Directed by Lewis Seiler, with a story co-written by Jerry Wald, this insipid romantic comedy-drama is one of the weaker B films I've seen which, given its cast, is surprising.Featuring a dated storyline and a plethora of uncomfortably sexist themes, the plot is rife with stereotypes from the time in our history prior to U.S. involvement in World War II, when women presumably had nothing to look forward to besides finding a man that would marry them.The story is about a couple of womanizing pilots (Dennis Morgan and Wayne Morris) who, despite the fact that they have "women in every port", have two devoted stewardess girlfriends (Virginia Bruce and Jane Wyman, respectively). The pilots are also working on the latest high altitude, 30% faster airplane for their boss Ralph Bellamy who, like a lot of the other roles he's played, is the third man out in a love triangle (with Morgan and Bruce). The drama concerns Morgan's character getting eye trouble, diagnosed by a doctor (John Litel), which jeopardizes his future as a pilot.Though I've already given the salient plot points, and because I found them so offensive, I thought I'd detail some of the more objectionable stereotypes one finds in this movie:Chick (ha ha) Farber (Morgan) is seen kissing one gal while trying to board the plane he's to fly with Artie Dixon (Morris) and stewardess Mary Norvell (Bruce). When he successfully frees himself from her, he's met by another which he'd apparently been with 2 hours before that, and all this is witnessed by his girlfriend Mary.On the flight, Mary is seen to be too ditsy to remember which passenger needed a bicarbonate of soda while she refuses to introduce the pilots to the "fresh meat", a stewardess trainee also on the flight. A laughing Dick Elliot plays one of the passengers. Some drama and repetitive dialogue ("I never had that pulled on me before") is introduced by having a woman give birth on the airplane. Bill Graves (Bellamy) at first doesn't believe what his flight crew has told him, but eventually he gets Dr. Barclay (Litel) to meet the plane when it lands.Once on the ground, the stewardesses are shown to be women that are just bidding their time until a pilot or a rich passenger ask for their hand in marriage. Bellamy's character is shown to be interested in Bruce's, who naturally prefers Morgan's, despite the fact of his philandering. We're then introduced to Nan Hudson (Wyman), who's likewise "hooked" on Morris's character.Though Wyman's character has some sassy dialogue, she's wasted in this film and her character is likewise inflicted with "helpless without a wedding ring" syndrome. Morgan and Morris aren't just pilots, they're engineers and mechanics who designed, and are building, the next great airplane for Bellamy.Meanwhile, the silly females have "cat fights" over the men. One of Ms. Bruce's rivals is played by Margot Stevenson; another of the stewardesses (Dorothea Kent) has a cartoon character voice. Ironically, Grace Stafford, who went on to voice animated Woody Woodpecker, is also in the cast.When Morgan's character is diagnosed with a degenerative eye condition, he's grounded by Litel's and Bellamy's characters, and is offered a position training the stewardesses. Naturally, these women are so overcome by his good looks that they can't concentrate on their studies and he's too frustrated with the position to keep doing it. He's also quick to discard his new bride Bruce.Shown to be lacking the kind of judgment required by real pilots, the former barnstormer Morgan "steals" their new plane, taking it up for its test flight, after he'd learned that another (John Ridgely) was hired to replace him. Some really low budget special effects are used but, naturally, everything works out well in the end for all concerned.

Enjoyed this 1940 film starring Virginia Bruce, Mary Norvell) and Jane Wyman, (Nan Hudson) was are American Airlines Stewardesses and are Flight Angeles who fly from Points A to B to C & D. The pilots are Dennis Morgan, (Chick Farber) and Wayne Morris, (Artie Dixon) who have a good time with all the stewardesses and plenty of laughs. The stewardesses are a rough bunch of gals who can stand up to any man and between their flights they are gossiping and fighting with each other which makes for some good comedy scenes. Chick Farber works in between flights on a super secret aircraft as a test pilot and is married to Mary Norvell and the couple get along just fine. One day Chick decides to take this special aircraft up in the sky for a test flight and runs into different problems which changes the direction of this film and causes Mary & Chick to break up their marriage. This is a very entertaining B Film and it was great seeing how young Jane Wyman looked in this picture, Jane was once married to President Ronald Reagan. Enjoy.

This movie just played on TMC. SPOILER ALERT Jane Wyman steals every scene as the brazen blonde hussy. She bosses her boyfriend around; hits him on the back to make him choke on his drink; starts a cat fight; and slings gobs of cold cream into another girl's face. She even looks a bit like Sandra Dee. Who knew? The other leads are snooze worthy. Dennis Morgan is the lovable rogue again; and Ralph Bellamy is the stuffed shirt again. For once, Virginia Bruce is NOT the scheming blonde, which was her forte in other movies of the time. On the other hand, you gotta love the shiny new propeller planes.Ronald Reagan married Jane Wyman in 1940, the year this movie was made, and it's easy to see why: she was a real pistol. Her staid, stuffy roles and those hideous bangs came later, in the fifties. GC/BC

This film is far better than the usual kind of fluff aviation film made during the late 1930's and into the late 1940's. I expected a light romantic comedy--"not that there is anything wrong with that!"--and was surprised that it is quite interesting on other levels. The plot involved all the predictable vicissitudes of a pilot trying to come to grips with losing his flight qualification due to failing eyesight, and the film does have its share of predictable situations and character foibles. But what is most interesting is how it accurately reflects the state of aviation at the time: the concern over furnishing more reliable and safe all-weather commercial aviation, the challenge and opportunity of developing long-range high-altitude "stratosphere" airplanes, and the behind-the-scenes concern of national security, namely the expectation that we might be eventually involved in the war in China (and of course we were, a year after this film came out, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor). The airplane star of the show is the relatively new Douglas DC-3 (then just 4 years in airline service), a 21 passenger airliner, but there are also very good in-flight visuals of the Lockheed Model 10 Electra, the "stratosphere ship" of the movie. Finally, the acting is better than one might expect--minimal histrionics, some genuine chuckles, and a dialogue that includes some interesting lines. Virginia Bruce is coolly luscious, Denny Morgan and Wayne Morris do a credible job as airmen, and Ralph Bellamy is appropriately "heavy" as their boss. (Incidentally, in the "real world," Morris was inspired by his role in this film to become a Navy pilot, flying Grumman Hellcats in the Pacific and shooting down 7 Japanese planes). A very enjoyable movie, particularly for anyone interested in aviation in the heyday of the propeller-driven airplane!