The Last Flight (1931)

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Mr. Arkadin
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The Last Flight (1931)

Post by Mr. Arkadin »

Image

The Last Flight solos in prime time thanks to TCM's critics picks festival on 10/20.

When I was introduced to this film by drednm a few years ago, I popped it into the player, not knowing what to expect. A little over an hour later, I felt I'd seen one of the greatest depictions of the effects of war on military men, as four pilots who survive WWI, struggle to adjust to a society in peacetime. I have little time to post right now, but I hope others can comment on this one. It's a great movie that deserves a larger audience.
Gary J.
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Re: The Last Flight (1931)

Post by Gary J. »

I certainly wouldn't categorize it as a great movie but it is definitely engaging and quite moving at times.

The tone is Hemingway-esque, which isn't surprising considering it's a road taken by most films that deal
with the veterans of the First War drinking and carousing to forget. It also isn't surprising that it was written
by John Monk Saunders, author of Wings (1927). He loved two things - aviation and Hemingway. And I
guess Richard Barthelmess since they made three films together in a row (Dawn Patrol, Finger Points
and this film). Barthelmess plays the nominal leader of the sots in his usual downbeat manner but my biggest
problem with the movie is the casting of the rest of his squadron. David Manners, Johnny Mack Brown and
Eliot Nugent do not exactly conjure up the images of fun-loving drunks, much less being one-time daredevil
pilots. And since I bring it up, even though Barthelmess made quite a few interesting films for Warners during
the early 30's I've always found him to be a bit of a stiff in talkies. The best performance in the film is given
by Helen Chandler who is also drinking to forget and keeps up with the boys shot by shot.

So if you can get past the squirrely trio this movie has a lot to offer.

Gary J
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drednm
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Re: The Last Flight (1931)

Post by drednm »

I'll take vanilla.
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pvitari
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Re: The Last Flight (1931)

Post by pvitari »

The Last Flight is one of my most very favorite pre-code Lost Generation movies, and I, er, think David Manners (birth name Rauff de Ryther Daun Acklom) gives an absolutely splendid and heart-rending performance as the pilot who can now only bear to view the world through an alcoholic haze. His smile and his dark glasses hide a world of pain. This, along with his performance in Capra's The Miracle Woman (another wounded WWI vet, blinded but more optimistic, or at least trying to be) makes him one of my most beloved yet not-so-well-known actors of the pre-code era. He came from theater and got started in films when James Whale picked him to play Raleigh in the film version of Journey's End. Also, I don't blame Kay Francis one bit for hiring him as her secretary in Man Wanted. ;) Manners was a fascinating, artistic man who pretty much hated most of what Hollywood handed him and he abandoned the movies for life on a ranch where he wrote novels and works of philosophy, painted and spent time with all sorts of friends. He did continue to do some theater and even television. Eventually he moved back to Los Angeles. He died only a few years ago at the very estimable age of 99. I remember reading some wonderful interviews with him in Scarlet Street Magazine; the interviewer visited him at the retirement home where he was now living and became friends. Manners was pretty crusty in his old age. He could never understand why people were so fascinated by those monster movies he appeared in (The Mummy, Dracula, The Black Cat) -- he thought they were all junk, his characters poorly written and performances bad. Go here for lots more information:

http://www.davidmanners.com/

Love Barthelmess too (who I would say gives a delicate performance... his "stiffness" works perfectly well in this role), and the extremely and wonderfully odd Helen Chandler, who for all her drinking and smoking as party girl Nikki seems to me to be a fragile tiny bird in need of protection.

The movie is just so sad, and its preoccupation with burning the candle at both ends and death was not surprising given its source material, a novel by John Monk Saunders, a pilot, novelist, screenwriter and director who committed suicide in 1940. He also wrote, among other things, the screenplays for Wings, the first Dawn Patrol (the one with Barthelmess and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.--stashed on my DVR awaiting a Warner Achive release), and the devastating The Eagle and the Hawk. It is not hard to see the common threads among all these films. He was married to Fay Wray from 1928-1939.

Our very own Moira Finnie wrote a lovely piece on Saunders: http://moirasthread.blogspot.com/2008/0 ... n-air.html

David Cairns at his Shadowplay blog (http://dcairns.wordpress.com/2008/12/07/spent-bullets/) and Glenn Kenny at his Some Came Running blog (http://somecamerunning.typepad.com/some ... -1931.html) have also enthused about The Last Flight.


The Last Flight been on my list for screencapping for some time and someday I'll even get around to it. :)
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drednm
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Re: The Last Flight (1931)

Post by drednm »

Here's my review on IMDb:

WOW.... this film is excellent. The best "lost generation" film I've seen... perfectly captures the Hemingway/Fitzgerald feeling of hopelessness after WW I. It also boasts several terrific performances. Richard Barthelmess stars with the fragile Helen Chandler, Johnny Mack Brown, David Manners, Elliott Nugent, and Walter Byron as a group that boozes its way from Paris to Lisbon following the war.

Each has his/her wounds (physical or emotional) as they try to get their balance after the hideous war. Chandler's remark whenever she's confused is "I'll take vanilla." The film is full of wry humor and a deep sadness that is palpable.

Barthelmess is solid as always; Brown and Chandler are nothing short of superb. This is the first American film for German actor/director William Dieterle.

A must see film.
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JackFavell
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Re: The Last Flight (1931)

Post by JackFavell »

All I saw before falling asleep was the opening montage - it was brutal, with all that quick cutting - it really showed the horror of war without wasting a second of film. Luckily, I got the movie recorded. Thanks for the recommendations- I would never have noticed it on the schedule without your referrals.
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pvitari
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Re: The Last Flight (1931)

Post by pvitari »

JackFavell, please let us know what you thought after you watch the movie. I'd love to hear your opinions on it!
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intothenitrate
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Re: The Last Flight (1931)

Post by intothenitrate »

I recently secured a copy of this film, having wanted to see it ever since this thread went up. It was definitely worth the wait. It isn't perfect, but what it tries to achieve is so sublime and engaging, it's easy to forgive a few hiccups along the way.

So, everybody knows that it's about four fliers discharged from the service after WWI. Instead of returning back to the States, they decide to hang around Paris until they're 'ready' to go back. Summed up here:
Cary: "What are you going to do now?"
Shep: "Get tight."
Cary: What are you going to do next?"
Shep: "Stay tight."
Once we're shown the chain of events leading up to the epic binge, which includes some rather heavy-handed exposition by an Army doctor, we're introduced to the Helen Chandler character. Her addition to the group converts it into a perpetual-motion drinking machine. (The part's well-written, and she plays it beautifully.) It seems that Cary (Richard Barthelmess) is the only one who knows (if only intuitively) where a wild ride such as this will eventually end up.

What got me the first time I watched this film was how poignantly the cast demonstrated what I would call "the absurdity code," that is, the strict avoidance of any topic related to what's tearing you up inside. Points are awarded for the most aggressive forms of whimsy. David Manners and Helen Chandler convey this perfectly--so does Johnny Mack Brown, in his own, less subtle way. But you can't get swept up in the hilarity because it's so deadly serious.

What struck me about the Helen Chandler character Nikki was that she was in every way an equal in the group. On a superficial level, maybe she even had some extra 'rank'--she's young, pretty and rich. But the boys' sense of normalcy is so disrupted, no one seriously vies for her attention [except for that extra guy, the villian]. She's much more important to them as one who upholds (and excels at) "the code." Even Cary, whom she gravitates towards most, seems pretty much untouched by any romantic impulses. Nikki's equal footing with the group comes from the depths of her own suffering. I don't know if this was a thesis of the writer or not, but what I got was, whether your internal torment comes from (objectively) horrific, external events (like the war), or (seemingly) small events--like being made to wear ill-fitting shoes or feeling a lack of love and approval--it's all equal. [There may have been even darker traumas in Nikki's life that weren't brought out.] Put another way, it doesn't matter what causes the suffering; what matters is how deeply it is felt. That's what I'm trying to say.

I can't praise David Manners' performance enough. It's the best role I've seen him in. After reading more about Chandler, I get the feeling that we're seeing art imitate life in this picture. She makes the film extra powerful...and even more sad.

P.S. I got to like these characters so well, I'm liable to watch the film again, just to see if it might end differently next time.
"Immorality may be fun, but it isn't fun enough to take the place of one hundred percent virtue and three square meals a day."
Goodnight Basington
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knitwit45
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Re: The Last Flight (1931)

Post by knitwit45 »

I got to like these characters so well, I'm liable to watch the film again, just to see if it might end differently next time.
Welcome to my world!!! :lol: :lol: I STILL live in hope that Ilsa will stay with Rick :oops: :oops: :oops:
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intothenitrate
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Re: The Last Flight (1931)

Post by intothenitrate »

...or that Fritz wouldn't drop the brain!
"Immorality may be fun, but it isn't fun enough to take the place of one hundred percent virtue and three square meals a day."
Goodnight Basington
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knitwit45
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Re: The Last Flight (1931)

Post by knitwit45 »

YEP! :shock: :shock: :shock:
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