Flying Blind
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Frank Mcdonald
Richard Arlen
Jean Parker
Nils Asther
Marie Wilson
Roger Pryor
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Pilot Jim Clark is fired from his job after he takes the blame for mistakes made by his co-pilot, Rocky Drake. Jim and stewardess Shirley Brooks form their own airline called Honeymoon Air Service, which makes round-trip flights from Los Angeles to Las Vegas for couples to marry and honeymoon. Because Jim's ambitions impede him from asking Shirley to marry him, she grows impatient and accepts pilot Bob Fuller's marriage proposal. Jealous, Jim interferes by sending Bob off to Hackensack, New Jersey, for a non-existent publicity job at his friend's firm. Unaware of Jim's trickery, Shirley continues to work with him, and they take off for Las Vegas with honeymooners Veronica and Chester Gimble and Eric and Danila Karolek, and airplane mechanic Riley, whose wife is expecting a baby at any moment. Eric and Danila are actually foreign spies working with Drake to steal a prototype transformer for a new American bomber being tested in Las Vegas. In Las Vegas, while the newlyweds celebrate with Jim and Shirley, Drake kills his connection for the transformer when the man brandishes a gun and demands to be paid immediately. Drake then eludes the police by hitching a ride with Jim's return flight to Los Angeles. Jim attempts to turn the plane back to Las Vegas after he receives a radio transmission about the fugitive, but Drake struggles with him. Shirley, believing the fight is a practical joke, gets Drake's gun but gives it to Karolek, who then holds them all hostage and orders Jim to fly to Mexico. The flight passes through a storm, and the bumpy ride shakes loose an engine block which is being transported inside the plane. The engine first pins Riley and then slides into the control panel and knocks the controls out. Jim then coasts the plane to a hazardous but safe landing in the mountains. In the morning, as he and Drake work on the engine, Gimble lights a signal fire, but the nearby brush catches fire and the men race against time to fix the engine. Drake and Karolek intend to leave everyone behind, but as Jim and Drake struggle, Riley gets Jim's gun and kills Drake. As the fire advances, Jim negotiates with Karolek for the lives of his friends, and they all board the plane. Jim launches the plane safely and thwarts Karolek's final sabotage attempt. They return to Las Vegas in time to prevent the test bomber from taking off without the transformer, which would have caused its destruction, and Jim is declared a hero. Bob returns from New Jersey full of rancor because of Jim's practical joke, but Shirley informs him that she plans to marry Jim.
Director
Frank Mcdonald
Cast
Richard Arlen
Jean Parker
Nils Asther
Marie Wilson
Roger Pryor
Eddie Quillan
Dick Purcell
Grady Sutton
Kay Sutton
Charlotte Henry
Joseph Crehan
William Hall
Dwight Frye
James Seay
Dick Keene
Gayle Mellott
George Mckay
Crew
Ben Berk
Robert Crandall
W. M. Dalgleish
Fred Jackman Jr.
L. B. Merman
Richard Murphy
William H. Pine
Farrell Redd
John W. Rogers
Maxwell Shane
F. Paul Sylos
William C. Thomas
Dimitri Tiomkin
James Wade
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
According to information in the press book, actor Richard Arlen flew his own plane in several sequences. Hollywood Reporter news items reported that some scenes were shot at the Alhambra and Rosemead, CA, airports.
