Men Against the Sky

Men Against the Sky
Original film poster
Directed by	Leslie Goodwins
Produced by	Howard Benedict
Written by	John Twist (story) Nathanael West
Starring	Richard Dix Kent Taylor
Music by	Frank Tours Roy Webb
Cinematography	Frank Redman
Editing by	Desmond Marquette
Distributed by	RKO Radio Pictures
Release date(s)	September 6, 1940 (USA)
Running time	75 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Men Against the Sky is a 1940 drama starring Richard Dix and written by Nathanael West and based on a story by John Twist. Directed by Leslie Goodwins, this film deals with the dangers of flying and aircraft development in the period before World War II.

Plot

Phil Mercedes (Dix), who was once a record-setting pilot, is an aging, alcoholic, aeronautics show performer. While inebriated, he crashes his stunt plane into a barn and is grounded for a year. His sister Kay (Barrie) is his only means of support, who hopes to land a job as a draftswoman for Martin Ames (Taylor), the chief engineer for Dan McLean (Lowe), an airplane manufacturer that hopes to win a big contract with the government given the war in Europe. Though Kay is not a very skilled draftsman, she shows Ames some drawings with creative designs, from Phil, that interest him. Preliminary tests of the aircraft prove disastrous, but Phil establishes the viability of his designs by flying the experimental aircraft himself, which restores his damaged reputation.

Cast

• Richard Dix - Phil Mercedes
• Kent Taylor - Martin Ames
• Edmund Lowe - Daniel M. 'Dan' McLean
• Wendy Barrie - Kay Mercedes, aka Kay Green
• Granville Bates - Mr. Burdett
• Grant Withers - Mr. Grant
• Donald Briggs - Dick Allerton
• Charles Quigley - Flynn
• Selmer Jackson - Capt. Sanders
• Lee Bonnell - Capt. Wallen

Production

Paul Mantz, noted movie "stunt" pilot was the aviation consultant on the film. Also notable is the use of footage of the experimental Hughes H-1 Racer during its trials.

Reception

Bosley Crowther of the New York Times in a contemporary review, characterized Men Against the Sky as a "generally entertaining little action picture," though he criticized its "maudlin heroics", the storyline which was "routine and obvious" and the performances that were no better than "stock and pedestrian."^[1]

References

Notes

1. ^ Crowther, Bosley. "Men Against the Sky (1940)." nytimes.com, New York Times, September 12, 1940. Retrieved: March 15, 2009.

Bibliography

• Wynne, H. Hugh. The Motion Picture Stunt Pilots and Hollywood's Classic Aviation Movies. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1987. ISBN 0-933126-85-9.

External links

• Men Against the Sky at the Internet Movie Database
• Men Against the Sky at AllRovi
• Classic Film Guide