''Cock of the Air'' is a 1932 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...

aviation

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Tom Buckingham Tom Buckingham (February 25, 1895 – September 7, 1934) was an American film director and screenwriter. He directed 48 films between 1920 and 1932. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, and died from surgical complications. His film '' Cock ...

and written by

Charles Lederer Charles Davies Lederer (December 31, 1910 – March 5, 1976) was an American screenwriter and film director. He was born into a theatrical family in New York, and after his parents divorced, was raised in California by his aunt, Marion Davies, ...

and

Robert E. Sherwood Robert Emmet Sherwood (April 4, 1896 – November 14, 1955) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He is the author of ''Waterloo Bridge, Idiot's Delight, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, Rebecca, There Shall Be No Night, The Best Years of Our L ...

. The film stars

Chester Morris John Chester Brooks Morris (February 16, 1901 – September 11, 1970) was an American stage, film, television, and radio actor. He had some prestigious film roles early in his career, and received an Academy Award nomination for ''Alibi'' ( ...

Billie Dove Lillian Bohny (born Bertha Eugenie Bohny; May 14, 1903 – December 31, 1997), known professionally as Billie Dove, was an American actress. Early life and career Dove was born Bertha Eugenie Bohny in New York City in 1903 to Charles and Ber ...

, Matt Moore,

Walter Catlett Walter Leland Catlett (February 4, 1889 – November 14, 1960) was an American actor and comedian. He made a career of playing excitable, meddlesome, temperamental, and officious blowhards. Career Catlett was born on February 4, 1889, in S ...

and

Luis Alberni Luis Alberni (October 4, 1886 – December 23, 1962) was a Spanish-born American character actor of stage and films. Early years Alberni was born in Barcelona, Spain, on October 4, 1886. He acted in stock theater for four years in Marseille ...

. ''Cock of the Air'' was released on January 23, 1932, by

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

. The film was restored by the

Academy Film Archive The Academy Film Archive is part of the Academy Foundation, established in 1944 with the purpose of organizing and overseeing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ educational and cultural activities, including the preservation of m ...

in 2016.

Plot

Parisian cabaret performer Lilli de Rousseau (

), performing as Jean d'Arc on stage, is asked to leave the country by several diplomats as she is a distraction to high-ranking officers. She is set up with a villa in Italy, and Captain Tonnino (

) as her guardian. Lilli is also smitten by Lieutenant Roger Craig (

) who has a reputation as a "Don Juan". She keeps her identity a secret from Roger, and begins to woo him, but remains elusive. When her understudy in Paris begins getting accolades, Lilli presses Roger to take her there for a drink at the Ritz, although she has been forbidden to return. Roger risks arrest and his military career to fly her and his mechanic, Terry ( Matt Moore), to Paris. After a night on the town, Roger is afraid he will be picked up by the MPs, as he is absent without leave. Terry is arrested for disorderly conduct and impersonating an officer, but is released and learns that the MPS will also drop charges against Roger. Lilli performs again as Jean d'Arc and tells Roger to join her at the theater. After she receives an ovation, she admits she promised to return to Italy in exchange for keeping Roger out of jail, and accepts Roger's marriage proposal.

Cast

as Lt. Roger Craig *

as Lilli de Rosseau * Matt Moore as Terry *

as Colonel Wallace *

as Captain Tonnino * Kathryn Sergava as Italian girl #1 *

Yola d'Avril Yola d'Avril (8 April 1906 – 2 March 1984) was a French-American actress, who appeared in numerous productions between 1925 and 1953. She was also known as Yola Vermairion and Yola d'Avril Montiague. Biography d'Avril was born in Lille, Franc ...

as Italian girl #2 *

Vivien Oakland Vivien Oakland (born Vivian Ruth Andersen; May 20, 1895 – August 1, 1958), was an American actress best known for her work in comedies in Hollywood in the 1920s and 1930s, most notably with the Hal Roach Studios. Oakland appeared in 157 film ...

as Irate Woman in Restaurant *

Émile Chautard Émile Chautard (7 September 1864 – 24 April 1934) was a French-American film director, actor, and screenwriter, most active in the silent era. He directed more than 100 films between 1910 and 1924. He also appeared in more than 60 films ...

as French Ambassador * Ethel Kenyon as Lilli's Companion * Peggy Watts as Lilli's Maid

Production

Principal photography for ''Cock of the Air'' took place first from mid-September to early October 1931. The primary location for the production was the Metropolitan Airport in

Van Nuys, California Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1909, ...

where the remaining aircraft from the earlier '' Hell's Angels'' (1930), a total of 14 World War I-era and later aircraft, were assembled. In order to recoup some of the investment made in ''Hell's Angels'',

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...

decided to recycle some of the sequences and unused footage for a pair of comedies set in the air, ''

Sky Devils ''Sky Devils'', also known as ''Ground Hogs'', is a 1932 American Pre-Code aviation comedy film, starring Spencer Tracy as a draft evasion, draft dodger who blunders into a war zone. ''Sky Devils'' was partly written by humorist Robert Benchley ...

'' (1932) and the ''Cock of the Air''. "The picture contained little air action ..." During production, Hughes and his chief pilot, Frank Clarke were at odds over Clarke's romantic involvement on the set with Billie Dove, a former flame of Hughes. The resulting friction between Hughes and Clarke, and later all the pilots in the film, led to the formation of Association of Motion Picture Pilots Union that campaigned for improved working conditions. Final release of the film was held up with re-editing scenes to comply with violations of the

Motion Picture Production Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...

. Ultimately, changes were made, although the suggestive title was left intact.

Reception

Reviewer

Mordaunt Hall Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', described the film as "This wild tale springs from the pens of Robert E. Sherwood and Charles Lederer, with some jabs of fun inserted by Tom Buckingham, the director. Howard Hughes, producer of "Hell's Angels," is chiefly responsible for the offering, which stirred up many a hearty laugh from an audience yesterday afternoon. There was a loud outburst of mirth when Craig, played by Chester Morris, squirts a seltzer syphon at Lilli, impersonated by Billie Dove. A second or so later further merriment was elicited when Lilli slaps Craig's face with a most convenient pancake. Assuredly it is a film which conveys surprises, for the unexpected invariably happens." The review in the ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' noted: "Pleasant romantic comedy that uses its nationality-bonding thematics in a heartfelt way. Dove, who had had a brief affair with millionaire producer Hughes –he had even paid for her divorce from director Irving Willat in 1931 – was rewarded for her affections with a lead in this film"Cock Of The Air."
''TV Guide''.'' Retrieved: June 8, 2016.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Orriss, Bruce W. ''When Hollywood Ruled the Skies: The Aviation Film Classics of World War I.'' Los Angeles: Aero Associates, 2013. . * Paris, Michael. ''From the Wright Brothers to Top gun: Aviation, Nationalism, and Popular Cinema.'' Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1995. . * Pendo, Stephen. ''Aviation in the Cinema''. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1985. .

External links

* * {{Charles Lederer 1932 films 1932 comedy films American aviation films American comedy films Films produced by Howard Hughes Films directed by Tom Buckingham American black-and-white films 1930s American films 1930s English-language films