Rollo Smith and his friend Jack Lane are down on their luck and have stowed away on a train, finding a place in the compartment of ace pilot and writer Robert Story. The conductor ejects Rollo and Jack from the train just where the famous writer is supposed to arrive, and Rollo is mistaken for Story.
Peggy Freeman and May Bunch both vie for Rollo's attention, believing that he is a famous pilot. The girls receive free room and meals at the Palm Inn. Rollo, who has never flown, is invited to fly in an air race as Story against a real aviator, "Ace" Benton, with a chance to win a $25,000 wager. After he somehow lifts the plane off the ground, Rollo can barely control the aircraft. Ferguson, the real pilot whom Peggy had locked in a closet, appears, but Rollo continues to unwittingly perform an aerial show, forcing Ace to abandon the race.
When Peggy accidentally pulls her parachute ring, Rollo joins her as they safely float to earth and he proposes.
The film was originally intended as a musical, but only one song, "My Hero Mine," is featured, sung by Joe E. Brown and Laura Lee. Several other musical numbers are heard in the background throughout the film. The press sheet for the film did not mention "My Hero Mine."[5] During production, many cuts to the film were made, including all of the original music. Two other films featuring Brown, Top Speed (1930) and Sit Tight (1931), met the same fate.[5][Note 1]
A French version titled L'aviateur was released in 1931.[6]
Reception
In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Mordaunt Hall wrote: "It is a farce that depends more upon actions than words, and it was no wonder that the spectators at an early showing of this film actually shrieked with laughter and really rocked in their seats. It is an ingenious affair which is not particularly novel, but the manner in which it is worked out is decidedly clever. There are several episodes that defy anybody to keep a straight face."[7]
Aviation-film historian Stephen Pendo has noted that Going Wild contains a similar theme to that of The Aviator (1929).[8]
Preservation status
Going Wild survives only in the edited version that was released in late 1930 by Warner Bros. The complete film was released intact in countries outside the United States, but it is unknown whether a copy of this full version still exists.
^Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress, (<-book title) p.69 c.1978 by The American Film Institute
^Santoir, Christian. "Going Wild".aeromovies.fr. Retrieved: November 26, 2014.
