Frank Wead Movies

In this aerial melodrama, four brothers working as stunt pilots for a flying circus leave their jobs to become mail pilots. Because their job requires that they constantly travel, they are advised to not settle down with wives and kids. Still, one pilot falls in love and marries. Unfortunately, the woman dislikes his brothers and constantly worries that he will be killed during a flight. Her fears are not unfounded and much tragedy ensues as the story unfolds. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

William Powell plays a cynical con man who graduates from penny-ante operations to a big-time charity racket. The scam involves collecting money on behalf of St. Dismas, bringing Powell in close contact with several men of the cloth. As the racket rolls on, Powell is touched by the sincerity of the religious men and the plights of the charity's rightful recipients. He has a change of heart, confessing his original criminal intentions but seeing to it that the money goes to the right people. Hoodlum Saint was typical of the facile religiosity often found in MGM pictures of the period. The film is best remembered as the first non-aquatic performance of MGM swimming star Esther Williams. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Edward G. Robinson portrays a hard-driving, hard-nosed perfectionist who causes dissension aboard the WWII destroyer he helped build before re-enlisting in the Navy. Coming aboard as a senior crewman and trying to emulate the perfection of his hero John Paul Jones, he drives himself as hard as he drives the younger generation of sailors he commands, even going so far as recounting the last battle of the Bon Homme Richard to the increasingly disgruntled crew. But it is not his words that earn him their respect. During a major battle Robinson proves himself a true hero. The harsh training also pays off and the young sailors successfully defeat the enemy. Afterward they realize that Robinson was right to be tough on them and never question him again. Meanwhile, the captain who stood by Robinson through the thick of it even winds up involved with the old salt's daughter. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

Lieutenant Commander Joe Blake (Fred MacMurray), Lt. Tim Griffin (Regis Toomey), and Lt. Swede Larson (Louis Jean Heydt) are longtime US Navy flying buddies, about to be transferred to different posts when Larson suffers a blackout during high-altitude maneuvers and cracks up. Navy doctor Douglas Lee (Errol Flynn) insists on trying to save him with an immediate operation, and the mortally injured pilot dies on the table. This sets the stage for a long, lingering, and bitter hatred between Blake and Lee -- which is only exacerbated when Lee chooses to become a flight surgeon so he can help to find a solution to the problem of high altitude blackout. Lee is assigned to medical research with Lt. Cdr. Lance Rogers (Ralph Bellamy), a flight surgeon whose dedication to high-altitude research has left him unfit for further flying. Their work proceeds through small triumphs and terrible tragedy, and Lee and Blake keep crossing paths, unwillingly -- they not only don't like each other personally, but end up competing for the attentions of the same woman (Alexis Smith) at one point. But they're forced to work together for the good of the service, even after Lee grounds Tim Griffin as medically unfit to keep flying. A fresh tragedy shows Blake that Lee has always been looking out for the best interests of the pilots, and they begin working together in earnest, at last. Blake pushes his piloting skills to their limit and beyond, and he soon finds a purpose and dedication that he's never known before -- and then he learns that he may have to be grounded because of his own deteriorating medical condition. While Lee frets over having to give the news to his friend, the only question for Blake is whether he will be able to see the final test of Lee's high-altitude pressure suit through to the end. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

The sailor in this entertaining 20th Century-Fox programmer is Danny Malone (Jon Hall), while the lady is Sally Gilroy (Claire Trevor). Danny's impending marriage to Sally is put on the back burner when she is put in charge of an orphaned baby (Bruce Hampton, playing a girl!) During naval maneuvers, the infant is accidentally deposited on board Danny's ship. Chaos reigns supreme until Danny hits upon a way to set things right. But before this mess can be cleared up, Danny and Sally will have to be reunited, something that their cast-off sweethearts Georgine (Katherine Aldridge) and Rodney (Larry "Buster" Crabbe) would like to prevent. Written by Lt. Commander Frank "Spig" Wead (of Wings of Eagle) fame, Sailor's Lady boasts one of the most impressive casts ever seen in a mere B picture, including Joan Davis, Wally Vernon, Dana Andrews, Don "Red" Barry, Kane Richmond, Ward Bond, Peggy Ryan, Barbara Pepper, Marie Blake (Jeanette MacDonald's sister) and George O'Hanlon (old "Joe McDoakes" himself). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A transport pilot is ordered to fly a risky mission. The pilot, Scott, refuses the dangerous mission and is fired from his job. Scott starts up a pilot school which struggles to stay in business. As an inspector for the government, Foster gives Scott trouble about his school, Scott hopes a new government pilot program will help him out. ~ All Movie Guide

Test Pilot is one of those irresistible MGM potboilers of the 1930s that coast along on sheer star power. Clark Gable plays a courageous test pilot, who compromises his achievements with his frequent bouts of drinking. Gable's mechanic, Spencer Tracy, does what he can to keep his boss out of trouble. While testing a new aircraft, Gable is forced to land on a Midwestern farm, where he meets and falls in love with Myrna Loy. Gable and Loy marry, whereupon he is fired by his boss Lionel Barrymore, who is of the opinion that flying and dames don't mix. Gable goes off on another bender, compelling Loy to leave him. Once more, Tracy comes to Gable's rescue by reuniting the couple and arranging for Barrymore to give Gable his job back. Later, Gable and Tracy are assigned to test a huge army bomber. Something goes wrong, and the plane goes into a dive. The self-sacrificing Tracy sees to it that Gable is saved from a flaming death--at the cost of his own life. Gable is so devastated by Tracy's death that it looks as though he'll never fly again. But with Loy's help, Gable regains his self-confidence. As one can see, there's little in Test Pilot that hasn't been done before. But with Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy and Myrna Loy at the controls, the film proved a real audience-pleaser in 1938. In fact, it's still pretty good today. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A Yank at Oxford was filmed in England at MGM's "sister studio", Elstree. Robert Taylor plays Lee Sheridan, an arrogant young American scholar/athlete who intends to show the "Brits" a thing or two while attending Oxford University. His abrasive attitude grates against the Oxonian students, who retaliate by subjecting Sheridan to a rather humiliating hazing. Romance enters the picture in the form of Molly Beaumont (Maureen O'Sullivan), the sister of Sheridan's chief academic rival Paul Beaumont (Griffith Jones). When Paul faces disgrace over a breach of student ethics, Sheridan nobly shoulders the blame, simultaneously endangering his own future at Oxford and proving that he's really a "right guy" underneath. All is forgiven during the annual rowing competition against Cambridge, with Sheridan coming through in jolly good fashion. Cast as campus vamp Elsa Craddock is the stunningly beautiful Vivien Leigh, still two years away from Gone With the Wind. A Yank at Oxford was remade in 1984 as Oxford Blues, and mercilessly lampooned by Laurel & Hardy in 1940's A Chump at Oxford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With the considerable input of ex-Navy officer Frank Wead (who wrote the script) and technical adviser Cmdr. G. W. D. Dashielle, Submarine D-1 is far more realistic than the usual run of maritime melodramas. Pat O'Brien and Wayne Morris star as Butch Rogers and Sock McGillis, old submarine hands stationed in Panama. On land, Butch and Sock battle over pretty Ann Sawyer (Doris Weston). At sea and underwater, however, our two heroes are virtually inseparable. The documentary-style direction of Lloyd Bacon serves to heighten suspense when, during war games, Submarine D-1 is disabled deep, deep below the surface, endangering the lives of all on board. Ronald Reagan originally had a sizeable supporting role in this heady combination of laughs, thrills, and romance, but Reagan was cut from the final release print (though he still received billing in the film's pressbook). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This low-budget precursor to Howard Hawks' Only Angels Have Wings stars Jack Holt as Bob Kent, the head of a charter-airplane service in South America. When not risking his life flying mail and supplies through the treacherous Andes, Kent must contend with the earthbound hostilities between his Bolivian and Paraguayan employees. He also gets into hot water by attempting to romance Theresa (Mona Barrie), never suspecting that she's the wife of Bolivian major Tovar (Antonio Moreno). The conclusion finds Kent taking to the air in mortal combat against a renegade pilot. For a man who was reportedly deathly afraid of flying, Jack Holt certainly made more than his share of aviation pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Great Impersonation is based on the E. Phillips Oppenheim espionage novel of the same name, previously filmed in 1921. During WW I, drunken, dissolute British nobleman Everard Dominey (Edmund Lowe) wanders into the African jungle, where he meets his exact double, German spy Von Ragenstein (also Edmund Lowe). The scene shifts back to England, where, apparently, Von Ragenstein has assumed Dominey's identity after the latter is reported killed. The actual identity of the protagonist is kept secret until the very end. Either way, it's a story of redemption: If he's really Von Ragenstein, he may very well be persuaded to cast his lot with the British; if he's really Dominey, he might just sober up and assume his proper place in society. The film is brightened by the presence of two former Bride of Frankenstein co-stars: Valerie Hobson, then only a teenager, delivers one of her best performances as Dominey's distraught wife, while Dwight Frye goes through his usual "Renfield" paces as a roving lunatic. Both the 1935 Great Impersonation and the 1945 remake with Ralph Bellamy and Evelyn Ankers were later included in Universal's "Shock Theater" TV package, even though both films are more suspenseful than shocking. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ceiling Zero is an adaptation of the Broadway play by Frank "Spig" Wead. James Cagney and Pat O'Brien are supremely typecast as, respectively, Dizzy Davis, a cocky civil aviator and Jake Lee, a sober-sided ground commander. Dizzy ducks out of a dangerous mission in order to dally with pretty Tommy Thomas (June Travis). Texas Clark (Stuart Erwin) takes Dizzy's place, and the unpolished young pilot dies in a fiery wreck. Disgraced in the eyes of his co-workers after Clark's death, Dizzy redeems himself by taking a crucial test flight in fog-laden "ceiling zero." Dizzy dies a hero, leaving behind his pal Jake to deliver the eulogy. Isabel Jewell co-stars as Clark's wife, given yet another opportunity to shake the rafters with her emotionally supercharged acting. Ceiling Zero was remade in a wartime setting as International Squadron (1940). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide