Women in the Wind
| Women in the Wind | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | John Farrow |
| Written by | George Bricker (contributing writer) Lawrence Kimble (contributor to treatment) |
| Screenplay by | Lee Katz Albert DeMond |
| Produced by | Bryan Foy |
| Starring | Kay Francis William Gargan Victor Jory |
| Cinematography | Sidney Hickox |
| Edited by | Thomas Pratt |
| Music by | M.K. Jerome |
Production company | Warner Bros. |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 65 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Women in the Wind is a 1939 film directed by John Farrow, starring Kay Francis, William Gargan and Victor Jory. The plot revolves around women pilots competing in the so-called "Powder Puff Derby", an annual transcontinental air race solely for women.[Note 1]
Plot
The women's air derby from Los Angeles to Cleveland means a lot to young aviator Janet Steele (Kay Francis), who uses every trick in the book to persuade pilot Ace Boreman (William Gargan) to lend her his very fast aircraft. Ace is reluctant, but Janet steals his craft to demonstrate her skill. He also learns that she is the sister of Bill Steele (Charles Anthony Hughes), a distinguished pilot.
Complications ensue when Ace's estranged wife, Frieda (Sheila Bromley), pops up to say their divorce is not yet final. The aircraft remains half hers, and she intends to go after the derby's $15,000 first prize herself. Ace is able to convince his buddy Denny Corson (Eddie Foy, Jr.) to let Janet use his home-built aircraft instead.
The race starts off badly with Janet's friend Kit Campbell (Eve Arden) crashing. Rescuing her causes Janet to lose time. Frieda is jealous of Janet and tries a number of ways to sabotage her flight. After being brought down by a fuel leak, one of the landing gears on Janet's aircraft is torn off after a forced landing and takeoff. Frieda, however, forfeits her own opportunity to win by helping Janet, who is able to land her damaged aircraft, and managing to take first place. After Frieda announces that her divorce has been granted in Mexico, Janet wins Ace as well as the race.
Cast
- Kay Francis as Janet Steele
- William Gargan as Ace Boreman
- Eve Arden as Kit Campbell
- Sheila Bromley as Frieda
- Eddie Foy, Jr. as Denny Corson
- Victor Jory as Doc
- Maxie Rosenbloom as "Stuffy" McInnes
- Sheila Bromley as Frieda Boreman
- Charles Anthony Hughes as Bill Steele
- Frankie Burke as Johnnie
- Spencer Charters as Farmer
- Vera Lewis as Farmer's Wife
- William Gould as Palmer
- Gordon Hart as Air Races Official
- Ila Rhodes as Joan
Production
Based on the novel of the same name by Frances Walton, the screenplay for Women in the Wind was loosely based on the 1929 Women's Air Derby, the first official women-only air race in the United States held during the 1929 National Air Races. A total of 19 pilots took off from Santa Monica, California on August 18, 1929 (another left the next day) with 15 pilots continuing to Cleveland, Ohio, landing nine days later.[3] A number of scenes utilized footage from record-breaking round-the-world and transatlantic flights.[4] Aircraft for the film were provided by Hollywood film pilot Howard Blatt.[5]
Women in the Wind was the last Warner Bros. contract film for Kay Francis.[4] The film represented the culmination of her longstanding feud with the studio bosses. Once an A-list star, Francis was frustrated with the roles Warner Bros. had given her in the late 1930s. The studio considered her "box office poison" and wanted to end her contract but Francis refused, touching off an embarrassing effort to force the star out, even making her act as a prompter for other actors and assigning her to B-list fare such as Women in the Wind. The film did mark an early role for later star, Eve Arden, albeit one that she thought was ludicrous when effects turned her crash landing into an "atom bomb" going off. The fiery crash scene set off guffaws from the test audience who saw her emerge from the blazing wreck with hardly a smudge on her cheek.[6]
Reception
Critically reviewed in The New York Times by Frank S. Nugent, Women in the Wind was considered lackluster and ground-hugging, despite the action being set in an air race. "It is another commonplace little fiction embroidered upon the Powder Puff Derby, the annual transcontinental race for the women fliers, with Kay Francis as the girl who simply has to win the race to get money for her brother's operation. Everything happens according to formula ..."[7] In a later review by film critic and historian Leonard Maltin, he dismissed it as a "Trite programmer." [8]
References
Notes
- ^ Humorist Will Rogers called the 1929 Women's Air Derby, the "Powder Puff Derby", the name by which the race is most commonly known.[2]
Citations
- ^ "Women in the Wind." Abe Books. Retrieved: July 17, 2015.
- ^ Read 1992, p. 11.
- ^ Read 1992, pp. 127, 440.
- ^ a b Pendo 1985, p. 145.
- ^ Wynne 1987, p. 161.
- ^ Arnold, Jeremy. "Articles: 'Women in the Wind' (1939)." Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: July 17, 2015.
- ^ Nugent, Frank S. "Movie Review: Women in the Wind (1939). The Screen, At the Palace. The New York Times, April 13, 1939.
- ^ Maltin, Leonard. "Leonard Maltin Ratings & Review: 'Women in the Wind'. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: July 17, 2015.
Bibliography
- Pendo, Stephen. Aviation in the Cinema. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1985. ISBN 0-8-1081-746-2.
- Read, Phyllis J. The Book of Women's Firsts: Breakthrough Achievements of Almost 1,000 American Women. New York: Random House Information Group, 1992. ISBN 978-0-679-40975-5.
- Wynne, H. Hugh. The Motion Picture Stunt Pilots and Hollywood's Classic Aviation Movies. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1987. ISBN 0-933126-85-9.