Wings in the Dark
Cast & Crew
James Flood
Myrna Loy
Cary Grant
Roscoe Karns
Hobart Cavanaugh
Dean Jagger
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Skywriter and stuntflyer Sheila Mason meets ace pilot Ken Gordon as he is about to perfect his automatic pilot, which would enable people to fly "blind." When the government denies him a permit to make a blind flight, Ken is despondent until Sheila convinces him to make the flight anyway. While Ken heats coffee for the flight, the stove explodes and he is blinded. Overcome with self-pity and a sense of failure, Ken becomes a recluse until Sheila brings him "Lightning," a Seeing Eye dog. Ken writes aviation articles in order to make some money, but unknown to him, receives only rejection notices from publishers. Sheila, meanwhile, performs dangerous stunts arranged by her manager, Nick Williams, and gives her paychecks to Ken, telling him they are his royalties in order to build his ego. Finally, Ken returns to the confident and productive man he was before his blindness and nearly perfects his auto pilot when Rockwell Aviation Company repossesses his plane for delinquent payments. That night, Ken and Sheila kiss for the first time. In the morning, when Ken finds his plane missing, he accuses Sheila of being affectionate out of pity. She admits she paid his royalties, but assures him of her love. Ken rejects her, and she makes a solo flight from New York to Moscow in order to win the $25,000 remuneration so she and Ken can marry. As Sheila nears Roosevelt Field, where Rockwell stores its planes, Ken takes off in his plane to help her land through the thick fog. Over the radio waves, Ken and Sheila swear their love, and he tells her he has lost his courage for living and will fly until he meets his death. As they land, Sheila purposefully collides into Ken's plane, forcing him to stay on the ground. As the lovers greet the public and the press, Ken sees flashes of light.
Director
James Flood
Cast
Myrna Loy
Cary Grant
Roscoe Karns
Hobart Cavanaugh
Dean Jagger
Russell Hopton
Matt Mchugh
Graham Mcnamee
Bert Hanlon
James Burtis
Arnold Korff
Lee Phelps
Julian Madison
Rita Owin
George Macquarrie
Mabel Forrest
Samuel S. Hinds
George Reed
Hanley Andrews
Sam Flint
Rosemary Theby
Charles Morris
Henry Roquemore
Alfred Delcambre
Tola Nesmith
Terrance Ray
Arthur S. Byron
Allen Fox
Charley Hines
Ben Sharpe
Duke York
Peter Hancock
Antrim Short
Gene Morgan
Phil Tead
Hyman Fink
J. B. Scott
Herb Watson
Eddie Baker
Harry Jordan
Virgil Simons
Esther Michelson
Crew
Emanuel Cohen
Hans Dreier
Earl S. Hayman
Earl Hedrick
Arthur Hornblow Jr.
Philip D. Hurn
Jack Kirkland
William C. Mellor
Frank Partos
E. H. Robinson
Captain Earl H. Robinson
William Shea
Nell Shipman
Paul Gerard Smith
Dale Van Every
Dewey Wrigley
Adolph Zukor
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The title of Nell Shipman and Philip D. Hurn's original story was "Eyes of the Eagle." Although the onscreen credits list Dean Jagger's character as "Top Harmon," he is called "Tops Harmon" in the film and in reviews. This was the first of three films in which Myrna Loy and Cary Grant co-starred. Their other films were The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer (1947) and Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948), both made for RKO. Producer Arthur Hornblow, Jr. became Loy's first husband in 1936. Loy was on loan from M-G-M for this film. Following this film, Loy negotiated with M-G-M for more money and creative control. Eventually her demands were met and she returned to M-G-M. A modern source states that her success in negotiations May have been due to Louis B. Mayer's "unrelentless crush" on her.
