he thinks she won't want work anymore. Adding to their problems is Jim's former co-pilot, Rocky Drake, who is now working for a spy ring attempting to steal a top-secret military transformer and, along with help from his partner, hijacks one of Jim's flights in an attempt to get out of the country and to Mexico.
Who's in it? The movie stars Richard Arlen, Jean Parker, Roger Pryor, Nils Asther, Eddie Quillan, Dick Purcell and Marie Wilson.
Review: I didn't have any clear idea about what movie I wanted to watch this morning and mostly picked Flying Blind because it was the first film I came across that sounded interesting. The movie turned out to not quite be what I thought it would be, but I still thought it was entertaining.
I think the biggest surprise for me when it came to this film is it is a comedy. From the limited description, it sounded like it would be much more of a drama. However, that turned out not to be such a bad thing.
The strained relationship between Jim (Arlen) and Shirley (Parker) was one of the best things about this movie. His reasons for not wanting to marry her seemed a bit odd (though it probably made more sense in the 40s) and, since she had other suitors, it did leave the door open to her just leaving him for another man. That, in turn, led to some funny and entertaining sleight of hand on Jim's part to keep her from running off and marrying someone else.
His assistant and expectant father, Riley (Quillan), added a little extra as well, both by providing some physical comedy and being a surprisingly insightful friend, especially when it came to relationship advice. I don't know what the man was getting paid, but it probably wasn't enough. Plus, his two passengers, Bob (Purcell) and Veronica (Wilson) were a joy to watch, just because they seemed like such an odd couple.
Despite being a comedy, the movie had no problem shifting gears once the main plot began to happen, making sure to keep things serious enough throughout to allow for some genuine suspense. The scene involving Jim trying to take off in the middle of a forest fire was much more intense than I would have expected given the lighthearted nature of the film up until that point and there were some serious questions about how he'd be able to escape the situation while keeping Shirley, Riley and his passengers alive too. At minimum, I found myself watching just to see how the film would end.
Final Opinion: It's a movie that does a good job being a comedy while also toning down the humor when appropriate. I enjoyed watching it and would recommend it.
My Grade: A
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Here are some reviews of other movies that take place on an airplane or in an airport:
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