''Flight Lieutenant'' (aka ''Flight Captain'' and ''He's My Old Man'') is a 1942 American

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

starring

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 ...

as Sam Doyle, a disgraced commercial pilot who works to regain the respect of his son (

Glenn Ford Gwyllyn Samuel Newton "Glenn" Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who often portrayed ordinary men in unusual circumstances. Ford was most prominent during Hollywood's Golden Age as one of the biggest box-offi ...

) against the backdrop of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Its advertising slogan was "roaring with thrills, throbbing with romance" with the love interest provided by

Evelyn Keyes Evelyn Louise Keyes (November 20, 1916 – July 4, 2008) was an American film actress. She is best known for her role as Suellen O'Hara in the 1939 film ''Gone with the Wind''. Early life Evelyn Keyes was born in Port Arthur, Texas, to Omar Do ...

as Susie Thompson. ''Flight Lieutenant'' was directed by

Sidney Salkow Sidney Salkow (June 16, 1911 – October 18, 2000) was an American film director (more than 50 motion pictures), screenwriter, and television director. Salkow was educated at the City College of New York, Columbia University and Harvard Law Schoo ...

, a Harvard Law School grad who had himself served in the Pacific and been shot down.

Plot

World War I combat pilot Sam Doyle has developed a drinking problem. In 1932, he causes the death of his co-pilot, William Thompson, and has his license revoked. A single parent, he leaves young Danny behind with a guardian and goes off to South America to find gainful employment. He leaves money to the dead co-pilot's widow and daughter, but the dead man's brother, John Thompson (Warren Ashe), wants revenge. Danny grows up to be an expert pilot, becoming a Flight Lieutenant in the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

. Thompson, now a major, becomes his superior officer. Neither has any knowledge of their shared history, even after Danny falls in love with Thompson's niece, Susie (

), and proposes marriage. Sam Doyle returns, re-enlists and learns Danny is scheduled to test a new fighter aircraft that has a design flaw. Sam changes places with Danny at the last minute, flies but crashes the aircraft, saving future lives while sacrificing his own.

Cast

as Samuel J. 'Sam' Doyle *

as Danny Doyle *

as Susie Thompson * Jonathan Hale as Joseph Sanford *

Douglas Croft Douglas Croft (born Douglas Malcolm Wheatcroft, August 12, 1926 – October 24, 1963) was an American child actor and a soldier who is best remembered for being the first person to portray the DC Comics character Robin, the Boy Wonder, as we ...

as Danny Doyle - as a boy * Ernie Adams as One-Legged Man (uncredited) * Harry Anderson as Officer (uncredited) * Warren Ashe as Mr. John Thompson (uncredited) * Trevor Bardette as Carey (uncredited) *

Hugh Beaumont Eugene Hugh Beaumont (February 16, 1909 – May 14, 1982) was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Ward Cleaver on the television series '' Leave It to Beaver'', originally broadcast from 1957 to 1963; and as private detec ...

as Cadet John McGinnis (uncredited) * James Blaine as Police Officer (uncredited) *

Lloyd Bridges Lloyd Vernet Bridges Jr. (January 15, 1913 – March 10, 1998) was an American film, stage and television actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. He was the father of four children, includi ...

as Cadet William "Bill" Robinson (uncredited)

Production

Production dates for ''Flight Lieutenant'' were from March 16 to April 18, 1942. The aircraft in ''Flight Lieutenant'' were: * Ford Trimotor 4 ATE *

Stearman C3 Stearman is a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Lloyd Stearman (1898–1975), American aviation pioneer * Richard Stearman (born 1987), English footballer * William Stearman (1813–1846) English cricketer * William L. Stearman (b ...

B (in background) *

Brown B-3 The Brown B-3 was a 1930s American single-seat touring monoplane and air racer built by the Lawrence Brown Aircraft Company. Only one aircraft was built. Design and development The B-3 was based on earlier B-2 ''Miss Los Angeles'' single-sea ...

Stinson A Stinson may refer to: *Stinson, Ontario *Stinson (surname) *Stinson Aircraft Company *Stinson Lake, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, in the town of Rumney *Stinson Municipal Airport, San Antonio, Texas *Stinson Theatres, a Canadian movie th ...

* Fairchild 24

Reception

A review 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 d ...

'' considered that ''Flight Lieutenant'' was a "dreary father-and-son tale" with much mawkish sentimentality.Prior, Thomas (T.M.P.
"At Loew's State."
''

'', July 31, 1942.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

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

External links

* * https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F04E3D81239E33BBC4950DFB1668389659EDE {{Sidney Salkow 1942 films 1940s war drama films American war drama films American aviation films American black-and-white films Columbia Pictures films 1940s English-language films Films directed by Sidney Salkow World War II aviation films Films produced by B. P. Schulberg 1942 drama films 1940s American films