''Flying G-Men'' is a 15-episode 1939

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, ani ...

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 ...

, directed by James W. Horne and Ray Taylor. The serial was the sixth of the 57 serials released by Columbia. Four "Flying G-Men" battle with enemy saboteurs intent on destroying American military defences.

Plot

Three government aviators, Hal Andrews ( Robert Paige), Bart Davis (

Richard Fiske Thomas Richard Potts (November 20, 1915 – August 10, 1944), known professionally as Richard Fiske, was an American film actor. He appeared in over 80 films between 1938 and 1942. Career Born Thomas Richard Potts, Fiske was born to Frank a ...

) and John Cummings ( James Craig) called the "Flying G-Men", one of whom is disguised as "The Black Falcon" (Robert Paige), fight to protect the United States and its allies from an enemy spy ring and to avenge the death of the fourth Flying G-Man, Charles Bronson (Stanley Brown). Bronson was killed when he attempted to stop enemy agents from stealing the new McKay military aircraft, designed by Billy McKay (

Sammy McKim Sammy McKim (December 20, 1924 – July 9, 2004) was a Canadian film actor and artist. He graduated from Los Angeles Art Center with a Bachelor of Arts Degree and was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. He died in Burbank, California from ...

). The Junior Air Defenders are also enlisted to help the Flying G-Men. A plot to infiltrate all military factories and airports is discovered but the spy chief called "The Professor"(Forbes Murray) is unknown. Suspecting Marvin Brewster, the owner of Brewster Airport, a local airfield, is The Professor, the G-Men find that he has kidnapped Babs McKay (

Lorna Gray Virginia Pound (July 26, 1917 – April 30, 2017), known professionally as Lorna Gray and (after 1945) Adrian Booth, was an American film actress known for her comic roles, and later as a villainess. She is best known for her roles in Columb ...

). They follow him to the spy hideout to capture Brewster and rescue Babs.

Chapter titles

# Challenge in the Sky # Flight of the Condemned # The Vulture's Nest # The Falcon Strikes # Flight from Death # Phantom of the Sky # Trapped by Radio # The Midnight Watch # Wings of Terror # Flaming Wreckage # While a Nation Sleeps # Sealed Orders # Flame Island # Jaws of Death # The Falcon's Reward _Source:

Cast

* Robert Paige as Hal Andrews, Flying G-Man, and "The Black Falcon" *

as Bart Davis, Flying G-Man * James Craig as John Cummings, Flying G-Man *

as Babs McKay *

as Billy McKay * Stanley Brown as Charles Bronson, Flying G-Man *

Don Beddoe Donald Theophilus Beddoe (July 1, 1903 – January 19, 1991) was an American character actor. Early years Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Beddoe was the son of Dan Beddoe, a Welsh classical singer, and his wife Mary. He graduated from the ...

as W. S. Hamilton * Forbes Murray as Marvin Brewster and The Professor, the villainous owner of a local airport * Lee Prather as Simmons * Beatrice Blinn as Brewster's secretary *

Ann Doran Ann Lee Doran (July 28, 1911 – September 19, 2000) was an American character actress, possibly best known as the mother of Jim Stark (James Dean) in ''Rebel Without a Cause'' (1955). She was an early member of the Screen Actors Guild and serv ...

as Hamilton's secretary *

Dick Curtis Richard Dye (May 11, 1902January 3, 1952), known professionally as Dick Curtis, was an American actor who made over 230 film and television appearances during his career. Early years Curtis was born in Newport, Kentucky, the son of Frank Dy ...

as Korman, a henchman *

Eddie Laughton Eddie Laughton (20 June 190321 March 1952) was an American film actor. Laughton appeared in more than 200 films between 1935 and 1952, and is best known for his work with The Three Stooges. Career Laughton's family immigrated to the United State ...

as Hall, a henchman * John Tyrrell as Williams * Eddie Fetherston as Borden, a geologist

Production

''Flying G-Men'' had the services of noted aerial stunt pilot and cinematographer

Paul Mantz Albert Paul Mantz (August 2, 1903 – July 8, 1965) was a noted air racing pilot, movie stunt pilot and consultant from the late 1930s until his death in the mid-1960s. He gained fame on two stages: Hollywood and in air races. Early years Ma ...

who flew a

Lockheed Sirius The Lockheed Model 8 Sirius was a single-engined, propeller-driven monoplane designed and built by Jack Northrop and Gerard Vultee while they were engineers at Lockheed in 1929, at the request of Charles Lindbergh. Two versions of the same basic ...

and

Ryan ST The Ryan STs were a series of two seat, low-wing monoplane aircraft built in the United States by the Ryan Aeronautical Company. They were used as sport aircraft, as well as trainers by flying schools and the militaries of several countrie ...

. Mantz was a prolific

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) * Hollywoo ...

"stunt" pilot, although he preferred to call himself a "precision pilot".

Reception

Film reviewer Jerry Blake in ''The Files of Jerry Blake'' described ''Flying G-Men' serial as, , "... the least interesting of Columbia’s five in-house serial productions (the other four being '

Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok ''The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok'' (1938) is a Columbia Pictures movie serial. It was the fourth of the 57 serials released by Columbia and the studio's first Western serial. The serial was the first to be produced by Columbia personn ...

', ' The Spider's Web', '

Overland With Kit Carson ''Overland with Kit Carson'' is a 1939 American Western serial film directed by Norman Deming and Sam Nelson and starring Bill Ellott, Iris Meredith, Richard Fiske and Bobby Clack. Plot When Pegleg and his Black Raiders threaten the westwar ...

', and '

Mandrake the Magician ''Mandrake the Magician'' is a syndicated newspaper comic strip, created by Lee Falk before he created '' The Phantom''. Ron Goulart, ''The Encyclopedia of American Comics''. New York: Facts on File, 1990. . pp. 91, 249–250. ''Mandrake'' be ...

') ... its action scenes are uneven, its lead villains weak, and its plotting often disjointed. However, it remains watchable and enjoyable throughout, thanks to an extremely likeable group of heroes and an unfailingly fast pace."Blake, Jerry
"Review: 'Flying G-Men'."
''The Files of Jerry Blake'', November 12, 2013. Retrieved: July 12, 2019. According to many serial and comics historians, the Black Falcon character is a precursor to Blackhawk, including author

William Schoell William Schoell (pronounced ) is an American author, biographer and film historian, born in Manhattan and educated in Vermont, earning a B.A. from Castleton University. A cult horror author known for his visceral, energetic and graphic style, h ...

who said, "It is hard not to notice the resemblance between the Black Falcon and comic books' Blackhawk, but the latter character did not actually appear until 1941 Blackhawk''_in_1952.html" ;"title="The Miraculous Blackhawk: Freedom's Champion">Blackhawk'' in 1952">The Miraculous Blackhawk: Freedom's Champion">Blackhawk'' in 1952 meaning the Black Falcon came first."

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Cline, William C. "Filmography". ''In the Nick of Time''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1984. . * Farmer, James H. ''Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation''. Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania: Tab Books Inc., 1984. . * Rainey, Buck. ''Serials and Series: A World Filmography, 1912–1956''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2010. . * Weiss, Ken and Ed Goodgold. ''To be Continued ...: A Complete Guide to Motion Picture Serials''. New York: Bonanza Books, 1973. . * Wynne, H. Hugh. ''The Motion Picture Stunt Pilots and Hollywood's Classic Aviation Movies.'' Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1987. .

External links

* * {{Ray Taylor (director) 1939 films 1930s English-language films American black-and-white films American aviation films Columbia Pictures film serials Films directed by James W. Horne Films directed by Ray Taylor American action adventure films 1930s action adventure films 1930s American films