Flight 
Directed by Frank Capra
Written by Ralph Graves, Howard J. Green and Frank Capra
1929/US
Columbia Pictures
IMDb page
First viewing/YouTube
Steve Roberts: [On the Nicaraguan rebels] You know damn well what’s going to happen if these people come along and catch you alive.
Too much love triangle. Not enough flying.
Lefty Phelps (Ralph Graves) is infamous for having lost a football game for his college in a “Wrong Way Corrigan” style maneuver. One of the few people sympathetic to Lefty is Panama Williams (Jack Holt). Lefty joins the U.S. Marines. Panama is his flight instructor and befriends him. Lefty washes out as a pilot but becomes a flight mechanic. The two men both fall in love with beautiful nurse Elinor Baring (Lila Lee). Panama is too shy to propose so he sends Lefty to do it for him. But Elinor is actually in love with Lefty. This creates much bitterness on the part of Panama. The two end up in Nicaragua where Panama refuses to fly with Lefty or help rescue him when his plane crashes. Will he relent in time?
This is technically accomplished for its era. The Marines cooperated in the making of the movie and the best parts are the flight scenes. Otherwise, it is kind of dull and clocks in at almost 2 hours – much too long for the story it has to tell.
Colorized clip (full version on YouTube is in the original black and white)
