WINGS IN THE DARK (Paramount, 1935), directed by James Flood, is an agreeable little story that centers upon a pilot named Ken Gordon (Cary Grant), attempting to perfect instruments for safe flying through darkness and fog. While working with some chemicals, a gas explosion occurs, blinding him before he can ever prove his experiments successful.
Top billing goes to MGM star Myrna Loy, in her first film for Paramount since LOVE ME TONIGHT (1932) where she played the secondary role opposite Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald in the now regarded classic musical. Seeing Loy in this Paramount programmer comes as a surprise, especially since the studio had a roaster of contract players ranging from major names as Sylvia Sidney or Carole Lombard, to less important but familiar actresses as Frances Drake or Mary Brian (all who have worked opposite Grant at one time or another), but for the standpoint of the story as to whom would possibly be more satisfactory and believable in assuming the role as an aviatrix, or whose name on the marque would be important enough to draw attention, Loy, reaching the height of her career, became the chosen one. She is well cast as Sheila Mason, an woman flier whose initial meeting with Ken becomes turbulent, and even more of a problem after Sheila, feeling responsible for his accidental blindness, acquires a seeing eye dog for Ken. As he did earlier with Sheila, Ken, now taking up residence in the country with his faithful mechanic/ friend, Mac (Hobart Cavanaugh), and working on becoming a writer, rejects the faithful German Shepherd, not wanting to be pitied by anyone and to make it on his own. In time he comes to accept both as they each guide him every step of the way. The story finally gets off the ground as Sheila takes a big risk by flying her airplane from Moscow to New York through intense fog and darkness in order to earn back the finances she secretly supplied to Ken as well as putting his experiment to the test. Her flight is broadcast coast to coast on national radio and makes headlines in every major newspaper. When Sheila's plane gets lost through intense fog over Boston, Ken takes control of his airplane, flying blind through the clouds (hense the title), hoping to reach her in time before any danger occurs and lead her to safety.
The supporting players consist of Roscoe Karns as Nick Williams, Sheila's manager; Dean Jagger as Tops Harmon; Bert Hanlon as Yipp Morgan; Russell Hopton as Jake; and radio broadcaster Graham McNamee appearing as himself. Hobart Cavanaugh, a familiar face of countless movies throughout most of the 1930s and '40s, usually appearing without credit from minor to bits parts, ranging from drunks to mousy husbands, plays up his role to good advantage. This, along with I COVER THE WATERFRONT (United Artists, 1933), ranks one of the few opportunities in finding Cavanaugh leading fine support.
Not an important film by any means in spite of a its two leading actors, WINGS IN THE DARK could have been an important project with such a fine premise that might have worked into an powerful and dramatic theme dealing with one man coping with blindness as with John Garfield's character in THE PRIDE OF THE MARINES (Warners, 1945), or a top-notch aviation story combining adventure and romance as with Grant's ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS (Columbia, 1939). Grant's skills as a dramatic actor are properly showcased here, especially with one particular key scene where he tries to rehabilitate himself through the course of his blindness, roaming about and bumping into things, along with his rejection towards his seeing eye dog, as enacted by Lightning.
Grant and Loy, in their initial screen performance, are best remembered for their two future unions together, THE BACHELOR AND THE BOBBY SOXER (1947) and MR. BLANDINGS BUILDS HIS DREAM HOUSE (1948), both RKO Radio releases. While these films have become notable comedy classics, thanks to frequent television revivals and availability on video cassette and later DVD, their initial pairing, having played sporadically on commercial television during the afternoon or late night movie era back in the 1960s and 70s, remains in the dark as being their least known of their three on screen partnerships.
Close to being largely forgotten today, WINGS IN THE DARK, which runs at 75 minutes, is cliché at best but watchable, thanks to the know how combination of Myrna Loy and Cary Grant early in their movie careers. A little item from the 1930s worthy of rediscovery now that it's available on DVD. (***)
Top billing goes to MGM star Myrna Loy, in her first film for Paramount since LOVE ME TONIGHT (1932) where she played the secondary role opposite Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald in the now regarded classic musical. Seeing Loy in this Paramount programmer comes as a surprise, especially since the studio had a roaster of contract players ranging from major names as Sylvia Sidney or Carole Lombard, to less important but familiar actresses as Frances Drake or Mary Brian (all who have worked opposite Grant at one time or another), but for the standpoint of the story as to whom would possibly be more satisfactory and believable in assuming the role as an aviatrix, or whose name on the marque would be important enough to draw attention, Loy, reaching the height of her career, became the chosen one. She is well cast as Sheila Mason, an woman flier whose initial meeting with Ken becomes turbulent, and even more of a problem after Sheila, feeling responsible for his accidental blindness, acquires a seeing eye dog for Ken. As he did earlier with Sheila, Ken, now taking up residence in the country with his faithful mechanic/ friend, Mac (Hobart Cavanaugh), and working on becoming a writer, rejects the faithful German Shepherd, not wanting to be pitied by anyone and to make it on his own. In time he comes to accept both as they each guide him every step of the way. The story finally gets off the ground as Sheila takes a big risk by flying her airplane from Moscow to New York through intense fog and darkness in order to earn back the finances she secretly supplied to Ken as well as putting his experiment to the test. Her flight is broadcast coast to coast on national radio and makes headlines in every major newspaper. When Sheila's plane gets lost through intense fog over Boston, Ken takes control of his airplane, flying blind through the clouds (hense the title), hoping to reach her in time before any danger occurs and lead her to safety.
The supporting players consist of Roscoe Karns as Nick Williams, Sheila's manager; Dean Jagger as Tops Harmon; Bert Hanlon as Yipp Morgan; Russell Hopton as Jake; and radio broadcaster Graham McNamee appearing as himself. Hobart Cavanaugh, a familiar face of countless movies throughout most of the 1930s and '40s, usually appearing without credit from minor to bits parts, ranging from drunks to mousy husbands, plays up his role to good advantage. This, along with I COVER THE WATERFRONT (United Artists, 1933), ranks one of the few opportunities in finding Cavanaugh leading fine support.
Not an important film by any means in spite of a its two leading actors, WINGS IN THE DARK could have been an important project with such a fine premise that might have worked into an powerful and dramatic theme dealing with one man coping with blindness as with John Garfield's character in THE PRIDE OF THE MARINES (Warners, 1945), or a top-notch aviation story combining adventure and romance as with Grant's ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS (Columbia, 1939). Grant's skills as a dramatic actor are properly showcased here, especially with one particular key scene where he tries to rehabilitate himself through the course of his blindness, roaming about and bumping into things, along with his rejection towards his seeing eye dog, as enacted by Lightning.
Grant and Loy, in their initial screen performance, are best remembered for their two future unions together, THE BACHELOR AND THE BOBBY SOXER (1947) and MR. BLANDINGS BUILDS HIS DREAM HOUSE (1948), both RKO Radio releases. While these films have become notable comedy classics, thanks to frequent television revivals and availability on video cassette and later DVD, their initial pairing, having played sporadically on commercial television during the afternoon or late night movie era back in the 1960s and 70s, remains in the dark as being their least known of their three on screen partnerships.
Close to being largely forgotten today, WINGS IN THE DARK, which runs at 75 minutes, is cliché at best but watchable, thanks to the know how combination of Myrna Loy and Cary Grant early in their movie careers. A little item from the 1930s worthy of rediscovery now that it's available on DVD. (***)