Detail view of Movies Page

Movie Detail

Name Occurs Before Title

Offscreen Credit

Print Viewed By AFI

Wings in the Dark

Director: James Flood (Dir) Release Date: 1 Feb 1935 Production Date: began 22 Oct 1934 Duration (in mins): 68 or 70 Duration (in reels): 8			Print this page Display Movie Summary

Cast:	Myrna Loy	(Sheila Mason)
	Cary Grant	(Ken Gordon)
	Roscoe Karns	(Nick Williams)
	Hobart Cavanaugh	(Mac)
	Dean Jagger	(Top Harmon)
	Russell Hopton	(Jake Brashear)
	Matt McHugh	([Sheila's] 1st mechanic)
	Graham McNamee	(Radio announcer)
	Bert Hanlon	(Yipp Morgan)
	James Burtis	(Joy Burns)
	Arnold Korff	(Doctor)
	Lee Phelps	(Helper)
	Julian Madison	(Jerome, a pilot)
	Rita Owin	(Nurse)
	George MacQuarrie	(Banker Crawford)
	Mabel Forrest	(Banker's secretary)
	Samuel S. Hinds	(Kennel club secretary)
	George Reed	(Waring, a valet)
	Hanley Andrews	(Landers)
	Sam Flint	(Rockwell)
	Rosemary Theby	(Rockwell's secretary)
	Charles Morris	(Wallace)
	Henry Roquemore	(Kelly)
	Alfred Delcambre	(Cameraman)
	Tola Nesmith	(Housekeeper)
	Terrance Ray	(Attendant, press room)
	Arthur S. Byron	(Guard)
	Allen Fox	(Reporter, Ken's hangar/last flight)
	Charley Hines	(Reporter, Ken's hangar/last flight)
	Ben Sharpe	(Reporter, Ken's hangar)
	Duke York	(Reporter, last flight)
	Peter Hancock	(Radio announcer at field)
	Antrim Short	(Radio announcer at field)
	Gene Morgan	(First reporter)
	Phil Tead	(Second reporter)
	Hyman Fink	(Photographer, last flight)
	J. B. Scott	(Photographer, last flight)
	Herb Watson	(Photographer, last flight)
	Eddie Baker	(Radio man, last flight)
	Harry Jordan	(Radio man, last flight)
	Virgil Simons	(Boy at Coney Island)
	Esther Michelson	(Boy's mother at Coney Island)

Summary:

Skywriter and stuntflyer Sheila Mason meets ace pilot Ken Gordon as he is about to perfect his automatic pilot, which would enable people to fly "blind." When the government denies him a permit to make a blind flight, Ken is despondent until Sheila convinces him to make the flight anyway. While Ken heats coffee for the flight, the stove explodes and he is blinded. Overcome with self-pity and a sense of failure, Ken becomes a recluse until Sheila brings him "Lightning," a Seeing Eye dog. Ken writes aviation articles in order to make some money, but unknown to him, receives only rejection notices from publishers. Sheila, meanwhile, performs dangerous stunts arranged by her manager, Nick Williams, and gives her paychecks to Ken, telling him they are his royalties in order to build his ego. Finally, Ken returns to the confident and productive man he was before his blindness and nearly perfects his auto pilot when Rockwell Aviation Company repossesses his plane for delinquent payments. That night, Ken and Sheila kiss for the first time. In the morning, when Ken finds his plane missing, he accuses Sheila of being affectionate out of pity. She admits she paid his royalties, but assures him of her love. Ken rejects her, and she makes a solo flight from New York to Moscow in order to win the $25,000 remuneration so she and Ken can marry. As Sheila nears Roosevelt Field, where Rockwell stores its planes, Ken takes off in his plane to help her land through the thick fog. Over the radio waves, Ken and Sheila swear their love, and he tells her he has lost his courage for living and will fly until he meets his death. As they land, Sheila purposefully collides into Ken's plane, forcing him to stay on the ground. As the lovers greet the public and the press, Ken sees flashes of light.

Production Company:	Paramount Productions, Inc.
Distribution Company:	Paramount Productions, Inc.
Director:	James Flood	(Dir)
Producer:	Adolph Zukor	(Pres)
	Arthur Hornblow Jr.	(Prod)
	Emanuel Cohen	(Exec prod)
Writer:	Jack Kirkland	(Scr)
	Frank Partos	(Scr)
	Nell Shipman	(Orig story)
	Philip J. Hurn	(Orig story)
	Dale Van Every	(Adpt)
	E. H. Robinson	(Adpt)
	Paul Gerard Smith	(Contr to trmt)
Photography:	William C. Mellor	(Photog)
	Dewey Wrigley	(Aerial photog)
Art Direction:	Hans Dreier	(Art dir)
	Earl Hedrick	(Art dir)
Film Editor:	William Shea	(Ed)
Sound:	Earl S. Hayman	(Sd)
Production Misc:	Captain Earl H. Robinson	(Chief of Aeronautics)
Country:	United States

Copyright Claimant	Copyright Date	Copyright Number	Passed By NBR:
Paramount Productions, Inc.	1/2/1935 dd/mm/yyyy	LP5297	Yes

PCA NO:	477
Physical Properties:	b&w:
	Sd:	Western Electric Noiseless Recording


Genre:	Drama
Sub-Genre:	Aviation

Subjects (Major):	Aviators
	Blindness--Temporary
	Inventions
	Romance
	Self-sacrifice

Subjects (Minor):	Attempted suicide
	Authors
	Depression, Mental
	Fog
	New York City
	Pride and vanity
	Radio broadcasting
	Recluses
	Rejuvenation
	Seeing Eye dogs
	Skywriting
	Stunt flying

Note:	The title of Nell Shipman and Philip J. Hurn's original story was "Eyes of the Eagle." Although the onscreen credits list Dean Jagger's character as "Top Harmon," he is called "Tops Harmon" in the film and in reviews. This was the first of three films in which Myrna Loy and Cary Grant co-starred. Their other films were The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer (1947) and Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948), both made for RKO. Producer Arthur Hornblow, Jr. became Loy's first husband in 1936. Loy was on loan from M-G-M for this film. Following this film, Loy negotiated with M-G-M for more money and creative control. Eventually her demands were met and she returned to M-G-M. A modern source states that her success in negotiations may have been due to Louis B. Mayer's "unrelentless crush" on her.

Bibliographic Sources:	Date	Page
Daily Variety	22 Oct 34	p. 3.
Daily Variety	10 Jan 35	p. 3.
Film Daily	2 Feb 35	p. 6.
Hollywood Reporter	10 Jan 35	p. 3.
Motion Picture Daily	11 Jan 35	p. 20
Motion Picture Herald	10 Nov 34	p. 46.
Motion Picture Herald	19 Jan 35	p. 58, 62
New York Times	2 Feb 35	p. 10.
Variety	5 Feb 35	p. 14.

	Display Movie Summary
The American Film Institute is grateful to Sir Paul Getty KBE and the Sir Paul Getty KBE Estate for their dedication to the art of the moving image and their support for the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and without whose support AFI would not have been able to achieve this historical landmark in this epic scholarly endeavor.



Advanced Search