''The Lost Squadron'' 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 ...

drama, action, film starring

Richard Dix Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...

Mary Astor Mary Astor (born Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke; May 3, 1906 – September 25, 1987) was an American actress. Although her career spanned several decades, she may be best remembered for her performance as Brigid O'Shaughnessy in '' The Maltese ...

, and Robert Armstrong, with

Erich von Stroheim Erich Oswald Hans Carl Maria von Stroheim (born Erich Oswald Stroheim; September 22, 1885 – May 12, 1957) was an Austrian-American director, actor and producer, most noted as a film star and avant-garde, visionary director of the silent era. H ...

and

Joel McCrea Joel Albert McCrea (November 5, 1905 – October 20, 1990) was an American actor whose career spanned a wide variety of genres over almost five decades, including comedy, drama, romance, thrillers, adventures, and Westerns, for which he beca ...

in supporting roles, and released by

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...

. Based on the nove
''The Lost Squadron'' (1932)
by

Dick Grace Richard Virgil Grace (October 1, 1898 – June 25, 1965), known as Dick Grace, was an American stunt pilot who specialized in crashing planes for films. Films that he appeared in include ''Sky Bride'', ''The Lost Squadron'', '' Lilac Time'', and '' ...

, the film is about three

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

pilots who find jobs after the war as

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

stunt flier Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glide ...

s. ''The Lost Squadron'' was the first RKO production to carry the screen credit "Executive Producer, David O. Selznick".

Plot

Pilots Captain "Gibby" Gibson (Richard Dix) and his close friend "Red" (Joel McCrea) spend the last hours of World War I in battle in the air. They then join fellow pilot and comrade "Woody" Curwood (Robert Armstrong) and their

mechanic A mechanic is an artisan, skilled tradesperson, or technician who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially cars. Duties Most mechanics specialize in a particular field, such as auto body mechanics, air conditioning and r ...

Fritz (Hugh Herbert) in a promise to stick together, a toast and a chorus of "

Auld Lang Syne "Auld Lang Syne" (: note "s" rather than "z") is a popular song, particularly in the English-speaking world. Traditionally, it is sung to bid farewell to the old year at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve. By extension, it is also often ...

". They return home to an uncertain future. Gibby's ambitious actress girlfriend Follette Marsh (Mary Astor) has a new boyfriend, one who can do more for her career. Good-natured Red decides not to take back his old job: It would mean firing a married man with a new baby. Woody is penniless, swindled by his embezzling business partner. Years later, Gibby, Red and Fritz ride a

boxcar A boxcar is the North American ( AAR) term for a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is considered one of the most versatile since it can carry most ...

to Hollywood to look for Woody and find work in lean times. Outside a movie premiere, they spot a prosperous Woody, who is working as a stunt flier. He offers them well-paying jobs working for tyrannical director Arthur von Furst (

). Follette is now married to von Furst; Woody tells Gibby that he beats her. Woody introduces his three comrades-in-arms to his sister, "the Pest" ( Dorothy Jordan). She worries constantly about him: Von Furst utilizes dangerously worn-out aircraft, and Woody drinks a lot. She persuades all of them to give up stunt flying. They toast to it. Cut to three biplanes in the air, being filmed by vonFurst. Pest is watching, holding Kümmel, her brother's dog. “And they said they'd never fly again,” she says to Fritz. . Both Gibby and Red are attracted to Pest. When he barely survives a crash Gibby misinterprets her concern for him as love. But when Red impulsively asks the Pest to marry him, she agrees, and Gibby accepts the situation with grace. Von Furst sees that his wife still has strong feelings for Gibby. He sabotages the aircraft Gibby is to fly for a dangerous stunt, secretly applying acid to control wires, not only out of jealousy, but also to add to the realism of his film. However, Woody decides to do the stunt in Gibby's place. Red has seen von Furst tampering with the wires and alerts Gibby. Gibby takes off in another aircraft and catches up to Woody, but cannot make himself understood over the roar of their engines. As a mute reply, Woody jokingly gives him

the finger In Western culture, "the finger", or the middle finger (as in giving someone the (middle) finger, the bird or flipping someone off) is an obscene hand gesture. The gesture communicates moderate to extreme contempt, and is roughly equivalent i ...

. The cable breaks: Woody crashes and is killed. Meanwhile, Red has taken von Furst captive at gunpoint, promising to kill him if Woody dies. That night, after Woody's body is taken away, Gibby telephones the police to say that the accident he reported earlier may be a murder, but Red interrupts. Gibby realizes Red has taken his gun and pursues him up the stairs to the office where Red has tied up von Furst. Gibby demands a written confession for the authorities. Von Furst knocks the lamp off the desk and tries to escape. In the struggle, Gibby drops the gun, and Red shoots and kills von Furst. When

Detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

Jettick (

Ralph Ince Ralph Waldo Ince (January 16, 1887 – April 10, 1937) was an American pioneer film actor, director and screenwriter whose career began near the dawn of the silent film era. Ralph Ince was the brother of John E. Ince and Thomas H. Ince. Biogr ...

) shows up in answer to Gibby's interrupted call, the men hide the body. Sensing something wrong, Jettick searches the hangar and insists on knowing where von Furst is. As he nears the canvas hiding the body, a scream stops him. It's Pest, worried about Red, returned to the hangar and startled by a policeman. Jettick leaves, promising to return. Pest is terrified that Red has hurt von Hurst. Gibby sends her away with Red, who puts her into a car. Meanwhile, Gibby gives Fritz messages for the lovers and they load the corpse into a plane. Gibby deliberately crashes, killing himself and taking the blame for the crime. At the cemetery, two ghostly biplanes appear. To the strains of "Auld Lang Syne", Gibby and Woody look back, salute and disappear in the distance. Nieuport 28 SDASM

Cast

as Captain "Gibby" Gibson *

as Follette Marsh * Robert Armstrong as Lieutenant "Woody" Curwood * Dorothy Jordan as "Pest" Curwood *

as "Red" *

as Arthur von Furst *

Hugh Herbert Hugh Herbert (August 10, 1885 – March 12, 1952) was an American motion picture comedian. He began his career in vaudeville and wrote more than 150 plays and sketches. Career Born in Binghamton, New York, Herbert attended Cornell Univers ...

as Sergeant Fritz *

as Detective Jettick * Marjorie Peterson as Stenographer * Ralph Lewis as Joe *

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 Lelewer Cast notes: *

Thomas A. Curran Thomas A. Curran (May 29, 1879 – January 24, 1941), was an Australian-born American actor on the stage and in motion pictures. Between 1915 and 1941 he appeared in 60 films, the last of which was '' Citizen Kane'', in which he played the ...

, an early American silent film star, plays an uncredited

bit part In acting, a bit part is a role in which there is direct interaction with the principal actors and no more than five lines of dialogue, often referred to as a five-or-less or under-five in the United States, or under sixes in British television, ...

. *

Production

While William LeBaron was still production chief at RKO, he started production on ''The Lost Squadron'', but when he was fired, his replacement, David O. Selznick, took over the project as a personal production. As executive producer, Selznick fired director

Paul Sloane Paul Sloane (April 19, 1893 November 15, 1963) was an American screenwriter and film director who directed 26 films from 1925 to 1952, and wrote or co-wrote 35 films. His movies include ''Hearts in Dixie'' (1929) with Stepin Fetchit, ''The Wom ...

and replaced him with George Archainbaud, and increased the film's budget to include more spectacular action sequences. Principal photography halted during the production as the RKO studio executives, including Selznick, decided to re-shoot the final scene to heighten the action of the climax, with a new ending written.

Eric Linden Eric Linden (September 15, 1909 – July 14, 1994) was an American actor, primarily active during the 1930s. Early years Eric Linden was born in New York City to Phillip and Elvira (née Lundborg) Linden, both of Swedish descent. His father ...

, who had been borrowed from Warner Bros., was edited out of the final film. ''The Lost Squadron'' boasted several first-rate aviation sequences, since the film was scripted by real-life Hollywood stunt flyer

who flew in the film, as an uncredited "flier"."Notes: The Lost Squadron (1932)."
''Turner Classic Movies.'' Retrieved: December 14, 2022. Utilizing the Hollywood fleet of war surplus aircraft, the production featured many famous stunt flyers and their mounts, including Grace, Art Goebel, Leo Nomis and Frank Clarke. The aircraft seen on screen include two Nieuports, a

Waco 10 The Waco 10/GXE/Waco O series was a range of three-seat open-cockpit biplanes built by the Advance Aircraft Company, later the Waco Aircraft Company. Design and development The Waco 10 was a larger span development of the Waco 9, both single-engi ...

and Bristol Fighter.

Reception

Having a screen idol such as Richard Dix made ''The Lost Squadron'' a popular feature. Although not considered a

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

, the aviators' dilemma in reintegrating themselves back in a peacetime society, represents an authentic effort at showing how returning veterans back from the front lines were treated. Contemporary reviews were generally favorable with

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 ...

'' critic, calling it "... an excellent melodrama, ably directed" and "... a story about aviators which can boast of a rich vein of originality and clever dialogue." The ''

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), ...

'' review stressed the appeal of the film was in introducing a new story motif, the " story-within-a-story" of "behind the scenes" of an aerial film production."The Lost Squadron."
''variety.com'', December 31, 1931. Retrieved: January 2, 2010. A controversy erupted over von Stroheim's portrayal of a tyrannical German director, resulting in the German consul in San Francisco delivering an official protest.Wynne 1987, p. 121. The film lost an estimated $125,000 at the box office.

References

Informational notes Citations Bibliography * Evans, Alun. ''Brassey's Guide to War Films''. Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books, 2000. . * ''I'm King Kong!: The Exploits of Merian C. Cooper'' (2005) documentary film. * Wynne, H. Hugh. ''The Motion Picture Stunt Pilots and Hollywood's Classic Aviation Movies''. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1987. .

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lost Squadron 1932 drama films 1932 films American aviation films American black-and-white films Films about stunt performers Films directed by George Archainbaud RKO Pictures films Films with screenplays by Herman J. Mankiewicz American action drama films 1930s action drama films 1930s American films