CENTRAL AIRPORT
DIRECTED BY WILLIAM A. WELLMAN/ALFRED E. GREEN (Uncredited)
PRODUCED BY HAL B. WALLIS
FIRST NATIONAL/WARNER BROS
Screenshot with the courtesy of elly
Information From IMDB/DVD Savant
Plot Summary
Jack Moffitt's original story deals with the realities of work for 1930s fliers.
Jim Blane (Richard Barthelmess) is booted from his job as a commercial pilot
when investigators fault him for an airliner crash in rough weather.
He meets circus barnstormer Jill Collins (Sally Eilers) just as her pilot brother
crashes to his death, and becomes her partner both in the air and in bed.
They check into hotels separately but always take adjoining rooms.
Jim doesn't believe in marriage for fliers, and Jill soon takes up
with his younger brother Bud (Tom Brown), also a pilot.
And Jim's timing is also off ... although Jill loves him,
she accepts Bud's offer of marriage.
Jim takes off for dangerous jobs in parts unknown,
but we know he'll have to come back to claim what's his.
Full Cast
Richard Barthelmess ... James 'Jim' Blaine
Sally Eilers ... Jill Collins
Tom Brown ... Neil 'Bud' Blaine
Grant Mitchell ... Mr. Blaine
James Murray ... Eddie Hughes
Claire McDowell ... Mrs. Blaine
Willard Robertson ... Havana Airport Manager
Arthur Vinton ... Amarillo Airport Manager
Charles Sellon ... Man in Wreck (scenes deleted)
Robert W. Craig ... Chef (scenes deleted)
Harold Huber ... Swarthy Man (scenes deleted)
Milton Kibbee ... Undetermined Role (scenes deleted)
Irving Bacon ... Amarillo Weatherman (uncredited)
Louise Beavers ... Hotel Maid (uncredited)
Harry C. Bradley ... Doctor (uncredited)
James Bush ... Amarillo Pilot (uncredited)
Harry Depp ... Hotel Telephone Operator (uncredited)
James Donlan ... Havana Driver (uncredited)
Lester Dorr ... Hotel Desk Clerk #3 (uncredited)
Dick Elliott ... Man Looking for Driver (uncredited)
James Ellison ... Amarillo Pilot Crossing Fingers (uncredited)
Betty Jane Graham ... Little Girl in Wreck (uncredited)
Harrison Greene ... Pomona Air Circus Announcer (uncredited)
Charles Lane ... Amarillo Radio Operator (uncredited)
Sam McDaniel ... Train Porter (uncredited)
Frances Miles ... Mother of Little Girl in Wreck (uncredited)
John 'Skins' Miller ... Hotel Desk Clerk #2 (uncredited)
Walter Miller ... Havana Airfield Official (uncredited)
Bert Moorhouse ... Havana pilot (uncredited)
J. Carrol Naish ... Drunk in Wreck (uncredited)
Theodore Newton ... Radio Operator (uncredited)
Bradley Page ... Scotty Armstrong (uncredited)
Russ Powell ... Chef (uncredited)
Jed Prouty ... Hotel Desk Clerk #1 (uncredited)
George Regas ... Havana Mechanic (uncredited)
Harry Semels ... Havana Airfield Worker (uncredited)
Harry Strang ... Havana pilot (uncredited)
Phil Tead ... Duke, Airplane Ticket Agent (uncredited)
Fred 'Snowflake' Toones ... El Paso Craps Shooter (uncredited)
John Vosper ... Man in Wreck (uncredited)
Lucille Ward ... Waitress (uncredited)
John Wayne ... Co-pilot in Wreck (uncredited)
Charles Williams ... El Paso Hotel Desk Clerk (uncredited)
Toby Wing ... Air Show Observer (uncredited)
Jack Wise ... Amarillo Airport Clerk (uncredited)
Writing Credits
Jack Moffitt (story "Hawk's Mate")
Rian James (screenplay) &
James Seymour (screenplay)
Original Music
Howard Jackson (uncredited)
Bernhard Kaun (uncredited)
Cinematography
Sidney Hickox (as Sid Hickox)
Trivia
According to an interview with William Wellman, Jr.
in the special features for the DVD of "The High and the Mighty,"
his father used John Wayne as a stuntman in this film.
Alfred E. Green temporarily replaced William A. Wellman as director when he caught the flu.
I
A note on file in the AMPAS library says that John Vosper replaced Charles Sellon,
J. Carrol Naish replaced Harold Huber and Russ Powell replaced Robert W. Craig.
American Film Institute Catalog of Feature Films 1931-1940 erroneously identifies Glenda Farrell (uncredited) as "Woman in Wreck". Glenda Farrell does not appear in this film.
Goofs
Continuity
The title is Central Airport, yet the story does not revolve around any single airport, and there is no airport in the movie by that name. Only two airports are identified by name in the movie and both are called Grand Central Airport (one in English, one in Spanish).
When Jim is coming in to land after stunting over the Havana airport
we get a good look at the writing and symbols on the right-hand side of his plane. When he actually touches down, they are in different colors and positions, and a diagonal line of bullet holes has appeared.
When the search plane first spots the wreckage, the mirror signal flash comes from off the right wing of the plane wreckage and across a stream. Seconds later as the pilot looks again, the mirror flash comes from directly in front of the nose of the plane wreckage. Since the crashed pilot was hurt and had to drag himself to the mirror, he couldn't have traveled that far in such a short time.
Crew or equipment visible
When the parachute is pulled from the tree, you can see the ropes that had been holding it there in place to support the weight of the parachutist.
Errors in geography
Neil's plane goes down en route from Havana to Mexico City and the radio announcer gives his estimated position as 22°N 88°W. This would be off the Yucatán Peninsula about 400 miles west of Havana, which makes sense. But when Jim and Jill get to the airport, the position marked on the map is south of the Dry Tortugas. This would be about 24°30'N 83°W or about 100 miles north of Havana, and Jim's compass shows him flying north to reach the site.
The Amarillo and Havana airports show significant mountain ranges in the background. However, both airports are situated in areas that are geographically very flat with no mountains to be seen for hundreds of miles.
Revealing mistakes
When the camera moves from a position between Sally Eilers' and Richard Barthelmess' hotel rooms to the left, her room can be seen from his, revealing the missing fourth wall of the set.
When the stunt pilot's bi-plane crashes, it turns into a high-wing monoplane (and an obvious airplane mock-up with mostly wooden frame and no skin) at the moment of impact.
When Neil and Jill are inside the passenger plane talking to the friend who had seen Neil's brother Jim, the view out the window beside Jill shows the plane at first parked (as the pilot excuses himself and moves up the aisle between them to take the controls), then begins moving on the ground and picking up speed and taking off. But the entire time, the sound of an idling engine is heard very loudly in the background.
The engine sound should have changed to a high-rev sound for takeoff.
Memorable Quotes
Filming Locations
Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA
