''Flying High'' (also known as ''George White's Flying High'' and ''Happy Landing'') is a 1931 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 ...

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

released by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

, produced by George White, with lyrics by

B. G. DeSylva George Gard "Buddy" DeSylva (January 27, 1895 – July 11, 1950) was an American songwriter, film producer and record executive. He wrote or co-wrote many popular songs and, along with Johnny Mercer and Glenn Wallichs, he co-founded Capitol Re ...

and

Lew Brown Lew Brown (born Louis Brownstein; December 10, 1893 – February 5, 1958) was a lyricist for popular songs in the United States. During World War I and the Roaring Twenties, he wrote lyrics for several of the top Tin Pan Alley composers, espec ...

, music by

Ray Henderson Ray Henderson (born Raymond Brost; December 1, 1896 – December 31, 1970) was an American songwriter. Early life Born in Buffalo, New York, United States, Henderson moved to New York City and became a popular composer in Tin Pan Alley. He was o ...

and additional songs by

Dorothy Fields Dorothy Fields (July 15, 1904 – March 28, 1974) was an American librettist and lyricist. She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. Her best-known pieces include "The Way You Look Tonight" (1936), "A Fine Romance" (1936), "On th ...

(lyrics) and

Jimmy McHugh James Francis McHugh (July 10, 1894 – May 23, 1969) was an American composer. One of the most prolific songwriters from the 1920s to the 1950s, he is credited with over 500 songs. His songs were recorded by many artists, including Chet Baker, J ...

(music). The cast featured

Bert Lahr Irving Lahrheim (August 13, 1895 – December 4, 1967), known professionally as Bert Lahr, was an American actor. He was best known for his role as the Cowardly Lion, as well as his counterpart Kansas farmworker "Zeke", in the MGM adaptation of ...

Charlotte Greenwood Frances Charlotte Greenwood (June 25, 1890 – December 28, 1977) was an American actress and dancer. Born in Philadelphia, Greenwood started in vaudeville, and starred on Broadway, movies and radio. Standing almost six feet tall (some sour ...

Pat O'Brien Pat O'Brien may refer to: Politicians * Pat O'Brien (Canadian politician) (born 1948), member of the Canadian House of Commons *Pat O'Brien (Irish politician) (c. 1847–1917), Irish Nationalist MP in the United Kingdom Parliament Others *Pat O'Br ...

Charles Winninger Charles J. Winninger (May 26, 1884 – January 27, 1969) was an American stage and film actor, most often cast in comedies or musicals. Life and career Winninger was born in Athens, Wisconsin, the son of Rosalia (Grassler) and Franz Winninger ...

and

Hedda Hopper Hedda Hopper (born Elda Furry; May 2, 1885February 1, 1966) was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, her readership was 35 million. A strong supporter of the House Un-American Activities Committ ...

, with

Gus Arnheim Gus Arnheim (September 4, 1897 – January 19, 1955) was an American pianist and an early popular band leader. He is noted for writing several songs with his first hit being "I Cried for You" from 1923. He was most popular in the 1920s and 1930s. He ...

and his orchestra.

Plot

Waitress Pansy Botts (Charlotte Greenwood) places an ad in the ''Pilot's Gazette'' for a husband, offering a $500 reward, but is unsuccessful. At the nearby airfield, inventor Rusty Krouse (Bert Lahr) has built the "Aerocopter", intending to enter it in the upcoming 10th Annual Air Show. With finances depleted, Rusty looks to Sport Wardell (Pat O'Brien) for help in finding a wealthy investor. Soon, Fred Smith (

Guy Kibbee Guy Bridges Kibbee (March 6, 1882 – May 24, 1956) was an American stage and film actor. Early years Kibbee was born in El Paso, Texas. His father was editor of the '' El Paso Herald-Post'' newspaper, and Kibbee learned how to set type at age ...

) and his daughter Eileen (Kathryn Crawford) show some interest in the Aerocopter, but have no ready cash. Rusty is worried that his partner will go to jail after accepting a check from Mr. Smith. Sport convinces him to marry Pansy and use her $500 dowry to salvage the company's future. Sport convinces Pansy that she is marrying the man in the picture (

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...

) he shows her. Nevertheless, she is instantly attracted to Rusty. The deal with the Smiths falls through when both Smith and Sport are arrested for shady dealing. Sport tells his new love, Eileen, that he has to find bail money and the only way is for Rusty to fly his invention at the air show and win the prize money. In order to qualify as a pilot, Rusty ends up being examined by Doctor Brown (

), who thinks he is mad. Pansy chases after the reluctant groom, who has gotten cold feet, and finally traps him. During the air show, both Pansy and Rusty end up at the airport and in the Aerocopter. After taking off clumsily, crashing through the roof of a hangar, once in the air, Rusty tells Pansy that an important part is out on the wing and they need it to land. Pansy climbs onto the wing, but has to parachute to safety. Rusty keeps flying higher, reaching a height of 53,000 feet before he releases fuel and eventually descends, passing Pansy on her way down. He crash-lands heavily at the airfield, emerging from the wreckage to find he has been awarded first prize. With the prize money saving the company, all the couples then happily reunite.

Cast

as Emil "Rusty" Krouse *

as Pansy Potts *

as "Sport" Wardell * Kathryn Crawford as Miss Eileen Smith *

as Dr. Brown *

as Mrs. Smith *

as Mr. Fred Smith * Herbert Braggiotti as Gordon *

as Himself, the orchestra leader * Gus Arnheim and His Orchestra - themselves

Production

In 1927, Bert Lahr left

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

to star in musical comedies on Broadway. After playing to packed houses, his reputation as a gifted comic led him to films. When the "talkies" came in, MGM brought producer George White's stage hit ''Flying High'' (1931) to the screen, giving Lahr his first film role.Erickson, Glenn
"Articles: Flying High."
''Turner Classic Movies''. Retrieved: November 11, 2015. A number of flying scenes were set at the

Oakland Airport Oakland International Airport is an international airport in Oakland, California, United States, 10 miles (16 km) south of downtown located in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned by the Port of Oakland and has domestic passenger f ...

Music

Songs (lyrics by Dorothy Fields, music by Jimmy McHugh): * "I’ll Make a Happy Landing" * "It’ll Be the First Time for Me" * "We’ll Dance Until the Dawn" The musical numbers "Happy Landing" and "Dance Until Dawn" were re-used in the MGM short ''

Plane Nuts ''Plane Nuts'' is the fourth of five short subjects starring Ted Healy and His Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard) released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on October 14, 1933. A musical-comedy film, the short also featured Bonnie Bonnell as ...

'' (1933) with the

Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...

. The film's musical numbers feature some of choreographer

Busby Berkeley Busby Berkeley (born Berkeley William Enos; November 29, 1895 – March 14, 1976) was an American film director and musical choreographer. Berkeley devised elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns. Berke ...

's earliest film work.

Reception

''Flying High'' was received well by critics. In his review for ''The New York Times'', Mourdant Hall commented: "Bert Lahr has a busy time in the diverting pictorial translation of the musical comedy, 'Flying High,' which breezed into the Capitol yesterday. Here there is comedy, a few songs and some excellent groupings of dancing girls. The general effect proved highly successful in provoking interest and laughter yesterday afternoon." The supporting cast also drew raves: "long-legged" Charlotte Greenwood, "who delivers her usual riotous brand of fun"; Pat O'Brien, Charles Winninger and Kathryn Crawford.Hall, Mourdant
"Bert Lahr in a mixture of melody and fun; Fun and flying: 'Flying High' (1931)."
''The New York Times'', December 12, 1931,

Box office

''Flying High'' grossed a total (domestic and foreign) of $657,000: $476,000 from the US and Canada and $181,000 elsewhere resulting in a loss of $273,000.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Wynne, H. Hugh. ''The Motion Picture Stunt Pilots and Hollywood's Classic Aviation Movies''. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1987. .

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flying High 1931 films 1931 musical comedy films American musical comedy films American aviation films American black-and-white films American films based on plays Films directed by Charles Reisner Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films