West Point of the Air
| West Point of the Air | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Richard Rosson |
| Produced by | Monta Bell |
| Screenplay by |
Frank Wead Arthur J. Beckhard |
| Story by | James Kevin McGuinness John Monk Saunders |
| Starring |
Wallace Beery Robert Young Lewis Stone Maureen O'Sullivan |
| Music by | Charles Maxwell |
| Cinematography |
Clyde De Vinna Charles A. Marshall |
| Edited by | Frank Sullivan |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
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Release date
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Running time
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89 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $591,000 |
| Box office | $1,317,000 |
West Point of the Air (1935) is a film starring Wallace Beery about pilot training in the U.S. Army Air Corps in the early 1930s. The supporting cast includes Robert Young, Lewis Stone, Maureen O'Sullivan, Rosalind Russell, and Robert Taylor in one of his earliest roles. The movie was directed by Richard Rosson.
At Randolph Field, Texas, Master Sergeant "Big Mike" Stone (Wallace Beery) has aspirations for his son, "Little Mike" (Robert Young) to follow in his footsteps as an aviator. Following graduation from West Point, Little Mike, along with his best friend, Phil Carter (Russell Hardie), enter pilot training at Randolph Field, commanded by Phil's father, General Carter (Lewis Stone), but complications soon arise.
Little Mike has a childhood sweetheart, Phil's sister, "Skip" (Maureen O'Sullivan) but is also being pursued by divorcee Dare Marshall (Rosalind Russell). Returning from a late date with Dare the next morning, Little Mike's car causes Phil to crash during his solo flight, which ends with Phil losing a leg. Seeing what may happen after a crash, General Carter orders all the flying cadets into the air so they won't lose their nerve. Little Mike, blaming himself for his friend's accident, loses control during a flight check while landing in a cross-wind, destroying his landing gear and causing another aircraft flown by his friend "Jasky" Jaskarelli (Robert Taylor) to crash in flames. Big Mike takes to the sky to bring his son back safely but strikes him when Little Mike breaks down in hysterics. Big Mike is court-martialed and dishonorably discharged from the service.
Having lost his nerve and planning to resign from the army, Little Mike comes upon his father, now a drunk and toiling as a mechanic. Trying to help his son once again, Big Mike takes his place on a flare dropping mission flying his own aircraft, a beat up old war surplus airplane. The plane breaks up under the stress of a diving maneuver. Big Mike crashes into the water, and his son comes to his aid in a daring underwater rescue and proves his mettle. The Secretary of War recognizes both men's valor, reinstates Big Mike to his former rank, and allows Little Mike to graduate. Dare disapproves of Little Mike staying in the army, but he rejects her, realizing that Skip is his true love.
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