Flight from Glory
Brief Synopsis
Tensions flare among flyers carrying supplies through the Andes.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Lew Landers
Director
Chester Morris
Smith
Whitney Bourne
Lee Wilson
Onslow Stevens
Ellis
Van Heflin
George Wilson
Richard Lane
Hanson
Film Details
Genre
Adventure
Drama
Release Date
Aug
20,
1937
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 7m
Sound
Mono (RCA Victor System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
7 reels
Synopsis
Short one pilot, Ellis, the greedy, heartless owner of the Trans-Andean Air Service of Delgado, Argentina, searches his files for the name of a recently suspended American aviator and finds George Wilson. When George arrives in Delgado with his bride Lee, he is shocked to discover a fleet of decrepit airplanes and a gang of washed-up, cynical pilots to greet him. Concerned for Lee's safety in the desolate, male-dominated village, George, who has a one-year contract with Ellis, suggests that she return to America. Lee, however, insists on staying in Delgado and, because he owes Ellis for travel expenses, George is unable to quit. During his first treacherous mountain flight with head pilot Smith, George, who was suspended in Connecticut when he crashed a plane while intoxicated and killed a bystander, numbs his fears with alcohol. Worried about George's drinking, Lee asks Ellis to transfer her husband to the easier coast route. Several weeks later, however, George is forced to fly the mountain delivery route with another plane, which crashes in front of him. Badly shaken by the sight, George returns to Delgado drunk and angry and accuses Lee, who has been befriended by Smith and Garth Hilton, a British pilot, of infidelity. Although Lee begs George to quit drinking, George persists until he is unable to fly his next scheduled trip. Out of love for Lee, Hilton takes George's assignment and crashes to his death in one of Ellis's "flying coffins." Filled with guilt, George confronts Ellis and accuses him of murdering his pilots out of greed. While Lee confesses to Smith that she loves him, George forces Ellis at gunpoint to join him on a flight across the mountains. As they approach the most dangerous leg of the route, George jumps out of the plane and leaves the unskilled Ellis to crash. Freed from all of their obligations, Lee and Smith pledge their love and return together to America.
Director
Lew Landers
Director
Cast
Chester Morris
Smith
Whitney Bourne
Lee Wilson
Onslow Stevens
Ellis
Van Heflin
George Wilson
Richard Lane
Hanson
Paul Guilfoyle
Jones
Solly Ward
"Mousey" Mousialovitch
Douglas Walton
Garth Hilton
Walter Miller
Old timer
Rita Laroy
Molly
Pasha Khan
Pepe
Crew
Robert D. Andrews
Story
Robert Barnes
Assistant Director
Samuel J. Briskin
Executive Producer
Denzil A. Cutler
Recording
Feild M. Gray
Art Director Associate
Harry Marker
Editing
Nicholas Musuraca
Photography
Van Nest Polglase
Art Director
David Silverstein
Screenwriter
Robert Sisk
Producer
John Twist
Screenwriter
Vernon L. Walker
Special Effects
Film Details
Genre
Adventure
Drama
Release Date
Aug
20,
1937
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 7m
Sound
Mono (RCA Victor System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
7 reels
Articles
Flight From Glory
Chester Morris is most well known for his definitive portrayal of Boston Blackie, the streetsmart jewel thief turned urbane detective, but before starring in thirteen films that began with Meet Boston Blackie (1941), he made this aviation drama about a bare-bones air service in Argentina that's the last chance for a boy's club of washed-up hot shots like Smith (Chester Morris). But when an alcoholic pilot (Van Heflin, in one of his earliest roles) shows up with his pretty young wife Lee (Whitney Bourne) in tow, the delicate balance of the rag-tag squadron starts to tip. Later in life the Academy Award-nominated Morris would complain that he'd been irreparably typecast in films by Boston Blackie, lamenting "A producer wouldn't put me in an 'A' movie even if I paid for the privilege". But this film is an opportunity to see his range and virile charm in an entirely different setting. Aircraft buffs will also get a kick out of seeing vintage models like the Studio SE.5 and the C-3 Stearman in action.
Flight From Glory
Chester Morris is most well known for his definitive portrayal of Boston Blackie, the streetsmart jewel thief turned urbane detective, but before starring in thirteen films that began with Meet Boston Blackie (1941), he made this aviation drama about a bare-bones air service in Argentina that's the last chance for a boy's club of washed-up hot shots like Smith (Chester Morris). But when an alcoholic pilot (Van Heflin, in one of his earliest roles) shows up with his pretty young wife Lee (Whitney Bourne) in tow, the delicate balance of the rag-tag squadron starts to tip. Later in life the Academy Award-nominated Morris would complain that he'd been irreparably typecast in films by Boston Blackie, lamenting "A producer wouldn't put me in an 'A' movie even if I paid for the privilege". But this film is an opportunity to see his range and virile charm in an entirely different setting. Aircraft buffs will also get a kick out of seeing vintage models like the Studio SE.5 and the C-3 Stearman in action.
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
RKO borrowed Chester Morris from Columbia for this production. According to Hollywood Reporter, Preston Foster was first slated for the role of "Ellis." According to modern sources, planes used in the production included a Studio SE.5, a C-3 Stearman and possibly a Boeing 100.
