Air Mail

As Christmas storms gather, the under-pressure manager of an air mail depot is forced to accept a selfish, boastful foe as one of his new pilots. Ralph Bellamy makes a bland and colourless leading man in a movie that suffers from comparison with Only Angels Have Wings, which is based on the same story by Frank Wead and Dale Van Every. Pat O'Brien doesn't fare much better - he was never particularly convincing in roles that called upon him to be cocky and arrogant - and only Lilian Bond as the unhappy wife of a pilot who falls for O'Brien's dubious charms makes a positive impression, although there is something to be said for Slim Summerville's unerring aim with chewing tobacco and a spittoon (ptooh! ding!!). It starts strongly with an impressive air crash and some insane aerial acrobatics in one of those flimsy-looking biplanes, but there's little else of interest.