Roaming Lady

"Roaming Lady" (1936) stars Fay Wray, Ralph Bellamy, Edward Gargan, Thurston Hall, Paul Guilfoyle, Tetsu Komai, Roger Imhof and others in a story about a flight instructor and his continual romantic conflicts with his...well, with Fay Wray...not yet his fiancé, though she would certainly like to think she is! Her father, Thurston Hall, is an exceedingly wealthy oil magnate who tries to dissuade the attachment, and he fosters a plan whereby Bellamy is sent to Shanghai. Meanwhile, Wray, wielding an impetuous lioness of a temperament, sneaks on the ship Bellamy's on to get him to his destination where he and his partner are to pilot planes to try to help destroy General Fang's guerilla war-lord force that's trying to take over that part of China. Every plan of every man - lover, friend or foe - goes awry due to the interference and ferocity of temperament and downright intrepidity of Wray. Though there are some serious parts to the film, even one death (until the end where a brave escape shows many deaths), this is a romantic hustle and tussle between Wray and Bellamy that is loads of fun to watch. I had a smile on my face nearly from beginning to end. The only disappointing feature of the film is a lack of one scream from Wray. My interpretation of Wray is psychologically rooted in "King Kong" and the screams of Wray. She shows in this film, however, she's a marvelous farceur-ess. Bellamy? Well, he's just swellaby. Ed Gargan and Thurston Hall acquit themselves quite well here, as do Guilfoyle and Komai as well. Maybe it's totally forgotten, but this is quite a good intermission between dinner and bedtime.

Very lightweight fare indeed is this hollowly energetic film designed to showcase a lovely and lively Fay Wray, a work that is hindered by a poorly constructed script that is full of predictable dialogue and sequences, so that despite adequate production support from Columbia Pictures, only the stunt work is completely satisfying, although Wray does contribute a good deal of pepper with her performance as a pampered rich girl. Dan Bailey (Ralph Bellamy) is a professional instructional pilot employed, during this highly cinematically pictorial biplane era, by Western Petroleum, owned by E.J. Reid (Thurston Hall) whose daughter Joyce (Wray) is madly in love with Bailey, but after the latter insults Reid he is fired, immediately thereafter hiring on with another company that ships him, along with two airplanes, by freighter to China for oil exploration purposes, Dan being unaware that his new employer is actually under the control of Reid whose intent through this sea voyage is to have the Pacific Ocean between romance coated Joyce and the flier. Ruthless Chinese warlord Fang Wu has suborned the services of the freighter captain, placing his surrogate Mister Wong (Paul Guilfoyle) on board playacting as the skipper's ostensible servant, while in reality controlling the ship's passage while Bailey, his sidekick Andy (Edward Gargan), along with the pair of aircraft are being shanghaied into the custody and service of Fang, an unfortunate Joyce, remaining smitten with Dan after his canning by her father and stowing away to be near him, also being ensnared. There are some exciting stunts seen in the air and upon the ground, but elsewise journeyman director Albert Rogell has scant material available from within a weakly cobbled script to elevate the silly storyline. Wray garners acting honours, obviously enjoying her part and always looking good, substantially due to costumer Samuel Lange, while Otto Meyer's able editing helps to smartly move along this largely forgettable fondue.