''Ceiling Zero'' is a 1936 American

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, Film producer, producer, and screenwriter of the Classical Hollywood cinema, classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American ...

and starring

James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor and dancer. On stage and in film, he was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He won acclaim and maj ...

and Pat O'Brien. The picture stars Cagney as daredevil womanizing pilot "Dizzy" Davis and O'Brien as Jake Lee, his war veteran buddy and the operations manager of an airline company. Based on a stage play of the same name, the film blends

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

with some light

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

. The title, as defined at the beginning of the picture, is an insider term referring to those moments when the sky is so thick with fog that navigating an aircraft is nearly impossible.

Plot

Old pals Jake Lee, Tex Clarke and Dizzy Davis flew together in the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

during World War I. Almost 20 years later, Jake is the manager of the

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

branch of Federal Airlines, a

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

-based airline company. Tex works as an airmail pilot and Dizzy, also still flying aircraft, is seeking employment with his friends. Prior to his hot-shot arrival (Dizzy does a few tricks in the air before landing), a New York associate warns Jake about Dizzy, calling him unreliable and troublesome. Insulted, Jake replies that Dizzy is one of the best pilots in the country, telling a few stories about his fearlessness and bravery. Jake hires Dizzy as an airmail pilot. Dizzy is immediately attracted to "Tommy" Thomas, a 19-year-old girl also working there, who has just learned to fly solo. In order to go on a date with her, Dizzy, scheduled for a flight to

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

in the evening, pretends he is suddenly sick and gets Tex to replace him. Tex makes it to Cleveland, but on the way back to

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, finds himself in a cold and heavy fog. Though there is zero visibility and he is having radio problems, he attempts to land in Newark. He crashes into one of the airport hangars and the aircraft catches on fire. Tex is taken to the hospital where he later dies. Tex's wife Lou, who was never very fond of Dizzy, blames him for her husband's death. She calls him selfish and irresponsible and says that he hurts everything he touches. Dizzy, overwhelmed with guilt, returns to the airport. Meanwhile, the weather has gotten even worse and Jake has canceled all other flights. In addition, the aviation authorities have revoked Dizzy's pilot license, for extraneous reasons. Jake consoles Dizzy on account of both losses and then goes home for the night, leaving him temporarily in charge. Another pilot, unaware of the cancellation, comes into the operations building, ready for his scheduled flight to Cleveland. Chagrined and burdened with his culpability, Dizzy demands the man explain how the newly acquired and, as yet, untested aircraft de-icers function, then knocks the man unconscious and irrationally takes his aircraft. Jake and the others are devastated when they find out. Dizzy radios information over to them about the de-icers. They work to a degree, but the system is flawed. He reports by radio on the problems of the system and his recommendations for modifications, knowing that he will watch progressive icing until he dies. He does not make it through the snow storm.

Cast

as Dizzy Davis * Pat O'Brien as Jake Lee * June Travis as "Tommy" Thomas * Stuart Erwin as Texas Clarke * Martha Tibbetts as Mary Miller Lee *

Isabel Jewell Isabel Jewell (July 19, 1907 – April 5, 1972) was an American actress, who rose to prominence in the 1930s and early 1940s. Some of her more famous films were '' Ceiling Zero'', ''Marked Woman'', ''A Tale of Two Cities'', and ''Gone with the Wi ...

as Lou Clarke * Craig Reynolds as Joe Allen *

Dick Purcell Richard Gerold Purcell Jr. (August 6, 1905 – April 10, 1944) was an American actor best known for playing Marvel Comics' Captain America in the 1944 film serial, co-starring with Lorna Gray and Lionel Atwill. Purcell also appeared in f ...

as Smiley * Carlyle Moore Jr. as Eddie Payson *

Addison Richards Addison Whittaker Richards, Jr. (October 20, 1902 – March 22, 1964) was an American actor of film and television. Richards appeared in more than 300 films between 1933 and his death in 1964. Biography A native of Zanesville, Ohio, Richard ...

as Fred Adams * Garry Owen as Mike Owens *

Edward Gargan Edward Gargan (July 17, 1902 – February 19, 1964) was an American film and television actor. Career Gargan was born of Irish parents in Brooklyn, New York. He was the elder brother of actor William Gargan. As soon as Gargan had left colle ...

as Doc Wilson * Robert Light as Les Bogan * James Bush as Buzz Gordon * Pat West as Baldy

Production

Jack L. Warner Jack Leonard Warner (born Jacob Warner; August 2, 1892 – September 9, 1978) was a Canadian-born American film executive, who was the president and driving force behind the Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. Warner's ca ...

and Hal Wallis produced this film through

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

, First National and Cosmopolitan Productions. Navy aviator turned screenwriter Frank 'Spig' Wead provided the script, based on the original three-act play he wrote for Broadway, which ran for a few months in 1935 at the

Music Box Theatre The Music Box Theatre is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 239 West 45th Street (George Abbott Way) in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1921, the Music Box ...

; two decades later, Wead was portrayed by

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...

's screen biography of Wead, '' The Wings of Eagles'' (1957). Cagney and O'Brien appeared together in ''

Devil Dogs of the Air ''Devil Dogs of the Air'' (a.k.a. ''Flying Marines'') is a 1935 Warner Bros. film, directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring James Cagney and Pat O'Brien, playing similar roles as close friends after making their debut as a "buddy team" in '' Here Co ...

'', another aviation-themed film, also in 1935. The budget was limited, as ''Ceiling Zero'' was shot entirely either in the studio or on the backlot.

Reception

Describing it as "tersely written, handsomely produced and played to perfection", Frank Nugent in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' declared it " ... a constantly absorbing chronicle of life in and around a commercial airport." He also called the film "one of the best to come from the Warner studios." Film critic

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...

in a later review, gave it 3 out of 4 stars calling it "one of the best Cagney-O'Brien vehicles."Maltin. Leonard
"Review: 'Ceiling Zero' (1936)."
''Turner Classic Movies''. Retrieved: May 9, 2015.

References

Notes Bibliography * Pendo, Stephen. ''Aviation in the Cinema''. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1985. .

External links

*

at howardhawksmovies.com
Still
at gettyimages.com {{Howard Hawks 1936 films 1936 adventure films American aviation films Films directed by Howard Hawks American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films American adventure drama films 1930s adventure drama films 1936 drama films Warner Bros. films 1930s American films Films scored by Bernhard Kaun American films based on plays Films set in New Jersey Films about veterans English-language adventure drama films