Tailspin Tommy (serial)

Tailspin Tommy
Tailspin Tommy
Directed by	Lew Landers (as Louis Friedlander)
Written by	Ella O'Neill (screenplay); Vin Moore; Basil Dickey; Norman S. Hall; Robert Hershon; George H. Plympton
Based on	Tailspin Tommy; by Hal Forrest
Produced by	Milton Gatzert; Henry MacRae (associate)
Starring	Maurice Murphy; Noah Beery, Jr.; Patricia Farr; Walter Miller; Grant Withers
Cinematography	Richard Fryer; William A. Sickner
Edited by	Albert Akst; Irving Applebaum; Saul A. Goodkind; Edward Todd
Production; company	Universal Pictures
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	October 29, 1934;
Running time	12 chapters (248 minutes)
Country	United States
Language	English

Tailspin Tommy is a 12-episode 1934 Universal film serial based on the Tailspin Tommy comic strip by Hal Forrest.^[1] Directed by Lew Landers and produced by Milton Gatzert, the serial was the 97th serial of the 137 released by that studio (and the 24th with sound). The plot of Tailspin Tommy concerns a conflict over a government airmail contract.^{[N 1]}

Plot

Two cargo airlines clash over a government mail contract. "Tailspin" Tommy (Maurice Murphy), a young mechanic, gets a job with Three Points Airlines, which wins the contract. Their opponents resort to sabotage in order to have the contract for themselves. Wade "Tiger" Taggart (John Davidson) becomes their enemy, a man who will do anything to stop the airline from doing business.

After Tommy becomes a pilot, he prevents a runaway aircraft from crashing into a crowd of children, among other adventures that put him into the public eye. Eventually Taggert and his gang are brought to justice. Tommy goes on to win a movie contract, and win the heart of his sweetheart Betty Lou Barnes (Patricia Farr).

Cast

Maurice Murphy as "Tailspin" Tommy Tompkins
Noah Beery, Jr. as Peter "Skeeter" Milligan
Patricia Farr as Betty Lou Barnes
Walter Miller as Bruce Hoyt
Grant Withers as Milt Howe
Charles A. Browne as Paul Smith
Bryant Washburn as Mr Grant, director of Midnight Patrol
Belle Daube as Mrs Martha Tompkins, Tommy's mother
John Davidson as Wade "Tiger" Taggart
Harrison Greene as the Air circus announcer
William Desmond as Sloane, Taggart's office henchman
Lew Kelly as Victor Martin, Three Point airport dispatcher
John Ince as Eric Peabody, one of Taggart's henchmen
Lee Beggs as Deacon Grimes
Ethan Laidlaw as Bart Dirk, one of Taggart's henchmen

Chapter titles

Death Flies the Mail
The Mail Goes Through
Sky bandits
The Copper Room
The Night Flight
The Baited Trap
Tommy to the Rescue
The Thrill of Death
The Earth God's Roar
Death at the Controls
Rushing Waters
Littleville's Big Day

_Source:^[3]

Production

Tailspin Tommy was the first serial to be based on a comic strip. From 1936 to 1945, Universal almost made more serial adaptations of comic strips than both of their rivals, Columbia and Republic, combined.^[4]^[5] Jimmy Allen was a rival radio serial character to the Tailspin Tommy newspaper strip. He featured in the film The Sky Parade. Grant Withers played the sidekick in this film as well as both Tailspin Tommy serials.^[6]

The aircraft used in Tailspin Tommy included:

Stearman C2B, c/n n110, NC4099
Travel Air B 4000, c/n 1337, NC406N and c / n 1323, NC688K
Great Lakes 2T1 A, c/n 243, NC11326
Fleet 7
Douglas M2
Curtiss Fledgling, c/n 69, N465K
Waco ATO, c/n A-122, NC925H
Travel Air R Mystery Plane
American Eagle A-101
Alexander Eaglerock A2, c / n 207, NC1412
Fokker Super Universal
Boeing P-12 (archive footage) ^[7]

Stunts

Reception

William C. Cline wrote In the Nick of Tome that Tailspin Tommy was a success, partly due to name recognition.^[5] The serial was faithful to its roots and while "other serials were based on comic heroes that have long been forgotten, Hal Forrest's 'Tailspin Tommy' strip ran from 1928 to 1942. Dashing aviator Tommy, his sidekick Skeeter and his girlfriend Betty Lou Barnes ran Three Point Airlines, named after the perfect landing technique. Universal invested heavily in the franchise. Maurice Murphy played Tommy for 1934's Tailspin Tommy serial, and four 1939 feature films starred John Trent as the intrepid airman."^[8]

References

Notes

^ Along with Mascot Pictures, the lowly "poverty row" studio, Universal Pictures became the only major studio committed to the serial format in the 1930s.^[2]

Citations

^ Weiss and Goodgold 1973, p. 55.
^ Weiss and Goodgold 1973, p. I.
^ Cline 1984, p. 211.
^ Stedman 1971, p. 65.
^ ^a ^b Cline 1984, pp. 15, 18.
^ Harmon and Glut 1973, p. 143.
^ Santoir, Christian. "Review: 'Tailspin Tommy'." aeromovies.com, October 17, 2010. Retrieved: July 9, 2019.
^ "Articles: 'Tailspin Tommy'." TCM, 2019. Retrieved: July 9, 2019.

Bibliography

Cline, William C. "2. In Search of Ammunition"; "Filmography". In the Nick of Time. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1984. ISBN 0-7864-0471-X.
Harmon, Jim and Donald F. Glut. "7. The Aviators "Land That Plane at Once, You Crazy Fool"". The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury. London: Routledge, 1973. ISBN 978-0-7130-0097-9.
Stedman, Raymond William. "3. At This Theater Next Week". Serials: Suspense and Drama By Installment. University of Oklahoma Press, 1971. ISBN 978-0-8061-0927-5.
Weiss, Ken and Ed Goodgold. To be Continued ...: A Complete Guide to Motion Picture Serials. New York: Bonanza Books, 1973. ISBN 0-517-166259.