When first introduced here, it is very apparent that young doctor/pilot John Beal has had all the advantages in life and taken advantage of them, becoming an entitled, spoiled rich kid whose medical career will involve patting the hands of needy socialites. But when a quick, bad decision leads to the death of one of those females (in a plane crash piloted by Beal during a horrible thunderstorm), Beal is suspended and simply walks out on his hospital, his career and his father (George Irving). He is suddenly hitchhiking across the country, hoping to get from New York to Los Angeles, with no real plans. Arrested and sentenced to a state road project upon his arrival in sunny California, he is soon spotted by old friend Philip Huston who helps him get a job as a mechanic at the local airport.
A rather forward nurse (Joan Fontaine in one of her earliest leading parts) becomes curious about him and even though he spurns her, she won't leave him alone. Pesky reporter Jimmy Conlin discovers the facts on Beal as he goes from mechanic to pilot (taking over in a medical emergency on a single piloted plane from the frazzled Fontaine), and as his past becomes about to be exposed, Beal once again tries to run out. A medical emergency that ironically has both Fontaine and Beal's father on it forces Beal to snap out of his lost world of self pity and self hatred, also involving the socialite fiancee (Jane Walsh) who dumped him after the initial scandal broke.
So much happens here in this enjoyable but convoluted medical drama that it takes on far too many themes for a rather short B movie. There are moments of light comedy involving Fontaine, although her character at the beginning is unbelievably intrusive, deserving every snub that Beal gives her until she finally makes him laugh. The scenes with Beal and the hobos (Billy Gilbert among them) are absolutely ridiculous, and the fact that Huston would discover Beal working on the road just so out of the blue is beyond absurd. When the film settles down to get away from these unbelievable plot twists, it seems quite like another film. Beal tries hard to show this character's transition, but the lack of screen magnetism makes him an awkward hero, even if there is a sense of triumph in watching his character grow up and become a real man.
A rather forward nurse (Joan Fontaine in one of her earliest leading parts) becomes curious about him and even though he spurns her, she won't leave him alone. Pesky reporter Jimmy Conlin discovers the facts on Beal as he goes from mechanic to pilot (taking over in a medical emergency on a single piloted plane from the frazzled Fontaine), and as his past becomes about to be exposed, Beal once again tries to run out. A medical emergency that ironically has both Fontaine and Beal's father on it forces Beal to snap out of his lost world of self pity and self hatred, also involving the socialite fiancee (Jane Walsh) who dumped him after the initial scandal broke.
So much happens here in this enjoyable but convoluted medical drama that it takes on far too many themes for a rather short B movie. There are moments of light comedy involving Fontaine, although her character at the beginning is unbelievably intrusive, deserving every snub that Beal gives her until she finally makes him laugh. The scenes with Beal and the hobos (Billy Gilbert among them) are absolutely ridiculous, and the fact that Huston would discover Beal working on the road just so out of the blue is beyond absurd. When the film settles down to get away from these unbelievable plot twists, it seems quite like another film. Beal tries hard to show this character's transition, but the lack of screen magnetism makes him an awkward hero, even if there is a sense of triumph in watching his character grow up and become a real man.