''Fugitive in the Sky'' (aka ''Heroes of the Air'') is a 1936 American

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

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. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Nick Grinde Nick Grinde (January 12, 1893 – June 19, 1979) was an American film director and screenwriter. He directed 57 films between 1928 and 1945. Biography Born Harry A. Grinde in Madison, Wisconsin but nicknamed "Nick," Grinde graduated from th ...

and written by George Bricker. The stars are

Jean Muir Jean Elizabeth Muir ( ; 17 July 1928 – 28 May 1995) was a British fashion designer. Early life and career Jean Muir was born in London, the daughter of Cyril Muir, a draper's floor superintendent, and his wife, Phyllis Coy. Her father wa ...

Warren Hull John Warren Hull (January 17, 1903 – September 14, 1974), known professionally as Warren Hull, was an American actor, singer and television personality active from the 1930s through the 1960s. He was one of the most popular serial actors in t ...

Gordon Oliver Gordon Oliver (April 27, 1910 – January 26, 1995) was an American actor and film producer. He appeared in more than 40 films and television shows between 1933 and 1972. Biography Oliver began working in films in 1936, eventually working ...

, Carlyle Moore Jr., Howard Phillips, Winifred Shaw and

Mary Treen Mary Treen (born Mary Louise Summers, March 27, 1907 – July 20, 1989) was an American film and television actress. A minor actress for much of her career, she managed to secure a plain, unassuming niche for herself in the Hollywood of the ...

. ''Fugitive in the Sky'' was released by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

on November 28, 1936, a mere six months after the

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

feature, ''

13 Hours by Air ''13 Hours by Air'' (also known as ''20 Hours by Air'') is a 1936 drama film made by Paramount Pictures and directed by Mitchell Leisen. The film stars Fred MacMurray and Joan Bennett. The screenplay was written by Kenyon Nicholson and Bogart Rog ...

'', considered by aviation film historian Michael Paris in ''From the Wright Brothers to Top Gun: Aviation, Nationalism, and Popular Cinema'' (1995), as a virtual "remake" of the earlier film. The Foreword at the end of opening credits stated:"The story portrayed in this production is fictitious, and is not intended to represent events which have taken place on a commercial air line ... Scheduled air transport, regulated by the

Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for bu ...

, is today recognized as a fast and safe form of transportation."

Plot

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

air hostess A flight attendant, also known as steward/stewardess or air host/air hostess, is a member of the aircrew aboard commercial flights, many business jets and some government aircraft. Collectively called cabin crew, flight attendants are primar ...

Rita Moore (

) chats with her suitor, reporter Terry Brewer (

), as passengers check in for a flight to New York. Brewer recognizes

federal agent ''Federal Agent'' is a 1936 American crime film directed by Sam Newfield and written by Barry Barringer. The film stars William Boyd, Irene Ware, Don Alvarado, Lenita Lane, George Cooper and Charles A. Browne. The film was released on April 1 ...

Mike Phelan (

John Litel John Beach Litel (December 30, 1892 – February 3, 1972) was an American film and television actor. Early life Litel was born in Albany, Wisconsin. During World War I, he enlisted in the French Army and was twice decorated for bravery. Ba ...

) traveling incognito. Guessing Phelan will be after "Killer" Madsen, wanted for murder, Brewer phones his editor for permission and boards the aircraft as well, to the annoyance of pilot Bob White (

), another suitor of Rita's. The

Ford Trimotor The Ford Trimotor (also called the "Tri-Motor", and nicknamed the "Tin Goose") is an American three-engined transport aircraft. Production started in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and ended on June 7, 1933, after 199 had been made. It w ...

now has a full load of 12 passengers. At a stop in

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

, passenger Katie Tristo (

Nedda Harrigan Nedda Harrigan Logan (August 24, 1899 – April 1, 1989) was an American actress. Early life Harrigan was the youngest of 10 children of entertainer Edward Harrigan and his wife, Annie (Braham) Harrigan. Her grandfather was conductor Davi ...

), who generally talks about nothing but astrology, buys an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

-made dagger from a souvenir stand. Between there and the next stop in Kansas City, most of the passengers are dozing when someone uses this dagger to kill another passenger, Ramon Duval (

Gordon Elliott Gordon Elliott may refer to: * Gordon Elliott (journalist) Gordon Elliott (born 30 September 1956) is a British Australian journalist and producer, radio and television personality, based now in the United States. He was the executive produc ...

). When the crime is discovered, Phelan reveals his true identity and attempts to take charge, but instead a "female" passenger draws a gun, disarms and handcuffs Phelan, and hijacks the aircraft. He removes his disguise: he is "Killer" Madsen. After the radio transmitter is disabled, he throws the pilots' guns out the cockpit window, and orders them to fly to Evansville, Indiana. As they fly, Brewer interviews Madsen, who claims he never murdered anyone with a knife. If so, someone else must have committed this new murder. Rita attempts to drug Madsen's coffee, but instead knocks out copilot Johnny Martin (Carlyle Moore Jr.). A

dust storm A dust storm, also called a sandstorm, is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Fine particles are transporte ...

arises and all aircraft are ordered to land. Madsen makes White fly until the dust stops the engines, forcing an emergency landing in Missouri. Madsen leaves the aircraft, ordering the other passengers and crew to give him a 10-minute start, and commandeers an elderly couple's farmhouse nearby. The others find the same house and are again taken hostage. Eventually Madsen orders White to repair the engines and resume the flight. Brewer goes along to help, and while Madsen is watching White, he manages to repair the radio and call police as well as filing his news story. The other hostages are afraid enough of Madsen to remain in the house, which has no phone. As they pass the time viewing anaglyph 3-D photos with a

stereoscope A stereoscope is a device for viewing a stereoscopic pair of separate images, depicting left-eye and right-eye views of the same scene, as a single three-dimensional image. A typical stereoscope provides each eye with a lens that makes the ima ...

, Rita realizes that Katie looks younger when seen through its red lens. Phelan then recognizes her as Katie Dorne, a second fugitive, disguised by red makeup. Rita finds a way to arm herself and goes to confront Madsen, but he uses Brewer as a shield and shoots White, wounding him. Brewer then manages to overpower Madsen. fail Phelan arrives, recovers his handcuff key, puts the cuffs on Madsen, and also arrests Dorne for murdering Duval. They had stolen $90,000 worth of bonds together, and Phelan had been following Duval to catch them both. She killed Duval because he had taken all the bonds. Madsen's presence on the same flight was coincidental. White now assists with a smile as Brewer proposes to Rita; the two board the aircraft and begin kissing.

Cast

as Rita Moore *

as Terry Brewer *

as Bob White * Carlyle Moore Jr. as Johnny Martin * Howard Phillips as "Killer" Madsen * Winifred Shaw as Autumn Day *

as Agatha Ormsby * ''with''

as Mike Phelan from Department of Justice *

as Ramon Duval, mustachioed passenger on the aircraft * Nedda Harrigan as Katie Tristo, passenger, astrology follower and disguised criminal who kills Ramon Duval *

John Kelly John or Jack Kelly may refer to: People Academics and scientists * John Kelly (engineer), Irish professor, former Registrar of University College Dublin *John Kelly (scholar) (1750–1809), at Douglas, Isle of Man *John Forrest Kelly (1859–1922) ...

as Kid Couch, dimwitted boxer traveling on the aircraft * Joe Cunningham as Spike, Kid Couch's trainer on the aircraft with Kid Couch * Don Barclay as Ronald DeWitt, drunken passenger on the aircraft * Charles Foy as Steve Fanning, another passenger on the aircraft *

Spencer Charters Spencer Charters (March 25, 1875 – January 25, 1943) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 220 films between 1920 and 1943, mostly in small supporting roles. Biography Charters was born in Duncannon, Pennsylvania. Until ...

as Henry Staeger, farmhouse owner who welcomes the aircraft passengers *

Lillian Harmer Lillian Harmer (September 8, 1883 – May 14, 1946) was an American character actress. Biography Born in Philadelphia in 1883, Harmer had a brief film career during the 1930s. During her short career she would appear in over 60 films, mos ...

as Martha Staeger, Henry Staeger's wife *

Tom Jackson Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

as Dave Brandon, city desk editor at Terry Brewer's newspaper

Production

A pre-release title and "working title" of ''Fugitive in the Sky'' was ''Heroes of the Air''. Production on ''Fugitive in the Sky'' began in 1936, with location photography taking place at

Alhambra Airport Alhambra Airport also called the Western Air College Airport was an airport in Alhambra, California from 1928 to 1946. The Airport was founded by the Western Air Express on 157-acre of land. The airport had a single 2,830-foot asphalt northeast ...

, California. The aircraft used in ''Fugitive in the Sky'' were: *

4-ATB c/n 24, NC5578 * Stinson SM-8A c/n 4024, NC215W *

Fokker Super Universal ] The Fokker Super Universal was an airliner produced in the United States in the late 1920s, an enlarged and improved version of the Fokker Universal, fitted with cantilever wings and an enclosed cockpit. It was subsequently also manufactured und ...

A studio

mock-up In manufacturing and design, a mockup, or mock-up, is a scale model, scale or physical model, full-size model of a design or device, used for teaching, demonstration, design evaluation, promotion, and other purposes. A mockup may be a ''protot ...

of a Ford Trimotor's interior and cockpit was also used in ''Fugitive in the Sky''.Santoir, Christia
"Article: Fugitive in the Sky'."
''Aeromovies'', November 30, 2013. Retrieved: June 13, 2019.

Reception

Film reviewer Frank S. Nugent, writing in ''

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 ...

'' considered that ''Fugitive in the Sky'' was a "... fairly interesting, if incredible, action picture". He further noted, "Without so much as a 'stop us if you've heard this one before', the Warners are blandly repeating the story of Paramount's ''

'' under a new title, "Fugitive in the Sky," which claimed sanctuary at the Palace yesterday ..." Aviation film historian James H. Farmer in ''Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation'' (1984) characterized ''Fugitive in the Sky'' as a "rather bland second feature rerun of Paramount's ''

Thirteen Hours by Air ''13 Hours by Air'' (also known as ''20 Hours by Air'') is a 1936 drama film made by Paramount Pictures and directed by Mitchell Leisen. The film stars Fred MacMurray and Joan Bennett. The screenplay was written by Kenyon Nicholson and Bogart Rog ...

'' (1936). All of the elements are here; the wanted killer, an airliner load of unsuspecting passengers, and, of course, the ever-present, life-threatening storm. Predictable results."Farmer 1984, p. 310.

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

* * * *
''Fugitive in the Sky''
at ''

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 ...

'' (1987 write-up was originally published in ''The Motion Picture Guide'') {{Nick Grinde 1936 films 1930s English-language films Warner Bros. films American drama films 1936 drama films Films directed by Nick Grinde American black-and-white films American aviation films 1930s American films