Air Hawks | |
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![]() Theatrical film poster | |
Directed by | Albert Rogell |
Screenplay by | Griffin Jay and Grace Neville |
Produced by | none credited |
Starring |
Ralph Bellamy Tala Birell Wiley Post Douglas Dumbrille |
Cinematography | Henry Freulich, A.S.C. |
Edited by | Richard Cahoon |
Music by | Louis Silvers (uncredited) |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 64 minutes (also variously listed as 66, 69 and 70 minutes) |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Air Hawks is a 1935 American aviation-themed science fiction film based on Ben Pivar's "Air Fury", an unpublished story. [1] Director Albert Rogell who had moved from shorts to B-films, was interested in aviation and had already helmed The Flying Marine (1929) and Air Hostess (1933). In Air Hawks, the studio was able to add an A-list star, Ralph Bellamy, as well as exploiting the fame of record-setting pilot Wiley Post in his only feature film appearance. [2]
Although limited in budget and production values, the introduction of a "death ray" elevated the modest programmer into the science-fiction genre. [3]
Pilot Barry Eldon ( Ralph Bellamy) is the owner of Independent Transcontinental Lines whose airline is in direct competition with Martin Drewen ( Robert Middlemass), owner of Consolidated Airlines. With Renee Dupont ( Tala Birell), a singer at a nightclub owned by Victor Arnold ( Douglas Dumbrille), he believes that his airline's air mail routes will ensure success against his rival.
Arnold decides to ally himself with Drewen who has hired German inventor Shulter ( Edward Van Sloan), the inventor of a death ray projector. With this device, they bring down three of Eldon's aircraft. Determined to set a new transcontinental record with Wiley Post flying the racer, Eldon has the help of his girlfriend to eventually expose his rivals and destroy their secret headquarters. A new contract in Washington awaits.
Primary photography on Air Hawks took place from February 25 to March 14, 1935. [5] The aerial scenes used a combination of models and full-size aircraft, [6] which included a DH60GM Gipsy Moth, Stearman C-3R, Stinson SM-8A, and Vultee V-1. [7]
Billed as one of the stars of the film, Wiley Post was in the midst of a series of record flights. [8] His actual screen time amounted to little more than a minute. [9]
Between February 22 and June 15, 1935, Post made four attempts to complete the first high altitude non-stop flight from Los Angeles to New York, all of which failed for various mechanical reasons. [10] As the attempts were also meant to be the "First Air Mail Stratosphere Flight" over U.S. Air Mail Route #2 (AM-2) from Los Angeles to New York, Post was in the headlines constantly, an aspect that Columbia wanted to exploit, even creating a marketing campaign featuring his famous " Winnie Mae". [11] The film provides a rare view of a famous pilot on the cusp of tragedy. [12] In mid-1935, after his work on Air Hawks was completed, Post with friend and fellow celebrity Will Rogers set out on another record flight, this time surveying a mail-and-passenger air route from the west coast of the United States to Russia. When the pair were killed on August 15, 1935, near Point Barrow, Alaska, a period of public mourning began. [13]
Considered along with other aviation films of the era, Air Hawks was a B-film with some aspirations to being elevated to a more prestigious level, especially promoting the appearance of headline-dominating Wiley Post. [14]
A contemporary review in The New York Times, however, noted: "Although Wiley Post is billed as one of the photoplay's chief lures, the aviator completes his chore in about a minute and a half. Air Hawks spends most of its time on the minor side of film entertainment. It belongs in the double-feature programs, for which it has apparently been designed." [15] Largely a forgotten film today, Air Hawks does provide an illuminating, if brief look at an iconic figure of the interwar years.
Air Hawks | |
---|---|
![]() Theatrical film poster | |
Directed by | Albert Rogell |
Screenplay by | Griffin Jay and Grace Neville |
Produced by | none credited |
Starring |
Ralph Bellamy Tala Birell Wiley Post Douglas Dumbrille |
Cinematography | Henry Freulich, A.S.C. |
Edited by | Richard Cahoon |
Music by | Louis Silvers (uncredited) |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 64 minutes (also variously listed as 66, 69 and 70 minutes) |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Air Hawks is a 1935 American aviation-themed science fiction film based on Ben Pivar's "Air Fury", an unpublished story. [1] Director Albert Rogell who had moved from shorts to B-films, was interested in aviation and had already helmed The Flying Marine (1929) and Air Hostess (1933). In Air Hawks, the studio was able to add an A-list star, Ralph Bellamy, as well as exploiting the fame of record-setting pilot Wiley Post in his only feature film appearance. [2]
Although limited in budget and production values, the introduction of a "death ray" elevated the modest programmer into the science-fiction genre. [3]
Pilot Barry Eldon ( Ralph Bellamy) is the owner of Independent Transcontinental Lines whose airline is in direct competition with Martin Drewen ( Robert Middlemass), owner of Consolidated Airlines. With Renee Dupont ( Tala Birell), a singer at a nightclub owned by Victor Arnold ( Douglas Dumbrille), he believes that his airline's air mail routes will ensure success against his rival.
Arnold decides to ally himself with Drewen who has hired German inventor Shulter ( Edward Van Sloan), the inventor of a death ray projector. With this device, they bring down three of Eldon's aircraft. Determined to set a new transcontinental record with Wiley Post flying the racer, Eldon has the help of his girlfriend to eventually expose his rivals and destroy their secret headquarters. A new contract in Washington awaits.
Primary photography on Air Hawks took place from February 25 to March 14, 1935. [5] The aerial scenes used a combination of models and full-size aircraft, [6] which included a DH60GM Gipsy Moth, Stearman C-3R, Stinson SM-8A, and Vultee V-1. [7]
Billed as one of the stars of the film, Wiley Post was in the midst of a series of record flights. [8] His actual screen time amounted to little more than a minute. [9]
Between February 22 and June 15, 1935, Post made four attempts to complete the first high altitude non-stop flight from Los Angeles to New York, all of which failed for various mechanical reasons. [10] As the attempts were also meant to be the "First Air Mail Stratosphere Flight" over U.S. Air Mail Route #2 (AM-2) from Los Angeles to New York, Post was in the headlines constantly, an aspect that Columbia wanted to exploit, even creating a marketing campaign featuring his famous " Winnie Mae". [11] The film provides a rare view of a famous pilot on the cusp of tragedy. [12] In mid-1935, after his work on Air Hawks was completed, Post with friend and fellow celebrity Will Rogers set out on another record flight, this time surveying a mail-and-passenger air route from the west coast of the United States to Russia. When the pair were killed on August 15, 1935, near Point Barrow, Alaska, a period of public mourning began. [13]
Considered along with other aviation films of the era, Air Hawks was a B-film with some aspirations to being elevated to a more prestigious level, especially promoting the appearance of headline-dominating Wiley Post. [14]
A contemporary review in The New York Times, however, noted: "Although Wiley Post is billed as one of the photoplay's chief lures, the aviator completes his chore in about a minute and a half. Air Hawks spends most of its time on the minor side of film entertainment. It belongs in the double-feature programs, for which it has apparently been designed." [15] Largely a forgotten film today, Air Hawks does provide an illuminating, if brief look at an iconic figure of the interwar years.