Main Cast: Chester Morris, Whitney Bourne, Onslow Stevens, Richard Lane, Van Heflin
Release Year: 1937
Country: US
Run Time: 66 minutes
Plot
This laudable RKO programmer casts Chester Morris as a fearless pilot whose misdeeds have exiled him to a remote flying field in the Andes mountains. Morris and his fellow pilots are all exiles of sorts, and as such are willing to take on the near-suicidal task of flying supplies to miners in the most treacherous mountain ranges. The all-male atmosphere is disrupted when young air ace Van Heflin shows up with his wife Whitney Bourne. Morris tries to keep the sex-starved pilots away from Whitney, buts ends up falling in love with her himself. Heflin proves himself a weakling, but redeems himself by eliminating evil flight-commander Onslow Stevens. Heflin also dies in this endeavor, leaving a clear path for Morris and Bourne. One could point to Flight From Glory as the precursor to Howard Hawks' more famous Only Angels Have Wings, except that the earlier film succumbs to corniness and cliche a bit too often. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Flight From Glory is a 1937B movie about a run-down air cargo company in South America in the early days of aviation.
Plot
Ellis (Onslow Stevens) runs an air service transporting supplies from a tiny, remote outpost over the Andes Mountains to some mines, using worn-out planes and pilots no one else will employ. He hires George Wilson (Van Heflin), and is surprised when he brings his new wife Lee (Whitney Bourne). Chief pilot Paul Smith (Chester Morris) tries to get her to leave, but the Wilsons have no money. As time goes on, George proves to be a drunk. Paul protects him as best he can, as he has fallen in love with Lee. She eventually confesses that she loves him.
When George is too drunk to fly, Garth Hilton (Douglas Walton) takes his place and is killed in yet another crash. George then forces Ellis at gunpoint into an airplane and takes off. In the mountains, George jumps to his death, leaving Ellis to die like too many others he had hired. Paul and Lee leave together.
