Murder in the Clouds
| Murder in the Clouds | |
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| Directed by | D. Ross Lederman |
| Produced by | Samuel Bischoff |
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| Edited by | Thomas Pratt |
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| Distributed by | Warner Brothers |
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61 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Murder in the Clouds is a 1934 American action film dealing with aviation. The film stars Lyle Talbot and Ann Dvorak, and is directed by D. Ross Lederman. Although standard formula "B" film fare, it was notable as the screenplay and original story was written by Dore Schary as a freelance writer, during one of his periods when he was fired from a more prestigious film job. Schary was a director, writer, producer and playwright who later became head of production at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and eventually president of the studio. Equally important on Murder in the Clouds was the work of Elmer Dyer who had become a preeminent aviation cinematographer.
Trans-America Air Lines pilot "Three Star" Bob Halsey (Lyle Talbot) is in love with stewardess Judy Wagner (Ann Dvorak), but she wants him to stop his daredevil ways. So does his boss, Lackey (Charles C. Wilson). He pays neither any mind.
When Brownell (Henry O'Neill) gives Lackey an urgent assignment from the U.S. government, Lackey chooses Bob and Judy's brother, Tom (Robert Light) to secretly fly Clement Williams (Edward McWade) and a cylinder containing a revolutionary explosive he has invented, to Washington, D.C., guarded by government agents. Jason (Arthur Pierson), a spy working as Lackey's assistant, alerts Taggart (Russell Hicks), the ringleader, about the flight.
While waiting in his regular bar, Bob is provoked into a fight with three men and knocked out. Another pilot, George Wexley (Gordon Westcott), offers to fly with Tom. Over the lower Sierras, the airliner explodes.
Bob and Lackey fly to the crash site, where Bob finds Tom's cap. Frantic for news of her brother, Judy attempts to drive to the site, but is waylaid by imposters posing as government men. She is taken to Taggart and Wexley, who works for him, and reveals that he escaped the explosion by bailing out at the last moment. Wexley tells Judy that her brother is still alive and that he is going to Tijuana to identify fake government agents who were implicated in the theft. The false story was used to convince Judy to go to Mexico, with the recovered explosive cylinder hidden in her car.
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Wikipedia