''Night Flight'' (also known as ''Dark to Dawn'') is a 1933 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 ...

aviation drama film produced by David O. Selznick, distributed 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 ...

, directed by

Clarence Brown Clarence Leon Brown (May 10, 1890 – August 17, 1987) was an American film director. Early life Born in Clinton, Massachusetts, to Larkin Harry Brown, a cotton manufacturer, and Katherine Ann Brown (née Gaw), Brown moved to Tennessee when he ...

and starring

John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...

Lionel Barrymore Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blythe; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''A Free Soul'' (1931) ...

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 ...

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur ( Brown; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose career spanned 80 years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman to have w ...

, Robert Montgomery and

Myrna Loy Myrna Loy (born Myrna Adele Williams; August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress. Trained as a dancer, Loy devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. ...

. The picture is based on the 1931 novel of the same name, which won the

Prix Femina The Prix Femina is a French literary prize created in 1904 by 22 writers for the magazine '' La Vie heureuse'' (today known as '' Femina''). The prize is decided each year by an exclusively female jury. They reward French-language works written ...

the same year, by French writer and pioneering

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, comte de Saint-Exupéry, simply known as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (, , ; 29 June 1900 – 31 July 1944), was a French writer, poet, aristocrat, journalist and pioneering aviator. He became a laureate of s ...

. Based on Saint-Exupéry's personal experiences while flying on South American

mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...

routes, ''Night Flight'' recreates a 24-hour period of the operations of a fictional airline based on Aéropostale, Trans-Andean European Air Mail. In 1942, ''Night Flight'' was withdrawn from circulation as a result of a dispute between MGM and Saint Exupéry. Its public re-release had to wait until 2011, when legal obstacles were overcome.

Plot

In South America, the daunting mountains and dangerous weather have hampered the operations of Trans-Andean European Air Mail, a 1930s-era airline. Charged with delivering a serum to stem an outbreak of

infantile paralysis Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe sym ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, Auguste Pellerin ( Robert Montgomery) conquers his fears, but is reprimanded by the airline's stern director, A. Rivière (

) for coming in late. Determined to make the night flight program work, Rivière sends pilot Jules Fabian (

) and his wireless operator on another dangerous flight. The pair are caught in a torrential rain storm and when Madame Fabian (

) comes to the headquarters, she realizes that her husband is overdue. The two airmen, flying blind over the ocean, run out of fuel and choose to jump, but drown. Rivière refuses to quit and orders a Brazilian pilot (

William Gargan William Dennis Gargan (July 17, 1905February 17, 1979) was an American film, television and radio actor. He was the 5th recipient of the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 1967, and in 1941, was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...

) to take the mail to Rio, but the pilot's wife (

) pleads with him not to go. Despite the dangers, the night mail is delivered on time. The pilot despairs that his flight only meant that someone in Paris can get a postcard on Tuesday instead of Thursday, but its real value is proven when the serum is also delivered and a child is saved. The mother weeps for joy at her child's bedside, and the scene dissolves to two parachutes floating on the ocean. A ghostly plane appears with Fabian, smiling, at the controls. He soars up into the sky, followed by a host of phantom biplanes; the following words appear on screen: "And such is human courage...that men died...so others might live...and so, at last, man's empire might reach triumphant to the sky!"

Cast

as Managing Director A. Rivière *

as Madame Fabian *

as Jules Fabian *

as Inspector Robineau * Robert Montgomery as Auguste Pellerin *

as Brazilian Pilot's Wife *

as Brazilian Pilot * C. Henry Gordon as Daudet *

Leslie Fenton Leslie Fenton (12 March 1902 – 25 March 1978) was an English actor and film director. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1923 and 1945. Early life Fenton was born on 12 March 1902 in Liverpool, Lancashire, England. He emigrated to ...

as Fabian's Radio Operator *

Harry Beresford Harry J. Beresford (4 November 1863 – 4 October 1944) was an English-born actor on the American stage and in motion pictures. He used the professional name Harry J. Morgan early in his career. Career Harry Beresford began his acting career i ...

as Roblet * Frank Conroy as Radio Operator *

Dorothy Burgess Dorothy Burgess (March 4, 1907 – August 20, 1961) was an American stage and motion-picture actress. Family, education Born in Los Angeles in 1907, Burgess was a niece of Fay Bainter. On her father's side, she was related to David C. Montgome ...

as Pellerin's Girlfriend *

Irving Pichel Irving Pichel (June 24, 1891 – July 13, 1954) was an American actor and film director, who won acclaim both as an actor and director in his Hollywood career. Career Pichel was born to a Jewish family in Pittsburgh. He attended Pittsburgh Cent ...

as Dr. Decosta *

Helen Jerome Eddy Helen Jerome Eddy (February 25, 1897 – January 27, 1990) was a motion picture actress from New York City. She was noted as a character actress who played genteel heroines in films such as ''Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm'' (1917). Early years Edd ...

as Worried Mother *

Buster Phelps Buster Phelps (November 5, 1926 – January 10, 1983) was an American actor. Phelps debuted on film when he was a child. When the mother of another child had booked two simultaneous film sessions for that youngster, she contacted Phelps' mothe ...

as Sick Child *

Ralf Harolde Ralf Harolde (born Ralph Harold Wigger, May 17, 1899 – November 11, 1974) was an American character actor who often played gangsters. Between 1920 and 1963, he appeared in 99 films, including '' Smart Money'' with Edward G. Robinson and ...

as Pilot *

Marcia Ralston Marcia Mascotte Ralston (19 September 1906 – 23 November 1988) was an Australian-born actress who appeared in Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s. In Australia Ralston's father was well known Australian singer and actor John Ralston. She a ...

as Nightclub Vamp *

Otto Hoffman Otto F. Hoffman (May 2, 1879 – June 23, 1944) was an American film actor. He appeared in almost 200 films between 1915 and 1944. He was born in New York City and died in Los Angeles, California, from lung cancer. Hoffman's Broadway credit ...

as Airport Office Clerk (uncredited)

Production

Saint Exupéry's ''Vol de nuit'', based on real-life events in South America, had won the 1931

, one of the main French literary prizes (awarded by a female jury).Schiff 2006, p. 210. Prior to this award, he had been little known outside of the literary sphere, but as a result of the prize, received widespread recognition and attention from Hollywood.Steinberg, Jay S
"Night Flight (1933)."
''Turner Classic Movies'', 2012. Retrieved: August 11, 2012. Selznick realized that

Oliver H. P. Garrett Oliver H. P. Garrett (May 6, 1894 – February 22, 1952) was an American film director, writer, newspaperman, and rifleman. Biography Oliver H. P. Garrett was born in Laurens County, South Carolina. By the fall of 1917 he was a rifleman who fo ...

's original treatment was too heavily based on "the ground" and brought in

John Monk Saunders John Monk Saunders (November 22, 1897 – March 11, 1940) was an American novelist, screenwriter, and film director. Early life and career Born in Hinckley, Minnesota, to Robert C. Saunders and Nannie Monk Saunders, his family (6 children) move ...

, who had worked with him on '' The Dawn Patrol'' (1930), to add more flying scenes. Director Clarence Brown was dissatisfied with that version, so Selznick finally called on writer

Wells Root Wells Crosby Root (March 21, 1900 – March 9, 1993) was an American screenwriter and lecturer. In the mid-1930s he was involved with the Screen Writers Guild and in the 1950s the University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever ...

to tighten up the final draft. Brown also was interested in an accurate portrayal of aviation, as he had been a World War I pilot. ''Night Flight'' utilized both studio and location shooting with the mountainous region around

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Colorado, filling in for the South American Andes. The recently retired

U.S. Mail The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...

Douglas M-4 mail planes were featured as the Trans-Andean European Air Mail's primary aircraft. Clarence Brown and John Barrymore had a disagreeable relationship during the film's shooting, as Barrymore was imbibing during filming and reading from cue cards. Brown wanted to replace Barrymore, but was not allowed to, being overruled by studio head

Louis B. Mayer Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1882 or 1884 or 1885 – October 29, 1957) was a Canadian-American film producer and co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios (MGM) in 1924. Under Mayer's management, MGM became the film industr ...

. Helen Hayes also felt intimidated by Barrymore. When they filmed their scene together, Barrymore refrained from relying on cue cards, because he said that he didn't want to use a crutch in the presence of a real actress. Later, Hayes remarked that Barrymore's explanation was the greatest review that she ever received.

Reception

MGM's choice of an all-star cast was intended to elevate ''Night Flight'' to epic status. The film, however, was sequenced in episodic style with many of the scenes concentrating on one of the sub-plots; Gable's scenes, for example, featured his fateful last flight, primarily filmed in the cockpit without spoken dialog. Most of the sequences were filmed in isolation with little interaction between the lead actors. Although premiered in a longer two-hour version,Lumenick, Lou
"Movies DVD Extra: Lost 'Flight' surfaces after 78 years."
''The New York Post'', June 7, 2011. Retrieved: August 12, 2012. the final film was received favorably by critics. ''

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 ...

'' review called it "a vivid and engrossing production." In a similar vein, ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' considered ''Night Flight'', "a competently done saga". Despite the favorable reviews, however, ''Night Flight'' was considered a disappointment at the

box office A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicke ...

. Smarting from some critics' reviews of his novel, and professing that he hated the film adaptation, Saint Exupéry refused to renew his author's rights, which he had granted to MGM only for a 10-year period. In 1942, ''Night Flight'' was pulled from circulation when MGM's agreement with Saint Exupéry expired.King, Susan
"TCM Classic Film Festival: 'Night Flight,' 'The Constant Nymph,' 'Hoop-La'."
''Los Angeles Times'', April 28, 2011. Retrieved: August 12, 2012. Following its first public showing at the 2011

TCM Classic Film Festival Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of Atl ...

, a first-time home video of the picture was released on DVD on June 7, 2011, over 75 years after its original release. The movie's world television premiere was on TCM on August 10, 2012.

Box office

According to MGM records, ''Night Flight'' earned $576,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $503,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $176,000. The film was a box office disappointment for MGM.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Francillon, René J. ''McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920''. London: Putnam, 1979. . * Hanson, Patricia King (Executive Editor) and Alan Gevinson (Associate Editor). ''The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: 1931-40, Feature Films''. Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1993. . * Haver, Ronald. ''David O. Selznick's Hollywood.'' London: Martin Secker & Warburg Ltd., 1980. . * Schiff, Stacy. ''Saint Exupéry: A Biography.'' New York: Holt, 2006, First edition by De Capo, 1993. .

External links

* * *
The AFI Catalog of Feature Films:''..Night Flight''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Night Flight 1933 films American aviation films Films directed by Clarence Brown Adaptations of works by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films scored by Herbert Stothart American black-and-white films American drama films 1933 drama films 1930s American films