''Women in the Wind'' is a 1939 film directed by

John Farrow John Villiers Farrow, KGCHS (10 February 190427 January 1963) was an Australian film director, producer, and screenwriter. Spending a considerable amount of his career in the United States, in 1942 he was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...

and starring

Kay Francis Kay Francis (born Katharine Edwina Gibbs; January 13, 1905 – August 26, 1968) was an American stage and film actress. After a brief period on Broadway in the late 1920s, she moved to film and achieved her greatest success between 1930 an ...

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 ...

and

Victor Jory Victor Jory (November 23, 1902 – February 12, 1982) was a Canadian-American actor of stage, film, and television. He initially played romantic leads, but later was mostly cast in villainous or sinister roles, such as Oberon in ''A Midsummer N ...

. The plot concerns women pilots competing in the so-called "

Powder Puff Derby The Women's Air Derby was the first official women-only air race in the United States, taking place during the 1929 National Air Races. Humorist Will Rogers referred to it as the Powder Puff Derby, the name by which the race is most commonly kn ...

", an annual transcontinental air race solely for women.

Plot

The women's air derby from Los Angeles to Cleveland means a lot to young aviator Janet Steele (

), who uses every trick in the book to try to persuade record-setting pilot Ace Boreman (

) to lend her his very fast aircraft. Ace is reluctant, but Janet steals his craft to demonstrate her skill. He also learns that she is the sister of Bill Steele (Charles Anthony Hughes), a pilot friend of his who crashed and is bedridden. When Ace discovers that Janet needs the money to pay for an operation for Bill, he has no further objections to Janet flying his airplane. Complications ensue when Ace's estranged ex-wife Frieda ( Sheila Bromley) notifies him their Mexican divorce is not legal. The airplane remains half hers, and she intends to go after the derby's $15,000 first prize herself. She manages to convince Janet that Ace is a heel. Ace is able to get his buddy Denny Corson (

Eddie Foy, Jr. Edwin Fitzgerald Jr. (February 4, 1905 – July 15, 1983), known professionally as Eddie Foy Jr., was an American stage, film, and television actor. Early life Edwin Fitzgerald Jr. was born on February 4, 1905, in New Rochelle, New York, the ...

), who has just broken his speed record, to let Janet use his home-built aircraft instead, without letting Janet know that Ace is responsible. In the race, Janet reaches the first stopover at Wichita first, with Frieda close behind. Janet and Ace's friend Kit Campbell (

Eve Arden Eve Arden (born Eunice Mary Quedens, April 30, 1908 – November 12, 1990) was an American film, radio, stage and television actress. She performed in leading and supporting roles for nearly six decades. Beginning her film career in 1929 ...

) crashes after her engine catches fire. Janet wants to stay with her, but Kit insists she is okay; she also hands Janet a letter. The letter is from Doc; he loves Janet himself, but writes that it was Ace who got her Denny's airplane. Meanwhile, Frieda runs into an acquaintance working as a race mechanic. He asks her if it is worth $2000 to her to have Janet's airplane sabotaged. When she agrees, the mechanic arranges a fuel leak. Janet is forced to land on a farm. She manages to refuel, but as she is taking off again, she clips something and one of the wheels on her landing gear is torn off without her noticing. When Janet flies into a severe electrical storm, her radio is disabled. Frieda and Janet are neck and neck at the finish in Cleveland. The people on the ground see that Janet's landing gear is damaged, but are unable to notify her. Frieda, hearing the radio message, signals Janet about her danger, forfeiting her own opportunity to win. Janet is able to land safely and win the race. Afterward, she thanks Frieda, who also hands Ace a telegram that says the divorce was legal after all, so Janet wins Ace as well.

Cast

as Janet Steele *

as Ace Boreman *

as Kit Campbell * Sheila Bromley as Frieda Boreman *

as Denny Corson *

as Doc * Maxie Rosenbloom as "Stuffy" McInnes * Charles Anthony Hughes as Bill Steele *

Frankie Burke Frankie Burke (June 6, 1915 – April 7, 1983) was a Hollywood actor, best known for his appearance as a member of The East Side Kids. Early life Burke was born Frankie Vaselle and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. His name was changed whe ...

as Johnnie * Spencer Charters as Farmer * Vera Lewis as Farmer's Wife * William Gould as Palmer * Gordon Hart as Air Races Official * Ila Rhodes as Joan

Production

Original novel

The film was based on the novel of the same name by Frances Walton, which was published in 1935. The novel was loosely based on the 1929 Women's Air Derby, the first official women-only air race in the United States held during the 1929

National Air Races The National Air Races (also known as Pulitzer Trophy Races) are a series of pylon and cross-country races that have taken place in the United States since 1920. The science of aviation, and the speed and reliability of aircraft and engines grew ...

. A total of 19 pilots took off from

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

on August 18, 1929 (another left the next day) with 15 pilots continuing to

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, landing nine days later. The ''New York Times'' called the novel "well written and swift paced".

Development

Film rights were bought by Warner Bros who assigned

to star. It was the last Warner Bros. contract film for Kay Francis.Pendo 1985, p. 145. The film represented the culmination of her longstanding feud with the studio bosses. Once an A-list star, Francis was frustrated with the roles Warner Bros. had given her in the late 1930s. The studio considered her "box office poison" and wanted to end her contract but Francis refused, touching off an embarrassing effort to force the star out, even making her act as a prompter for other actors and assigning her to

B-list An A-list actor is a major movie star, or one of the most bankable actors in a film industry. The A-list is part of a larger guide called ''The Hot List'', which ranks the bankability of 1,400 movie actors worldwide, and has become an industry ...

fare such as ''Women in the Wind''. In July 1938 writers were told to rewrite the film to incorporate a round-the-world race to exploit the recent achievements of

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 ...

. "It is expected that the film will end her career at Warners in a blaze of glory", wrote the ''Los Angeles Times''. At one stage the film was going to be retitled ''Dublin By Mistake'' to cash in on the Douglas Corrigan flight. The movie was going to have an all-female cast but then it was decided not to.

played the male lead. (It was the eighth time Gargan played an aviator in his career.)

Shooting

Filming started 2 September 1938. The film did mark an early role for later star, Eve Arden, albeit one that she thought was ludicrous when effects turned her crash landing into an "atom bomb" going off. The fiery crash scene set off guffaws from the test audience who saw her emerge from the blazing wreck with hardly a smudge on her cheek. Fortunately, the final release has a more conventional crash scene with Ms. Arden's character badly injured and carried off on a stretcher. A number of scenes utilized footage from record-breaking round-the-world and transatlantic flights. Aircraft for the film were provided by Hollywood film pilot Howard Blatt.

Reception

Critically reviewed 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 ...

'' by Frank S. Nugent, ''Women in the Wind'' was considered lackluster and ground-hugging, despite the action being set in an air race. "It is another commonplace little fiction embroidered upon the Powder Puff Derby, the annual transcontinental race for the women fliers, with Kay Francis as the girl who simply has to win the race to get money for her brother's operation. Everything happens according to formula ..." In a later review by film critic and historian Leonard Maltin, he dismissed it as a "Trite programmer."Maltin, Leonard
"Leonard Maltin Ratings & Review: 'Women in the Wind'.
''Turner Classic Movies''. Retrieved: July 17, 2015.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Pendo, Stephen. ''Aviation in the Cinema''. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1985. . * Read, Phyllis J. ''The Book of Women's Firsts: Breakthrough Achievements of Almost 1,000 American Women''. New York: Random House Information Group, 1992. . * Wynne, H. Hugh. ''The Motion Picture Stunt Pilots and Hollywood's Classic Aviation Movies.'' Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1987. .

External links

* * * * {{Authority control 1939 films 1939 drama films American drama films American aviation films American black-and-white films Films about competitions Films based on American novels Warner Bros. films Films directed by John Farrow 1930s English-language films 1930s American films