''Sky Devils'', also known as ''Ground Hogs'', is a 1932 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 comedy film, starring

Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...

as a

draft dodger Draft evasion is any successful attempt to elude a government-imposed obligation to serve in the military forces of one's nation. Sometimes draft evasion involves refusing to comply with the military draft laws of one's nation. Illegal draft ev ...

who blunders into a war zone. ''Sky Devils'' was partly written by humorist

Robert Benchley Robert Charles Benchley (September 15, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor. From his beginnings at ''The Harvard Lampoon'' while attending Harvard University, thro ...

and the picture's director A. Edward Sutherland from a story by Sutherland. The film features

Ann Dvorak Ann Dvorak (born Anna McKim; August 2, 1911 – December 10, 1979) was an American stage and film actress. Asked how to pronounce her adopted surname, she told ''The Literary Digest'' in 1936: "My fake name is properly pronounced ''vor'shack ...

in a supporting role.

Plot

In 1917, lifeguards Wilkie (

) and Mitchell ( George Cooper) who can not even swim, are trying to keep out of the war. When a man is drowning,

U.S. 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 ri ...

Sergeant Hogan (William Boyd) rescues the drowning man but they are quick to claim credit. When the pair go to a Red Cross benefit boxing match, they again encounter the sergeant, billed as "One Punch" Hogan but Wilkie surprisingly knocks him out, before sneaking out with Mitchell, as a crowd gathers. The two friends swear they will never join the Army, but relent and later wind up in uniform, shovelling manure. Determined to find a way out, Wilkie and Mitchell desert and head off to South America, hopping in a manure truck leaving the base. After stowing away on a ship, they find out they are on a troop ship with Army Air Corps pilots going to France. Wilkie and Mitchell pretend they want to fly and are sent to train at an American aviation field. Doing their best to not become pilots, while on guard duty, Wilkie competes with Sgt. Hogan for the attentions of Fifi (

Yola d'Avril Yola d'Avril (8 April 1906 – 2 March 1984) was a French-American actress, who appeared in numerous productions between 1925 and 1953. She was also known as Yola Vermairion and Yola d'Avril Montiague. Biography d'Avril was born in Lille, Franc ...

), a French performer. After a dustup at a nightclub, the two rivals make a quick exit, hiding in a car driven by Mary Way (

). Startled by the men, she crashes, but all are unharmed. Wilkie and Hogan escort her to an inn for the evening. In the morning, Wilkie has breakfast with Mary and cons Hogan into fixing her car. Military police looking for the two and come and arrest them, as well as Mary thought to be a spy. Wilkie, Hogan and Mary escape in an aircraft, but land in enemy territory and are captured. Accidentally releasing two bombs, they bomb a German munitions depot. The Air Corps colonel (

Billy Bevan Billy Bevan (born William Bevan Harris, 29 September 1887 – 26 November 1957) was an Australian-born vaudevillian, who became an American film actor. He appeared in more than 250 American films between 1916 and 1950. Career Bevan was bo ...

) sends a squadron to rescue the trio, with Mitchell scaring the Germans by his inept maneuvers. After their rescue, the three heroes fly home but Wilkie again accidentally pulls the lever for the bomb release, this time bombing his own base.

Cast

as Wilkie * William Boyd as Sgt Hogan * George Cooper as Mitchell *

as Mary Way *

as the Colonel *

as Fifi * Forrester Harvey as Innkeeper *

William B. Davidson William Beatman Davidson (June 16, 1888 – September 28, 1947) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 300 films between 1915 and 1947. Early life Davidson was born in Dobbs Ferry, New York. He attended Columbia University, w ...

as Captain * Jerry Miley as Lieutenant

Production

Filming

Principal photography for ''Sky Devils'' took place first from May 9 to June 12, 1931, with additional sequences shot from September 2 to early October 1931. The locations for the production included: U.S. Army Air Corps

March Field March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Ma ...

, San Pedro and

Venice, California Venice is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California. Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, when it was annexed b ...

, along with

Yuma, Arizona Yuma ( coc, Yuum) is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 93,064 at the 2010 census, up from the 2000 census population of 77,515. Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, M ...

. In order to recoup some of the investment made in '' Hell's Angels'' (1930),

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...

decided to recycle some of the sequences and unused footage for a pair of comedies set in the air, ''

Cock of the Air ''Cock of the Air'' is a 1932 American pre-Code aviation comedy film directed by Tom Buckingham and written by Charles Lederer and Robert E. Sherwood. The film stars Chester Morris, Billie Dove, Matt Moore, Walter Catlett and Luis Alberni. ''Co ...

'' (1932) and the ''Sky Devils''. "The picture contained parts of the dogfight and ammunition bombing sequences ..." The remaining aircraft from the earlier films, a total of 14 World War I-era and later aircraft, were assembled at the Metropolitan Airport in

Van Nuys, California Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1909, ...

Reception

Reviewer

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 ...

'', described the film as "... a boisterous affair, in which even the familiar mud-hole in the water is employed to arouse laughter. Yet, Mr. Boyd as Sergeant Hogan and Mr. Tracy as Private Wilkie attack their rôles with undeniable vigor. Many punches are exchanged and when that sort of thing gets tame a few bottles and glasses are broken, which is followed by automobile smash-ups and airplane crashes. Added to this there is the quasi-romantic side of the adventure, with Yola d'Avril and Ann Dvorak contributing their feminine wiles." Aviation film historians Hardwick and Schnepf, however, noted that ''Sky Devils'' was an example where "Howard Hughes figured he had made such a score with 'Hell's Angels', he'd try it again with much of the same aerial footage and new stars. It bombed."Hardwick and Schnepf 1983, p. 60.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Hardwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. "A Buff's Guide to Aviation Movies". ''Air Progress Aviation,'' Vol. 7, No. 1, Spring 1983. * Orriss, Bruce W. ''When Hollywood Ruled the Skies: The Aviation Film Classics of World War I.'' Los Angeles: Aero Associates, 2013. . * 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. .

External links

* * {{Howard Hughes Films directed by A. Edward Sutherland 1932 films 1932 comedy films American aviation films American comedy films Films produced by Howard Hughes American black-and-white films 1930s American films 1930s English-language films English-language comedy films