"Night Flight" or if you will, "Flight By Night" is another of those all star blockbusters produced by MGM and featuring top notch production values and a cast of taken from their A list of stars.
Directed by the legendary Clarence Brown (who directed many of Garbo's classics) the film features stunning aerial photography, plenty of tension and excitement and state of the art performances from its stars.
John Barrymore plays Riviere, the no nonsense General Manager of Andean-European Air Mail who are beginning night flights in the early days of aviation in order to speed up delivery of the mail between South American Countries and Europe. A sub-plot features the attempt to fly life saving serum from Santiago, Chile to Rio De Janiero to save a child's life. Robert Montgomery, Clark Gable and William Gargan are the pilots flying from different parts of the continent in order to get the mail through on time to hook up with a ship bound for France.
Helen Hayes and Myna Loy play the nervous wives of Gable and Gargan respectfully. Lionel Barrymore is Inspector Robineau second in command to Riviere in charge of the pilots.
There is some great acting on the part of all of the principals. There is a touching scene between John Barrymore and Helen Hayes over the fate of her husband and also between the Barrymore brothers (in their last film together). Gable spends his entire role at the controls of his plane.
Though seemingly a little dated, this rarely seen little gem carries an historical significance not only for its depiction of the early hazards of flying at night but also for the opportunity it affords for the viewer to experience the performances of some of the greatest stars in movie history together in one film.
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