Tailspin Tommy 1934: Movie and film review from Answers.com

Tailspin Tommy
Directed by	Lew Landers
Produced by	Milton Gatzert Henry MacRae (associate)
Written by	Ella O'Neill Vin Moore Basil Dickey Norman S. Hall Robert Hershon George H. Plympton Hal Forrest (comic strip)
Starring	Maurice Murphy Noah Beery, Jr. Patricia Farr Walter Miller Grant Withers
Cinematography	Richard Fryer William A. Sickner
Editing by	Albert Akst Irving Applebaum Saul A. Goodkind Edward Todd
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	29 October 1934
Running time	12 chapters (248 min)
Country	United States
Language	English
Followed by	Tailspin Tommy in the Great Air Mystery

Tailspin Tommy (1934) is a Universal film serial based on the Tailspin Tommy comic strip by Hal Forrest. It was the 97th serial of the 137 released by that studio (and the 24th with sound). The plot concerns a conflict over a government airmail contract.

1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production
- 3.1 Stunts
4 Critical reception
5 Chapter titles
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

Plot

Two cargo airlines clash over a government mail contract. "Tailspin" Tommy, a young mechanic, gets a job with Three Points Airlines, who win the contract. Their opponents resort to sabotage in order to have the contact for themselves.

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

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.^[1]^[2] Jimmy Allen was a rival radio serial character to the Tailspin Tommy newspaper strip. He featured in the film Sky Parade. Grant Withers played the sidekick in this film as well as both Tailspin Tommy serials.^[3]

Stunts

George DeNormand
George Magrill

Critical reception

Tailspin Tommy was a success, partly due to name recognition.^[2]

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:^[4]

References

^ Stedman, Raymond William. "3. At This Theater Next Week". Serials: Suspense and Drama By Installment. University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 65. ISBN 9780806109275.
^ ^a ^b Cline, William C.. "2. In Search of Ammunition". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc.. pp. 15, 18. ISBN 078640471X.
^ Harmon, Jim; Donald F. Glut. "7. The Aviators "Land That Plane at Once, You Crazy Fool"". The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury. Routledge. pp. 143. ISBN 9780713000979.
^ Cline, William C.. "Filmography". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc.. pp. 211. ISBN 078640471X.

External links

Tailspin Tommy at the Internet Movie Database
Tailspin Tommy at Allmovie

Preceded by The Red Rider (1934)	Universal Serial Tailspin Tommy (1934)	Succeeded by Rustlers of Red Dog (1935)

Universal serials

Serials

Silent Serials (1914-1929)	Lucille Love, Girl of Mystery • The Master Key • The Trey o' Hearts • The Black Box • The Broken Coin • Graft • Under the Crescent • The Adventures of Peg o' the Ring • Liberty • The Mystery Ship • The Red Ace • The Gray Ghost • The Voice on the Wire • The Brass Bullet • Bull's Eye • The Lion's Claws • Lure of the Circus • The Red Glove • The Great Radium Mystery • The Lion Man • The Midnight Man • The Flaming Disc • The Moon Riders • King of the Circus • The Vanishing Dagger • The Dragon's Net • The Diamond Queen • Do or Die • The Secret Four • Terror Trail • The White Horseman • Winners of the West • The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe • In the Days of Buffalo Bill • Perils of the Yukon • The Radio King • With Stanley in Africa • Around the World in Eighteen Days • Beasts of Paradise • The Eagle's Talons • The Ghost City • In the Days of Daniel Boone • The Oregon Trail • The Phantom Fortune • The Social Buccaneer • The Steel Trail • The Fast Express • The Fighting Ranger • The Iron Man • The Riddle Rider • Wolves of the North • Ace of Spades • The Great Circus Mystery • The Scarlet Streak • Fighting with Buffalo Bill • Strings of Steel • The Winking Idol • Blake of Scotland Yard • The Fire Fighters • The Return of the Riddle Rider • The Trail of the Tiger • Whispering Smith Rides • Haunted Island • Tarzan the Mighty • The Vanishing Rider • The Diamond Master • A Final Reckoning • The Pirate of Panama

Part-sound Serials (1929-1930)	The Ace of Scotland Yard • Tarzan the Tiger • The Jade Box • The Lightning Express • Terry of the Times • The Indians Are Coming

Pre-war Sound Serials (1931-1942)	Finger Prints • Heroes of the Flames • Danger Island • Battling with Buffalo Bill • The Spell of the Circus • Detective Lloyd • The Airmail Mystery • Heroes of the West • The Jungle Mystery • The Lost Special • Clancy of the Mounted • The Phantom of the Air • Gordon of Ghost City • The Perils of Pauline • Pirate Treasure • The Vanishing Shadow • The Red Rider • Tailspin Tommy • Rustlers of Red Dog • The Call of the Savage • The Roaring West • Tailspin Tommy in the Great Air Mystery • The Adventures of Frank Merriwell • Flash Gordon • The Phantom Rider • Ace Drummond • Jungle Jim • Secret Agent X-9 • Wild West Days • Radio Patrol • Tim Tyler's Luck • Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars • Flaming Frontiers • Red Barry • Scouts to the Rescue • Buck Rogers • The Oregon Trail • The Phantom Creeps • The Green Hornet • Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe • Winners of the West • Junior G-Men • The Green Hornet Strikes Again! • Sky Raiders • Riders of Death Valley • Sea Raiders

War-time Serials (1942-1945)	Don Winslow of the Navy • Gang Busters • Junior G-Men of the Air • Overland Mail • The Adventures of Smilin' Jack • Don Winslow of the Coast Guard • Adventures of the Flying Cadets • The Great Alaskan Mystery • Raiders of Ghost City • Mystery of the River Boat • Jungle Queen • The Master Key • Secret Agent X-9

Post-war Serials (1945-1946)	The Royal Mounted Rides Again • The Scarlet Horseman • Lost City of the Jungle • The Mysterious Mr. M

People

Actors and Actresses	Buster Crabbe • Priscilla Lawson • Béla Lugosi • Frank Merrill • Charles B. Middleton • Jean Rogers • Frank Shannon

Production crew	Ford Beebe • Lewis D. Collins • Robert F. Hill • Lew Landers • Henry MacRae • J. P. McGowan • George H. Plympton • Clifford Smith • Ray Taylor

See also

Film serials List of film serials • List of film serials by studio

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Tailspin Tommy

Tailspin Tommy

Plot

Cast

Credit

Contents

Plot

Cast

Production

Stunts

Critical reception

Chapter titles

See also

References

External links

	Stunt Pilot (1939 Drama Film)
	Clark Williams (Actor, Drama/Action)
	Tailspin Tommy and the Great Air Mystery (1935 Adventure Film)

	How fast does a full tailspin feel like in MPH-when Amelia Earhart put her airplane into a tailspin to get the ice off of her wings from the 2009 movie 'Amelia'? Read answer...
	How fast is a full tailspin-from the movie 'Amelia' after you level off after almost crashing into the ocean? Read answer...
	Given If Tommy makes cookies tonight then Tommy must have an oven Tommy has an oven? Read answer...

	Who is Tommy Ellis?
	Who is Tommy Trimbach?
	Who is Tommy Coker?

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