In addition to the films Submarine and Flight, Frank Capra directed a third film with both Jack Holt and Ralph Graves: Dirigible. Originally set to be a follow-up to Wings at Paramount, it was eventually sold to poverty row Columbia. It's a heroic adventure story about competing naval officers who attempt to be the first to reach the South Pole. Holt attempts to do it via dirigible and Graves tries the conventional way by ship and sea plane. In between them there's a girl of course: Fay Wray. In their films together, Holt is always the more experienced individual offering some gentlemanly levity to a given situation; where as, Graves is often the young hothead recruit or inexperienced pilot who needs his wings clipped.
In Dirigible, Capra features the airship throughout the film, and it's probably one of the few films to do so. Lots of aerial footage of Holt commanding the dirigible and Graves as a pilot move the creaky plot forward. The film was actually based on a real life incident and adapted by Jo Swerling and Dorothy Howell based on Frank Wead's story. As in many films from this period, an obligatory romantic subplot is tacked on, which kind of detracts from the film. Fay Wray is Helen Pierce, Graves' wife. The script fails Wray as she acts discombobulated throughout the film. She lives Graves, but can't stand the danger he readily embraces. Meanwhile, good guy Holt, who plays second fiddle, offers a shoulder to cry on and rescues the big lug Graves on top of it, but he doesn't get the girl. OK as entertainment, but a notch below most of Capra's efforts. **1/2 of 4 stars.
In Dirigible, Capra features the airship throughout the film, and it's probably one of the few films to do so. Lots of aerial footage of Holt commanding the dirigible and Graves as a pilot move the creaky plot forward. The film was actually based on a real life incident and adapted by Jo Swerling and Dorothy Howell based on Frank Wead's story. As in many films from this period, an obligatory romantic subplot is tacked on, which kind of detracts from the film. Fay Wray is Helen Pierce, Graves' wife. The script fails Wray as she acts discombobulated throughout the film. She lives Graves, but can't stand the danger he readily embraces. Meanwhile, good guy Holt, who plays second fiddle, offers a shoulder to cry on and rescues the big lug Graves on top of it, but he doesn't get the girl. OK as entertainment, but a notch below most of Capra's efforts. **1/2 of 4 stars.