Air Hostess

...are what make this film interesting, not the rather pedestrian plot that could probably be seen as the backbone of hundreds of B programmers in the 30's and 40's.

The plot involves a corp of WWI flyers who stick together through the founding of aviation as a major means of transportation. One member of the group dies during the war and leaves behind a little daughter, Kitty. The group bands together to be a kind of "group dad" to the girl (Evelyn Knapp), going to the extreme of keeping her from dating anybody, though. Fast forward to the early 30's and the girl is now an "air hostess" - what is now called a flight attendant - onboard planes landing and leaving from the same airfield at which the old flying corp now works as mechanics and pilots.

Two pilots show up at the airfield at about the same time - Dick Miller (Arthur Pierson) and Ted Hunter (James Murray). Dick is the good guy, Ted is the bad boy. Kitty, being overprotected by her "group dad" is naturally intrigued by the bad boy, and a hasty marriage between the two ensues. Ted's big dreams, a lusty divorcée (Thelma Todd), and a daring train/plane race all figure into the plot from this point forward.

None of this by itself would make this film more than about 5/10. What raises it a couple of notches are two specific matters of interest. First, there is the chance to see commercial aviation as it was practiced in 1933. At this time, most people are still taking trains for cross-country journeys. You even get a shot of an early passenger plane galley.

Secondly, there is the matter of the fates of the three stars of this film - Evelyn Knapp, James Murray, and Thelma Todd. Evelyn Knapp had the kindest of the unkind fates. She was chosen by Warner Bros. to be built up as one of their early talking film stars in 1930 after starring in a series of comedy shorts for Pathe. You only have to see her first starring feature role in "Sinner's Holiday" to figure what is to come - Evelyn and Grant Withers have the picture stolen out from underneath them by the gritty James Cagney and Joan Blondell. Two years later Evelyn's time on the A-film circuit is over. Thelma Todd, whose career was doing fine at the time, was found dead in her garage in 1935 at age 30, and her death has always remained a mystery. James Murray had the saddest fate of all. Brought out of obscurity in 1928 to star in King Vidor's silent masterpiece "The Crowd" as an every-man whose life hits the skids, his life pretty much imitated art. He became a hopeless alcoholic in the 30's and was found dead in a river in 1936.

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.

Evalyn Knapp is Kitty King, air hostess. Her dad was an ace pilot who cracked up in the war and so now all the airport crew think she belongs to them and want to protect her—especially from any new fellows around who might try to get fresh. "Say, listen," Kitty finally tells one of them, "I've never been alone long enough with any man to see how it feels to get properly insulted."

Enter James Murray as Ted Hunter, hot shot daredevil pilot who was once great but drank himself out of the flying profession. All of the airport crew hold him in scorn…so naturally Kitty falls for him.

Evalyn Knapp is the best thing going for this occasionally exciting but frequently dreary melodrama. Knapp is bright, cute—and just walks the line between naive kid and focused, determined adult.

The plot is pretty so-so….Ted the pilot has an idea to build a super-duper plane and attempt the first trans-Pacific crossing, but he can't find a backer to help pay for the thing. Kitty keeps her job as air hostess to put food on the table, against his wishes. Can he raise the money? Can he stay sober? Will Kitty's stubborn faith in his essential goodness be rewarded?

Thelma Todd is devilishly wicked as a publicity crazy rich divorcée who proposes to finance Ted's project but instead seduces him with liquor and other temptations. She really gives no hint of Thelma the great comic actress here—this Thelma is all dark side, and she's convincingly dangerous.

A genuinely thrilling climactic chase sequence does partly make up for the slow-moving middle section....Overall, aside from a few exciting moments, I'm afraid it's pretty mediocre—although the flying sequences do add some interest, presumably, for fans of early airplanes.

Aside from supporting performances by Thelma Todd and Jane Darwell, very few today will recognize the actors in this B-film from Columbia Studios. Likewise, it seems to be the sort of old fashioned film that few would watch today. However, me being an airplane buff and B-movie fanatic, it's a natural I'd see this film.

Although the film begins in WWI, it soon switches to the present (1933) and features folks working with the early airlines. I loved seeing all the great old planes, such as the Ford Tri-Motor, as this is a period in aviation history that it almost forgotten today.

Cute Evalyn Knapp stars as the daughter of one of the pilots killed in the prologue. Now a decade and a half later, she's working as an air hostess (flight attendant) for one of these airlines founded by pals of the dead pilot. The men have sort of adopted Knapp--keeping an eye out for her and protecting her at every turn. Eventually, a bad boy (James Murray) turns up and Knapp marries him--mostly to spite her protectors. The new couple struggle to make ends meet and Evalyn is forced to return to her job as an air hostess. Unfortunately, Murray ends up spending much of the marriage feeling sorry for himself because he is having trouble making a go of his new business idea as well as falling under the influence of the evil vamp (Thelma Todd). Will the marriage last through these strains or will Murray and Todd hurt poor little Knapp? See this one for yourself to find out what happens next.

Overall, this isn't a terribly great film. The plot is awfully familiar and there's not much to make it stand out--unless, as I said above, you are an aviation nut (like me). Not bad, but not especially noteworthy--that is until the dopey ending. In a very contrived twist, the two men who love Knapp have to work together to save her life--she's on a train bound for a bridge that has just washed out and there isn't a second to lose!!! This ending loses a point from the overall score.

By the way, at the beginning of the film you see some footage of WWI air combat. I am not sure which, but the film clips were lifted from either "Hell's Angels" or "Wings" (I am inclined to think "Hells Angels"). I recognized these clips--particularly the scene with the pilot bleeding from the mouth. If anyone can figure out which of the films it was from, drop me a line.

Note--About halfway through the film, Murray gives Knapp a playful little smack on the rump. Such goings on could not have occurred in this film had it come out a year later--after the toughened Production Code was enacted.

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.