''Tailspin Tommy'' is a 12-episode 1934

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...

film serial A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...

based on the ''

Tailspin Tommy ''Tailspin Tommy'' was an air adventure comic strip about a youthful pilot, " Tailspin" Tommy Tomkins (sometimes spelled Tompkins). Originally illustrated by Hal Forrest and initially distributed by John Neville Wheeler's Bell Syndicate and then ...

comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

by Hal Forrest. Directed by

Lew Landers Lew Landers (born Louis Friedlander, January 2, 1901 – December 16, 1962) was an American independent film and television director. Biography Born as Louis Friedlander in New York City, Lew Landers began his movie career as an actor. In 1914, ...

and produced by Milton Gatzert, the serial was the 97th serial of the 137 released by that studio (and the 24th with

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

). The plot of ''Tailspin Tommy'' concerns a conflict over a government airmail contract.

Plot

Two cargo airlines clash over a government mail contract. "Tailspin" Tommy (Maurice Murphy), a young mechanic, gets a job with Three Points Airlines, which wins the contract. Their opponents resort to sabotage in order to have the contract for themselves. Wade "Tiger" Taggart ( John Davidson) becomes their enemy, a man who will do anything to stop the airline from doing business. After Tommy becomes a pilot, he prevents a runaway aircraft from crashing into a crowd of children, among other adventures that put him into the public eye. Eventually Taggert and his gang are brought to justice. Tommy goes on to win a movie contract, and win the heart of his sweetheart Betty Lou Barnes (

Patricia Farr Patricia Farr (born Arleine Rutledge Farr; January 15, 1913 – February 23, 1948) was an American film actress who appeared in films of the 1930s and 1940s. Despite being billed as leading lady in at least one ('' Lady Luck'') of the films in ...

Cast

* Maurice Murphy as "Tailspin" Tommy Tompkins *

Noah Beery, Jr. Noah Lindsey Beery (August 10, 1913 – November 1, 1994) was an American actor often specializing in warm, friendly character roles similar to many portrayed by his Oscar-winning uncle, Wallace Beery. Unlike his more famous uncle, however, Be ...

as Peter "Skeeter" Milligan *

as Betty Lou Barnes * Walter Miller as Bruce Hoyt *

Grant Withers Granville Gustavus Withers (January 17, 1905 – March 27, 1959) was an American film actor who acted under the screen name Grant Withers. With early beginnings in the silent era, Withers moved into sound films, establishing himself with a lis ...

as Milt Howe * Charles A. Browne as Paul Smith *

Bryant Washburn Franklin Bryant Washburn III (April 28, 1889 – April 30, 1963) was an American film actor who appeared in more than 370 films between 1911 and 1947. Washburn's parents were Franklin Bryant Washburn II and Metha Catherine Johnson Washburn. He a ...

as Mr Grant, director of ''Midnight Patrol'' * Belle Daube as Mrs Martha Tompkins, Tommy's mother * John Davidson as Wade "Tiger" Taggart *

Harrison Greene Harrison Greene (January 18, 1884 – September 28, 1945) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 230 films between 1931 and 1945. The son of a jeweler, Greene was born in Portland, Oregon, but grew up in California. He was a d ...

as the Air circus announcer * William Desmond as Sloane, Taggart's office henchman *

Lew Kelly Lew Kelly (August 24, 1879 – June 10, 1944) was an American stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1928 and 1944. He was born Louis Kelly in St. Louis, Missouri, and died in Los Angeles, California. Selected ...

as Victor Martin, Three Point airport dispatcher * John Ince as Eric Peabody, one of Taggart's henchmen * Lee Beggs as Deacon Grimes *

Ethan Laidlaw Ethan Allen Laidlaw (November 25, 1899 – May 25, 1963) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 350 films and made more than 500 appearances on television, mainly uncredited in Westerns, between 1923 and 1962. Laidlaw was bor ...

as Bart Dirk, one of Taggart's henchmen

Chapter titles

# Death Flies the Mail # The Mail Goes Through # Sky bandits # The Copper Room # The Night Flight # The Baited Trap # Tommy to the Rescue # The Thrill of Death # The Earth God's Roar # Death at the Controls # Rushing Waters # Littleville's Big Day_Source:

Production

''Tailspin Tommy'' was the first serial to be based on a ''

''. From 1936 to 1945, Universal almost made more serial adaptations of comic strips than both of their rivals, Columbia and Republic, combined.Cline 1984, pp. 15, 18. Jimmy Allen was a rival radio serial character to the Tailspin Tommy newspaper strip. He featured in the film ''

The Sky Parade ''The Sky Parade'' is a 1936 American aviation drama film directed by Otho Lovering and written by Arthur J. Beckhard, Robert M. Burtt, Brian Marlow, Wilfred G. Moore and Byron Morgan. Starring Jimmie Allen, William Gargan, Katherine DeMille ...

''. Grant Withers played the sidekick in this film as well as both Tailspin Tommy serials.Harmon and Glut 1973, p. 143. The aircraft used in ''Tailspin Tommy'' included: * Stearman C2B, c/n n110, NC4099 * Travel Air B 4000, c/n 1337, NC406N and c / n 1323, NC688K * Great Lakes 2T1 A, c/n 243, NC11326 * Fleet 7 * Douglas M2 *

Curtiss Fledgling The Curtiss Fledgling, known internally to Curtiss as the Model 48 and Model 51 was a trainer aircraft developed for the United States Navy in the late 1920s and known in that service as the N2C. Design and development The Fledgling was designe ...

, c/n 69, N465K * Waco ATO, c/n A-122, NC925H * Travel Air R Mystery Plane *

American Eagle A-101 The American A-1 and A-101 were American two and three-seat biplanes of the 1920s. Design and development The American Eagle A-1 was designed in late 1925 as a training aircraft to replace the World War I biplanes then in use by the Porterfield ...

* Alexander Eaglerock A2, c / n 207, NC1412 *

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 ...

Boeing P-12 The Boeing P-12/F4B was an American pursuit aircraft that was operated by the United States Army Air Corps , United States Marine Corps, and United States Navy. Design and development Developed as a private venture to replace the Boeing F2B an ...

(archive footage) Santoir, Christian
"Review: 'Tailspin Tommy'."
''aeromovies.com'', October 17, 2010. Retrieved: July 9, 2019.

Stunts

George DeNormand George DeNormand (1903 – 1976) was an American actor and stuntman. DeNormand was an amateur middleweight boxer in the 1920s. He was a prolific though often uncredited actor and stunt double in movies such as '' The Raven'' and ''Bride of Fra ...

George Magrill George Magrill (January 5, 1900 – May 31, 1952) was an American film actor who appeared in more than 320 films between 1923 and 1952. Magrill performed on stage before he began to work in films. Besides his acting, Magrill worked as a s ...

Reception

William C. Cline wrote ''In the Nick of Tome'' that ''Tailspin Tommy'' was a success, partly due to name recognition. The serial was faithful to its roots and while "other serials were based on comic heroes that have long been forgotten, Hal Forrest's 'Tailspin Tommy' strip ran from 1928 to 1942. Dashing aviator Tommy, his sidekick Skeeter and his girlfriend Betty Lou Barnes ran Three Point Airlines, named after the perfect landing technique. Universal invested heavily in the franchise. Maurice Murphy played Tommy for 1934's Tailspin Tommy serial, and four 1939 feature films starred John Trent as the intrepid airman.""Articles: 'Tailspin Tommy'."
''TCM'', 2019. Retrieved: July 9, 2019.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Cline, William C. "2. In Search of Ammunition"; "Filmography". ''In the Nick of Time''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1984. . * Harmon, Jim and Donald F. Glut. "7. The Aviators "Land That Plane at Once, You Crazy Fool"". ''The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury''. London: Routledge, 1973. . * Stedman, Raymond William. "3. At This Theater Next Week". ''Serials: Suspense and Drama By Installment''. University of Oklahoma Press, 1971. . * Weiss, Ken and Ed Goodgold. ''To be Continued ...: A Complete Guide to Motion Picture Serials''. New York: Bonanza Books, 1973. .

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tailspin Tommy (Serial) 1934 films 1934 adventure films American aviation films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films Films based on comic strips Films directed by Lew Landers Universal Pictures film serials American adventure films Films with screenplays by George H. Plympton 1930s American films