Walking on Air

I think Walking on Air is a very refreshing movie with a humorous story-line and great singing! I thought Gene Raymond, Ann Sothern, Henry Stephenson and Jesse Ralph were superb in their performances.

I especially wanted to comment on the great singing of Ann Sothern and Gene Raymond in Let's Make a Wish. Also, there was a wonderful singing group that accompanied them in harmony at the nightclub.

The story concerns a rich girl who wants to marry a divorced man. When her father opposes the match, she hires a poor man (aspiring to be a radio singer) to impersonate a count with poor manners, to show her father than titles are not everything.

A merry mix-up ensues, and Ann finds herself falling for her count, played by Gene Raymond.

It's spring… and kindly but stern old gentleman Henry Stephenson has his daughter upstairs locked in her room. He sends up the butler with a tray of food; she throws it out the window.

Ann Sothern is the spirited young woman engaged to a cad her father refuses to accept. Her backup plan involves a help wanted ad: She hires a young man to pose as her replacement fiancé and assigns him to behave so rudely toward her father that he will change his mind about the original cad. Gene Raymond has some uproarious moments as the fake suitor—a French count complete with phony mustache—who digs right in to the job of insulting the girl's father and aunt.

It's a very lightweight comedy of impostors, wrong impressions and late revelations. A pretty typical plot—but lots of fun nevertheless.

Of course, Raymond and Sothern are meant to get together eventually, but only if they can get past the usual set of misunderstandings. Both stars are energetic and appealing. Raymond—whose character is also an aspiring crooner—gets to sing a couple of fine songs, as well.

Jessie Ralph is excellent as always as the witty aunt who offers advice, support and wisecracks. Ralph and Stephenson make a good pair as the older generation who may be misled by the youngsters' schemes but soon catch on.

Sothern and Raymond make a neat match and look like they are having a good time. The story moves along briskly and while the picture doesn't leave a deep impression, it's sure easy to watch!

Great moment: "You're losing your mustache!"

"Walking on Air" is a reasonably enjoyable piece of fluff punctuated with some awful music. Without the music, it would be an agreeable time-passer.

Kit Bennett (Ann Sothern) is a rich girl with lousy taste in men. Not surprisingly, they aren't particularly impressed by her new boyfriend. So, to get their approval of the guy, she pretends to be in love with an absolutely awful person--so the boyfriend would look great compared to this new guy. So she hires Pete (Gene Raymond) to play an annoying French member of the nobility. However, the family soon realizes Pete's a phony and they pretend to like him just to irritate Kit and upset her plans. In the process, it's not surprising that she falls for Pete.

Overall, this is a very slight but reasonably enjoyable film which is seriously marred by some of the blandest and dullest music you could imagine. And, because there's a lot of music, the film is pretty tough going at times.

Walking on Air is a fortunate Musical Comedy of the 1930's. It is fortunate to have the lovely and talented Ann Sothern at her radiant best, Gene Raymond (real-life husband of musical great, Jeanette MacDonald) at his popularity peak, plus veteran character actors, Jessie Ralph and Henry Stephenson, having considerable fun with their roles. Fortunate also for the lilting tunes by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby. Students of vintage dance music will recognize the musical director, Nathaniel Shilkret, from many recordings of the era. His work here adds a richness to the score that is often lacking in similar musical pictures. What this all adds up to is a fun way to spend 70 minutes. This viewer likes it well enough to keep a 16mm print on the shelf and has never tired of repeated screenings over the years. Walking on Air is not only a uniformly likable musical - never ponderous - always pleasing, it also looks good. The entire cast seems to be having fun working together. Certainly a cut above the average musical comedy of its period.

Gene Raymond & Ann Sothern in another of the "boy meets girl, silly identity mixups, arguments, boy tries to win back girl " stories. Raymond and Sothern made a whole bunch together. Raymond's occupation as on-air singer in Walking on Air allows him to sing the songs highlighted in the movie, which he does quite well. (among his other "occupations" in this movie.) Jessie Ralph (made David Copperfield and Bank Dick with W.C. Fields) is Auntie to Kit Bennett (Sothern), and plays referee between Kit, Horace, (Henry Stephenson) and Kits' boyfriends. Kit hires Pete Quinlan (Raymond) to hang around and annoy her father so her own boyfriend looks better and better. That boyfriend Fred (Alan Curtis) has his own tricks up his sleeve. George Meeker (plays Tom Quinlan) has a pretty impressive history himself, frequently playing cowboys & soldiers. Meeker also had parts in Gone with the Wind and Casablanca. Directed by Joseph Santley, who directed Raymond in five films in the 1930s. Fun flick. Some clever bits as we watch Pete (Raymond) try to insult the family, but has the tables turned on him. Does not seem to be at all related to the later movies made in 1946 & 1986 by the same name.