Night Flight

A good rule of thumb when you hear a pilot sing "how dry I am" as they approach the aircraft - head the other way. However, if you're in 1933 South America & it's Robert Montgomery about to take off on a mission across the continent, you might want to stick around.

Night Flight is an ok movie, but I had a hard time settling into it. It certainly seems to be the who's who at MGM for 1933 (John Barrymore, Helen Hayes, Clark Gable, Lionel Barrymore, Robert Montgomery, Myrna Loy). It's the story of cargo pilots flying dangerous routes in all types of weather, overnight, through some of the most dangerous mountains Mother Nature can come up with. There are schedules to meet after all, and penalties if you don't meet them (your life being one). Bob is just one of the stories/pilots in this film. His brush with danger gives him a slightly different look on life.

The film reminds me a lot of Only Angels Have Wings - another film where you have daring pilots flying in South America to get the goods delivered on schedule. If you haven't seen Howard Hawks' Angels, it's a good one, and available on DVD.

Night Flight is based on Antoine de Saint Exupery book of the same name. I get the gut feeling the book might be better (isn't that the way it always is)?.

So now you know a little bit more why a pilot may have a drink or two - before going up on what may be his last flight.

A tip of the hat to Renee for passing the movie my way!