Movie Review: Up in the Air (1940)

Synopsis: While working as a page at a Hollywood radio station, Frankie Ryan aspires to be an on-air comedian with his friend, Jeff Jefferson while also doing his best to convince producer Bob Farrell to give a singing audition to the beautiful Anne Mason, who works at the radio station receptionist desk. He soon finds himself caught up in a mystery when the station's top talent, Rita Wilson, is murdered during a rehearsal and a singing cowboy, Tex Barton, is later found killed.  The mystery takes a whole new urgency when the police arrest Anne for the crimes.

Who's in it? The movie stars Frankie Darro, Mantan Moreland, Marjorie Reynolds, Tristram Coffin, Dick Elliott, Lorna Gray and Clyde Dilson.

Review: I was recently introduced to actor Frankie Darro when watching another movie this week and was surprised when I realized he starred in Up in the Air, a movie that has been in my library for a couple months, but I just never got around to watching. After making that discovery, I decided to finally take the time to see the film, and it turned out to be an OK choice.

As I've mentioned in the past, I am a huge fan of movies with good mysteries, and this film does fall into that category. The first victim, Rita Wilson (Gray) was killed in a locked room and while she was a bit of a diva (or, taking a more enlightened approach, she knew what she was worth to the radio station), there didn't seem to be any real motive for killing her. The second murder, Tex (Gordon Jones) complicated things further because, at the time of his death, he was the top suspect.

I did like how the movie made Frankie (Darro) more of a reluctant sleuth than one who was meddling just for the sake of solving a murder. This did give the character a bit more credibility in my opinion because he wasn't trying to be a hero, he was trying to protect a woman he cared about, believing she could potentially be the killer's next victim. Of course, his friend Jefferson (Moreland) took this to a whole new level by going out of his way to avoid being involved, usually to comical effect.

I also found I liked the relationship between Darro and Anne (Reynolds) because there was some romantic tension there throughout but also no clear indication if it was going to lead to anything (sadly, the movie never really clarifies if it does). Basically, it was part of the plot without necessarily being the focal point, which is something other films have struggled with.

If I were to change anything about this movie, it would be all the padding in what was only a hour-long film. There is quite a bit of singing. The movie had time for a Moreland dance routine. Oh, and there is an uncomfortably long (and not as funny as I think it might have been in the 1940s) stretch featuring Darro in Blackface. I know it was a different time period, but I just don't see how people could find that entertaining.

Final Opinion: The film does take a bit to get going and has some material that is VERY dated. However, the mystery does make it an entertaining movie to watch so I did still enjoy it.

My Grade: B

___________________________________________________________________

Here are some reviews of other 1940s murder mysteries:

Movie Review: The Case of the Black Parrot (1941)

Movie Review: The Living Ghost (1942)

Movie Review: The Phantom of 42nd Street (1945)

Movie Review: Pillow of Death (1945)