Los diablos del aire

This movie was directed by Lloyd Bacon and stars James Cagney and Pat O'Brien. This is probably one of Cagney's worst pictures and also one of the worst Cagney and O'Brien made together with the exception of The Irish In Us. Just a year later Cagney and O'Brien would go on to make Ceiling Zero with Howard Hawks which is a much better movie and you should watch that one instead. There isn't much to the plot like Cagney wanting to join the marines and winds up having to learn how to fly by his old friend O'Brien who is a Lieutenant. O'Brien is engaged to Margaret Lindsay but even after Cagney finds out he doesn't even care and still goes after her. There isn't much to the movie and you should watch one of Cagney's better movies instead.

Pretty much a stock Cagney plot with the backdrop this time being the US Marine Corps. Pat O'Brien plays a disciplined and responsible officer who has to teach cocky young upstart pilot Jimmy Cagney the ropes. This time the girl that comes between them is Pat's girlfriend, Margaret Lindsay. It seems like it's always either Pat's sister or the girl Pat is in love with. Whichever it is, you can bet money that Cagney will win her heart by the end of the picture. Also we have Frank McHugh in a standard Frank McHugh role of the funny and likable sidekick. This is basically a remake of Here Comes the Navy. Despite the familiar plot, it's a good movie. The cast is great (Cagney is having a ball) and the aerial photography and plane stunts are impressive. It's a bit by-the-numbers for many people but chances are if you're watching this you're doing so because you like Cagney movies like this one.

James Cagney is a cocky stunt pilot who joins Pat O'Brien's beloved Marine Corps flying squad in Devil Dogs of the Air (1935). Taking the worst of the Cagney persona and upping it by a factor of at least 10 he is reduced to a boorish lout that insanely laughs at his own doings while stumbling into stealing O'Brien's girl, Margaret Lindsay. The execrable Frank McHugh adds to the agony as a braying jackass constantly repeating the same musical phrase as some sort of "comic" "relief." You could practically see the pages being torn from the script as it goes to the inevitable conclusion in high, inexplicable speed. The big flying sequence turns out to be a practice mission (it was between the wars, so...) and is about as exciting as watching a practice mission.

The studios had a hard time making quality films that conformed to the demands of the production code, particularly in the first few years of its existence, 1934-1938. So I lay the blame for the inanity and lack of entertainment value of this one on said production code. A much better film about flyers - though commercial not military - is Ceiling Zero from 1936, also starring Cagney and O'Brien. I'd recommend that one instead, but unfortunately rights problems make it unavailable.

So far, I have to agree with what each of the four previous reviewers said, meaning some good, some bad.

THE BAD - Not much of a story.....supporting actor Frank McHugh in an annoying role (annoying with his singing the same stupid song after every sentence)......James Cagney with a laugh that gets annoying after awhile.....a weak romantic angle....showing "training exercises" as part of the climactic scene was somewhat interesting but provided no drama if these fliers were facing an enemy at war......Pat O'Brien an unrealistically too good a sport at the end. (He proposes to Lindsay who turns him down and then incredulously asks, "I didn't hurt your feelings did I?" duh... And he answers something like, "No, it''s okay." Yeah, right!

THE GOOD - The same cocky Cagney character who is always entertaining, always elevating a film...Some wonderful aerial shots and stunt flying in some terrific-looking bi-planes......... Margaret Lindsay's wisecracks and pretty face....Two dramatic scenes with Cagney trying to land a damaged plane.

Summary; So-so entertainment, more if you are an airplane enthusiast or a Cagney fan (which I am) but certainly on the lower of echelon of his films.

Devil Dogs of the Air is a typical Warner Brothers film with a typical Warner Brothers cast, not that that's a bad thing at all. The movie stars Jimmy Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Margaret Lindsay, and Frank McHugh.

Cagney plays a cocky flier, Tommy, whose friend Brannigan (O'Brien) encourages him to enlist in Marine flying school.

The first thing he does is fall for Brannigan's girlfriend Betty (Lindsay) who can't stand him. We all know what that means.

It turns out that Tommy is a remarkable flier and, though the friendship between the two men seems to suffer, everybody has to admit that Tommy knows what he's doing. And he keeps going after Betty.

Predictable, but the good cast brings it up a level as do the flying sequences. The planes look like what the Wright Brothers invented, and they do some amazing things.

If you're an airplane fan, you will enjoy this, though you might mix it up with some of Warners other flying films. But it has the US Navy dirigible, the early planes as I mentioned, and some fabulous stunts.

I have to one day count up how many films Cagney, O'Brien and McHugh made together. I know McHugh and Cagney made 11, and that all three were friends. They worked together very well.