Parachute Jumper
| Parachute Jumper | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Alfred E. Green |
| Produced by | Darryl F. Zanuck (uncredited) |
| Screenplay by | John Francis Larkin |
| Based on | an original story by Rian James |
| Starring |
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Bette Davis Frank McHugh |
| Music by |
Vitaphone Orchestra conducted by Leo F. Forbstein |
| Cinematography | James Van Trees |
| Edited by | Ray Curtiss |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. |
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Release date
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Running time
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65 minutes (also listed as 70 and 73 minutes) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Parachute Jumper is an American Pre-Code black-and-white drama film directed in 1933 by Alfred E. Green. It stars Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Bette Davis and Frank McHugh. It was based on a story by Rian James entitled "Some Call It Love".
United States Marine Corps Lieutenants and pilots Bill Keller (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.) and "Toodles" Cooper (Frank McHugh) are shot down in the skies over Nicaragua. When they are found drunk and unharmed in a cantina, they and the Marine Corps go their separate ways. They are offered jobs as commercial pilots, but when they arrive in New York City, they find their would-be employer has gone bankrupt.
Unemployed and almost out of money, they meet blonde Southerner Patricia "Alabama" Brent (Bette Davis). Keller convinces her to share their apartment to save on expenses.
Keller narrowly escapes death when he parachute jumps for some money. Next, he becomes the chauffeur for Mrs. Newberry (Claire Dodd), the mistress of gangster Kurt Weber (Leo Carrillo). She makes it clear that she expects more than just being driven around by him. Weber comes in and finds Mrs. Newberry kissing Keller. He kicks her out, but is impressed by the cool way Keller handles himself when threatened with a gun. Weber hires him as his bodyguard. By chance, Alabama gets hired by Weber as a secretary.
Later, Keller and Cooper become entangled in Weber's smuggling schemes, flying in contraband from Canada. On the return trip, Keller shoots down two airplanes who intercept and fire upon him, thinking they are hijackers when they are really part of the Border Patrol. Fortunately, there are no fatalities.
Weber and his henchman Steve Donovan (Harold Huber) set a trap for two disgruntled, unpaid ex-employees; Donovan guns them down in cold blood, intending to frame Keller, but Alabama overhears and calls Keller away from the scene. As a result, Keller hands in his resignation, but Weber persuades him and Cooper to make one more delivery for him. After Cooper leaves, Keller learns that they have been smuggling not liquor, but narcotics. The authorities close in on Weber's office; Weber and Keller get away, but Weber leaves Donovan behind to get shot down.
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Wikipedia