Wings In The Dark

Wings in the Dark (1935)

Runtime: 75 minutes

Directed by: James Flood

Starring: Myrna Loy, Cary Grant, Roscoe Karns, Hobart Cavanaugh, Dean Jagger

From: Paramount

After too long, I decided to go real old-school and watch something from the 1930's. The Letterboxd review is below and I'll return tomorrow night.

I realized it's been a few months since I've seen a motion picture this old and as not too long ago I got a 5 disc set of lesser-known movies that Cary Grant did for Paramount I figured I should watch one and I picked this out as the plot sounded the most interesting to me... it also has Myrna Loy on loan from MGM, back in the days where there was contracted talent and studios could loan them out to other studios for films.

The plot isn't too complex: Grant is Ken Gordon, a talented pilot who is working on creating a plane that can fly on instruments alone and without the need for the pilot's eyesight. Well, irony is a cruel SOB here as Gordon is-wait for it-blinded in an accident; an accident from trying to light a stove, of all things. Loy is aviatrix Sheila Mason, flying and doing stunts as sexism won't allow her to do more. Those two good-looking people end up getting to know each other better and she wishes for a romance but he at first is bitter about his fate and then there's his continuing plane project...

This isn't a great film but it's an easy watch at 75 minutes and it's pleasant; there aren't too many surprises and at times it was a little far-fetched; still, the charm of the two leads and such wacky characters as Gordon's Scottish mechanic and Sheila's shifty manager... it does help. There's also a cute German Shepherd and Grant does a fine job with a role where most of the time he's without sight.

Like I said this was entertaining if not a must-see. There's melodrama and what little flying you do see is fine. The other films that Loy and Grant did years later (Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House and The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer) are better known and likely better but if you like the two stars and can find this, it's worth a watch.