''The Air Legion'' is a 1929 aviation silent film about

airmail Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of at least one leg of its journey being by air. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be t ...

produced and distributed by

Film Booking Offices of America Film Booking Offices of America (FBO), registered as FBO Pictures Corp., was an American film studio of the silent era, a midsize producer and distributor of mostly low-budget films. The business began in 1918 as Robertson-Cole, an Anglo-Americ ...

(FBO) and was released just as FBO was being turned into RKO Pictures. In Canada, the film was distributed by the Alliance Communications Corporation. Aviation historian Michael Paris considered the film as "virtually the last silent film" on the topic of airmail flying.

Bert Glennon Bert Lawrence Glennon (November 19, 1893 – June 29, 1967) was an American cinematographer and film director. He directed ''Syncopation'' (1929), the first film released by RKO Radio Pictures. Biography Glennon was born in Anaconda, Mont ...

, a director and cinematographer, directed the film. ''The Air Legion'' stars

Antonio Moreno Antonio Garrido Monteagudo (September 26, 1887 – February 15, 1967), better known as Antonio Moreno or Tony Moreno, was a Spanish-born American actor and film director of the silent film era and through the 1950s. Early life and silent fil ...

Ben Lyon Ben Lyon (February 6, 1901 – March 22, 1979) was an American film actor and a studio executive at 20th Century-Fox who later acted in British radio, films and TV. Early life and career Lyon was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Alvine ...

and

Martha Sleeper Martha Sleeper (June 24, 1910 – March 25, 1983) was a film actress of the 1920s–1930s and, later, a Broadway stage actress. She studied dancing for five years with Russian ballet master, Louis H. Chalif, at his New York dancing studio. ...

Plot

Airmail pilot Steve Rogers (

) mentors young Dave Grayson (

), the son of Steve's late commander in the

United States 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 r ...

. On his first flight, Dave flies into a raging storm and crashes. Thinking of himself a coward after the rough flight, Dave seeks to redeem himself. Steve covers for him and campaigns for Dave getting another chance but he again fails. In a vain attempt to avoid flying supplies to the victims of a tornado, Dave attempts to shoot himself in the leg. With Steve's help, Dave regains his courage, later saving Steve's life. Dave wins the love of Steve's girl, Sally (

), and Steve gives them his blessing.

Cast

as Steve Rogers *

as Dave Grayson *

as Sally * John Gough as McGonigle *

Colin Chase Colin Chase (April 13, 1886 – April 25, 1937) was an American silent film actor. Biography Born in 1886 in Lewiston, Idaho, Chase signed for his first film role in 1915 and starred in about 45 films. In 1916, he signed a long-term contract ...

as Field Manager

Reception

Aviation film historian James H. Farmer in ''Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation'' (1984) characterized ''The Air Legion'' as a "superior film of the period" with "refreshingly credible elements." Aviation film historian Stephen Pendo, however, considered it a minor film, but yet an accurate example of the true dangers of flying the airmail. After a spate of aviation films that focused on aerial robbery as the main impediment, ''The Air Legion'' centered on the true issue, flying in inclement weather that threatened the safe delivery of airmail. ''The Air Legion'' is preserved in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

at the Cinema Museum."American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: 'The Air Legion'."
''The Library of Congress''. Retrieved: February 4, 2017.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Farmer, James H. ''Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation'' (1st ed.). Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania: TAB Books 1984. . * 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

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lobby poster
{{DEFAULTSORT:Air Legion, The 1929 films American aviation films American silent feature films Film Booking Offices of America films American black-and-white films Films directed by Bert Glennon 1920s American films