Having seen thousands of older movies, I can't help but think that this movie seems like many other films of the era, as several the main plot ideas has been often repeated. Here it is in a nutshell: An airline pilot (Richard Barthelmess) is blamed for his plane crashing and is forced to find other work. Eventually, he joins a woman in a traveling barnstorming show. It's obvious they care a lot for each other, but the man foolishly tells her that people in their dangerous line of work shouldn't marry. Soon, his brother (who literally looks to be only about 16 years-old) comes to work with them and eventually the brother and the lady marry--leaving Barthelmess feeling pretty rotten as he's tremendously attracted to his partner/new sister-in-law. So, he quits the air circus and goes abroad--taking any dangerous job he can find. At the same time, his newly married brother finds more responsible work flying for an airline. But, when the brother's plane is lost, Barthelmess just happens to be nearby and at tremendous risk to himself saves the brother and the surviving passengers. However, at the end, Barthelmess is still the "5th wheel" and disappears--back to a life of crazy and dangerous flying in order to exorcise this woman from his memory.
The film is obviously a soap opera and is pretty entertaining though very predictable and clichéd. Barthelmess is fine in the lead, but he looked a lot cooler towards the end of the film, as he wore a nifty eye-patch--though I wondered how with his lack of depth perception he was able to fly so well! Oh well, this isn't the sort of film that logical details are that important.
By the way, there is a plane crash scene about midway through the movie and if you look closely, you'll notice that the biplane (with 2 wings) becomes a monoplane (with only 1) on impact! Sloppy stuff, but still worth a look.
The film is obviously a soap opera and is pretty entertaining though very predictable and clichéd. Barthelmess is fine in the lead, but he looked a lot cooler towards the end of the film, as he wore a nifty eye-patch--though I wondered how with his lack of depth perception he was able to fly so well! Oh well, this isn't the sort of film that logical details are that important.
By the way, there is a plane crash scene about midway through the movie and if you look closely, you'll notice that the biplane (with 2 wings) becomes a monoplane (with only 1) on impact! Sloppy stuff, but still worth a look.