It's a small film and so I didn't go in with big expectations or anything, but I was pleasantly surprised at how entertaining it was. The love triangle that forms between a pilot (Richard Barthelmess), his brother (Tom Brown), and a stunt parachutist (Sally Eilers) is well played and has its nice moments. One of the central points of conflict is that Barthelmess wants to enjoy a physical relationship with Eilers by slipping through the door to their adjoining hotel rooms while they're on their barnstorming tours, but not marry because he doesn't feel it's right given his dangerous career, as well as because "If you're hungry, you don't buy a restaurant," as he so bluntly puts it. The film also has quite a bit of footage of aerial stunts with old biplanes, as well as indications of just how dangerous it was to fly before technology like radar was available.
Barthelmess isn't going to blow anyone away with his charisma, but he delivers the right amount of earnestness and sacrifice in the big moments. Brown was 20 but looked about 15, so frankly he's a little bit of an odd fit. As for Eilers, I like seeing her in films from this period; she's lesser known but has a degree of magnetism about her. As this film is pre-Code, it's made clear that her character has slept with both men, but there's no shame in it because of the circumstances, which is refreshing. In one great scene, Barthelmess shows up at his brother's hotel room and lets himself in with his own room key, because the desk clerk tells him the keys are all the same (what?!), which has an interesting outcome. There is a fair bit of melodrama, some unimaginative ways of showing time passing by from Wellman, and some implausible events, but how the romance plays out in such a conflicted way leads to a touching ending.
Barthelmess isn't going to blow anyone away with his charisma, but he delivers the right amount of earnestness and sacrifice in the big moments. Brown was 20 but looked about 15, so frankly he's a little bit of an odd fit. As for Eilers, I like seeing her in films from this period; she's lesser known but has a degree of magnetism about her. As this film is pre-Code, it's made clear that her character has slept with both men, but there's no shame in it because of the circumstances, which is refreshing. In one great scene, Barthelmess shows up at his brother's hotel room and lets himself in with his own room key, because the desk clerk tells him the keys are all the same (what?!), which has an interesting outcome. There is a fair bit of melodrama, some unimaginative ways of showing time passing by from Wellman, and some implausible events, but how the romance plays out in such a conflicted way leads to a touching ending.