Air Hostess

The film opens with the words "Somewhere in France..." showing us where we are, and an aerial dogfight going on. One airman tells another that he will go lookup the other's daughter after the war. Then we are "Somewhere in America....". Kitty the air hostess (the beautiful 25 year old Evalyn Knapp) makes a date with a pilot, but has to break it when the rest of the airport workers scare him off. They have been keeping an eye out for her, scaring off men that try to get near her. In the meantime, we are treated to some air stunts by the dashing James Murray as Ted Hunter. He's a loud, outspoken showoff, so we know there will be trouble ahead somewhere down the road. Pretty good photography and sound quality, considering it was the early days of talkies (and flying too!) They pack a lot in this short, pre-code adventure-drama (67 minutes). Good acting and good story, except for the ending, which gets a little hokey. In real life, it didn't end well for Murray -- he drowned in NYC at 35, only three years after this film. Directed by Albert Rogell, who had started in silent movies in 1920. Original story written by Grace Perkins, who had just written "Night Nurse", made into a film starring B Stanwycke.

The b-level programmers of Columbia Pictures during the 1930's are often quite exciting and well-paced. The studio's assembly line produced audience-satisfying product quickly and inexpensively. And, in this case, with a director like Albert Rogell, veteran of dozens of fine b-westerns in the silent era and who would continue working in bread-and-butter product through the 1950's, AIR HOSTESS (not the most exciting title!) has all the elements of a textbook example of the exciting, efficient b-movie. Daring stunt flier James Murray (of King Vidor's THE CROWD, who would die a few years later due to alcohol) sees his friend and mentor get killed during WWI and helps watch over the friend's young daughter over the years. The film soon switches to the early 30s, where the daughter (played by the perky Evalyn Knapp, perhaps best-known today for starring with John Wayne in the long-time public domain, dollar-rack favorite HIS PRIVATE SECRETARY in 1933) is a grown up airline hostess and Murray is a pilot who is still a daredevil but also an inventor of aviation technology looking for an investor to help see his plans to fruition. Needless to say, they fall in love, a number of problems arise, Thelma Todd appears (looking especially regal!!!!) as "the other woman", and the film ends up with an amazing train-plane sequence. Knapp is quite appealing (although a few flubbed lines are left in, reminding us that Columbia was NOT a major studio in 1932!), and James Murray shows the charisma that made him a star in THE CROWD. He has a brash quality, and had he lived, he surely could have made a career of playing wisecracking newspaper reporters and leads in b-action films. Interestingly, his character is drunk in about 1/3 of the film--one wonders if that was written into the film to capitalize on the bad publicity Murray had received for his drinking problems, or if he actually was drunk on the set and the writers quickly decided to play along with it (I'm betting the former). In any event, he is quite impressive and this is a major role for him, though the movie was undoubtedly a bottom-of-the-bill product that vanished quickly from theaters. In less than 65 minutes, we laugh, we cry (the scene where the WWI flier has his daughter's letter read to him is a real tearjerker), we feel for the characters, we cheer them on, we worry about them, and we are brought to the edge of our seats in a nail-biting climax. What today's directors could learn from a film like this and a director such as Albert Rogell. Also, it's not every film that's set in Albuquerque (at least half of it is!). Finally, those who collect films with spanking scenes can put this one on their lists, although it's a brief one. Highly recommended to lovers of classic fast-moving early 30's b-movies.

Scanning a list of pre-code films, you probably wouldn't move a film starring Evalyn Knapp, James Murray and Arthur Pierson to the front of the queue, but Knapp, whose acting career eventually petered out, and Murray, whose career quickly tanked due to alcoholism, were big names at the time. (Pierson is kind of generic.)

The film turn out to be an action-packed aviation drama, back when aviation was a daring and romantic subject and apparently pronounced with a short a in the first syllable. Some stock footage of air stunts from old movies, but also some original and exciting original stunt scenes.

But it's not all just action. Two of the era's recurrent themes, Prohibition and protecting the heroine's virginity, move the plot about a stewardess whose father was a pilot killed in WW I. Exactly how she was brought up and what happened to her mother are glossed over, but she seems to be the pet of every flyer and mechanic at the Glendale CA airport and they seem to have nothing else to do besides keeping her from going out with men of any description.

Enter Ted Hunter (Murray), an old comrade of her father's leading a daredevil life and contemptuous in a friendly way of the more mundane commercial airline pilots. Kitty King (Knapp), already chafing under her self-appointed chaperones, obviously has a crush on him. Hunter is also an aircraft designer seeking backing for a plane with retractable wings, an idea that hasn't caught on for some reason. And he's an alcoholic.

This is where the film may get confusing if you don't remember Prohibition is in effect. Among other things, poor Kitty hasn't had her first taste of alcohol. She and Hunter plan a getaway in his plane to Mexico where you can still get drunk legally, in a conversation with mild sexual undertones.

Once they've had a night on the town in Ensenada and Kitty turns up in some sexy nightwear in the hotel room, it turns out that drinking was all Hunter was planning to show her and they beat a hasty retreat to California, where to save Kitty's reputation Hunter ad libs that they plan to get married, which is fine with her.

Will Ted get backing for his experimental plane? Will he fall for the charms of rich seductress Sylvia Carleton (Thelma Todd)? Will Kitty ditch unreliable Ted for sober commercial pilot Dick Miller (Pierson)?

As so often in that era, there's more going on in this film than seems possible in 67 minutes, and we haven't even mentioned the climactic stunt-flying action sequence at the finale. Also as usual, there are bits that won't sit well with today's audience, like a husband spanking his wife, even if it's presented as fun for both parties.

A real sleeper for pre-code fans.

The most interesting part of Air Hostess (the term stewardess had apparently not come into use yet) is seeing all the early cinematography of passenger airliners and the surroundings. I took my first ride in an airliner as an infant in 1948 and the next one didn't come until the mid Sixties. It's fascinating to see what we take for granted even back then as compared to what the first airline passengers had to deal with.

Perky Evelyn Knight plays a character that if Air Hostess were an operetta, Jeanette MacDonald would have been cast. She's an air orphan who has grown up and around aviation since her dad who was a war ace was killed. Jeanette played just such a character in The Girl Of The Golden West.

She's got a couple of the pilots now who are checking her out, steady and reliable Arthur Pierson and daredevil stunt pilot James Hall. Hall has a scheme to become the Lindbergh of the Pacific and even has a ship designed for the trip if he can ever raise the heavy duty dough needed for it. Knapp winds up marrying Hall.

But a minx gets in the mix when rich playgirl widow Thelma Todd enters the film. The mantrap has it set for the glamorous Hall and he's needing her money real bad for his trans-Pacific voyage.

It's a formula plot despite all the aviation facade and that's where Air Hostess stumbles. The players do make it work, especially Todd who is so enticing.

In fact another thing about Air Hostess is the tragedy surrounding both the tempting and the tempted in this plot. Both James Murray of whom a brilliant career was predicted after his rave reviews in King Vidor's silent classic The Crowd and Thelma Todd would die within four years of this film. Knowing that lends a certain poignancy to their scenes together.

Air Hostess is a must film for aviation buffs, showing a picture of early airliners, for the rest of us it's an easy to take, but strictly formula plot.

Air Hostess (1933)

** (out of 4)

Boring "B" movie from Columbia about air hostess Kitty King (Evalyn Knapp) who is protected by everyone who works in the aviation field because of her father's heroic work during WWI. This protection at times is too much and this here sends her into the arms of a man (James Murray) who might not be the best thing for her and especially after he starts to see a rich woman (Thelma Todd) who might be able to help him with his dream. AIR HOSTESS is a pretty bland and boring picture that manages to make the viewer incredibly tired through its 67-minute running time but I'd say the picture is still worth watching thanks to a few factors that I'll get to in a moment. The biggest problem with this film is its rather bland screenplay, which offers up the typical story of a good girl caught between two men and of course she picks the bad one, which means the viewer has to sit through countless scenes where she feels sorry for herself. This entire concept was pretty boring even by 1933 standards and the problem here is that there simply isn't anything fresh or original done. Had the screenplay at least given the viewer a few twists or turns then perhaps we could have put up with things but that never happens. There are a few good things going for the film and this includes the performance of Knapp who has been forgotten by most people but she's quite charming here. She's certainly cute to look at but she manages to take a blandly written character and bring her to life. I also thought Todd was very good in her role as the sexy other woman. Murray really doesn't do much in his role nor does Arthur Pierson. What makes the film worth watching is that we get to see some pretty good airplanes from the era and we also get a rather amazing stunt at the end of the picture. This stunt involves a couple planes trying to stop a train and I won't ruin what happens but it's quite thrilling.