Tailspin Tommy is back! After enjoying Danger Flight, he's back for more adventure in 'Sky Patrol'. Tailspin helps a bunch of graduates on their first assignment patrolling a piece of land for some clandestine activity. When one of the pilots is captured, it's up to Tommy and his crew to beat the bad guys AND to rescue the captured pilot! Will Tommy Save The Day? This was not bad, Tailspin is less of a pathetic wimp he was in Danger Flight, but still remains quite stupid (keeping live grenades in pockets for starters). Once again, as in Danger Flight, kids are there to save the day with valuable clues, and at the end of this one, they shill unapologetically for a another option besides the boy scouts, the SKY Scouts! And that's the next movie in the Tailspin Tommy canon, "Scouts of The Air!" Actually, no it isn't, because even if it was advertised, it was never made!
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Spuzzlightyear26 March 2006
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In the third of four Tailspin Tommy movies, John Trent deals with Jackie Coogan, who's washing out of the Patrol through lack of nerve, despite his father, Boyd Irwin, being the commandant. Trent is anxious to help the son of his old instructor, but a ring of aerial smugglers is at work. Workhorse director Howard Bretherton does his usual competent job.
Trent was a pilot for TWA who was noticed and signed for Paramount. He was good looking, but seems to have gotten no acting lessons, so eventually he went back to flying for a living. He died in 1966, aged 59. -
mark.waltz2 December 2022So says the father of sky patrol candidate Jackie Coogan to his son who doesn't like the idea of having to kill another person. The not so proud papa (Boyd Irwin) wants "Tailspin Tommy" (John Trent) to mentor his son which leads to all sorts of mistakes on Coogan's part, but with Tommy's help, Coogan begins to grow, and that leads them into dealing with criminal activity in the clouds and of course Coogan revealing himself to having more in him than he himself realized.
A better than average poverty row programmer, this is fast moving and interesting from character development because you get to see the relationship between father and son grow from complicated to a proudness that develops as Coogan begins to mature. It's interesting for his presence, long after his association in silent movies with Chaplin and long before his most famous role as Uncle Fester. Marjorie Reynolds is a long for the ride as the love interest, but she has little to do. Still worth a look for fast action, some good air footage (obviously stock) and a satisfying conclusion. -
bkoganbing24 August 2014Monogram Pictures gave us Sky Patrol in 1939 and the most memorable thing about it was it featured Jackie Coogan after he was Charlie Chaplin's Kid and before he was Uncle Fester. In 1939 you could see Coogan's brow getting higher and higher.
Coogan is a young man the son of Boyd Irwin the colonel in charge of the the Sky Patrol. A dutiful young man Coogan has joined the Sky Patrol and has come under the tutelage of the legendary Talespin Tommy and his sidekick Skeeter. But in his heart wants to go to medical school.
It was war closing in and any other time this kid would have gone to medical school and been a MASH doctor like Hawkeye and Trapper making their war contribution doing what they do best. I certainly wouldn't have gone into aviation to please my father.
Anyway when Coogan gets captured by smugglers who hold him for their own nefarious purposes, John Trent and Milburn Stone as Tommy and Skeeter have to rescue him and capture the smugglers.
Aviation buffs will like Sky Patrol. I can't think of anyone else doing so. -
Leofwine_draca23 February 2017SKY PATROL was the third in a series of four adventure thrillers made in the 1930s and featuring the character of 'Tailspin Tommy', played by real-life pilot John Trent. Trent was by all accounts uncomfortable with being filmed and so quit the film business soon afterwards, leaving this minor but interesting body of work behind him.
This film is straightforward enough and provides a good mix of action, thrills, and character work into the brief running time. Tommy is on the hunt for a criminal gang and to help him he's recruiting some green pilots, one of whom is former child actor Jackie Coogan. Coogan gets into difficulties due to his natural cowardice in the air, but it all works out okay in the end. SKY PATROL is hardly award-winning material, but it passes the time amiably enough and has a snappy, serial feel to it.