''Flying Romeos'' is a 1928 American

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or 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. The term o ...

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 ...

directed by Mervyn LeRoy and written by John McDermott, Sidney Lazarus, Gene Towne and John W. Conway.Erickson, Hal
"Review: 'Flying Romeos' (1928) – Mervyn LeRoy."
''AllMovie'', 2019. Retrieved: July 2, 2019. The film stars the comedy team of

Charles Murray Charles Murray may refer to: Politicians *Charles Murray, 1st Earl of Dunmore (1661–1710), British peer *Charles Murray (author and diplomat) (1806–1895), British author and diplomat *Charles Murray, 7th Earl of Dunmore (1841–1907), Scotti ...

and

George Sidney George Sidney (October 4, 1916May 5, 2002) was an American film director and producer who worked primarily at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. His work includes cult classics '' Bye Bye Birdie'' (1963) and ''Viva Las Vegas'' (1964). With an extensive backgr ...

, stars of

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

's popular "

The Cohens and Kellys ''The Cohens and Kellys'' is a 1926 American silent comedy film directed by Harry A. Pollard and starring Charles Murray, George Sidney, Kate Price, and Jason Robards Sr. The film is the first of the ''Cohens and Kellys'' film serials. The f ...

" comedies, moonlighting at First National Pictures. Other sidekicks included

Fritzi Ridgeway Fredericka Berneice "Fritzi" Ridgeway (April 8, 1898 – March 29, 1961) was an American silent film actress, vaudeville performer, and hotelier. Though she starred in numerous films, she is perhaps best known for her work in silent Western films ...

, Lester Bernard, Duke Martin,

James Bradbury Jr. James Bradbury Jr. (October 5, 1894 – January 21, 1936) was an American character actor in supporting roles in films of the 1920s and 1930s. Biography The son of veteran character actor James Bradbury (1857–1940), New York-born Bradbury Jr ...

and

Belle Mitchell Belle Mitchell (September 24, 1889 – February 12, 1979) was an American stage and film actress. She appeared in more than 100 films between 1915 and 1978. She was born in Croswell, Michigan and died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. Partia ...

. ''Flying Romeos'' was released on February 26, 1928, by First National Pictures, typically a B movie studio.

Plot

Barbers Cohen (

) and Cohan (

) both love Minnie (

), their young manicurist, who has a fondness for aviators. Duly, the pair of hapless middle-aged lovers sign up for flying lessons and accidentally find themselves performing some wild stunts in an aircraft. The owner of the "Spirit of Goldberg" (Lester Bernard) is impressed with the skills of these two tyros. He persuades the duo to make a long ocean flight. The flight leads to more aerial mayhem, especially when the "real" pilot (Duke Martin) turns out to be a lunatic. On their triumphant return, Cohen and Cohan sadly find their manicurist had married a pilot.

Cast

as Cohan *

as Cohen *

as Minnie * Lester Bernard as Goldberg * Duke Martin as The Aviator *

as The Nut *

as Mrs. Goldberg

Production

Aviation film historian Stephen Pendo, in ''Aviation in the Cinema'' (1985) characterized ''The Flying Romeos'' as an early "talkie" that was a comedy vehicle for two noted film comedians with a heavy reliance on slapstick aerial antics.

Reception

The contemporary film review of ''The Flying Romeos'' by

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 d ...

'', noted, "The fun in this piece really starts when Messrs. Cohen and Cohan are tested for the air flights across the Pacific. ... The other truly laughable episode is where the friendly enemies are once more up in the air, the machine being steered by a man who happens to have spent the latter part of his life in a lunatic asylum." Aviation film historian James M. Farmer in ''Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation'' (1984), had a similar reaction, saying that ''Flying Romeos'' "... provides an excellent series of opportunities for some outrageous aerial thrills."Farmer 1984, p. 309.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Farmer, James H. ''Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation'' (1st ed.). Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania: TAB Books 1984. . * 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. . * Wynne, H. Hugh. ''The Motion Picture Stunt Pilots and Hollywood's Classic Aviation Movies''. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1987. .

External links

* * * {{Mervyn LeRoy 1928 films American aviation films 1920s English-language films American adventure comedy films 1920s adventure comedy films First National Pictures films Films directed by Mervyn LeRoy American silent feature films American black-and-white films 1928 comedy films 1920s American films Silent American comedy films Silent adventure comedy films