6/10
Solid 1930s action film with great cast
15 July 2005
Warning: Spoilers
I liked this movie, probably a little more than I expected to. Loy sometimes seems confused unless she's strongly supported by a leading man, but this is one of those cases where the leading man (Gable) is up to the task. Pigeon also has a large role in the film but his is pretty much the subordinate role and almost no attempt is made to mask the fact that he will not "get the girl".

The film's plot basically has Gable and Pigeon as rival photographers for newsreel companies in NYC. Loy is a daredevil female pilot (think Amelia Earhardt) who they both try to woo on a professional and personal level. Her main angle is that her brother was lost in a crash in South America and she's trying to raise money to send out a rescue party.

The characters aren't too convincing or realistic, but this is an action/romance so that doesn't really matter. The dialogue is fun and Conway's direction makes the film flow very smoothly. The most impressive photography in the film is the aerial footage where Gable and Loy are photographing a burning ship at sea.... the effects for this were quite well done for the time.

Overall a pleasing, not too memorable, adventure film. I expected a sort of "Red Dust" type of film but found Gable's character somewhat less interesting, and the story somewhat more, than in that film.
5 out of 7 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed