Emergency Landing (1941 film)
Encyclopedia
Emergency Landing is a 1941 American aviation spy-fi
romantic screwball comedy film
directed by William Beaudine
. The film stars Forrest Tucker
in his second film and in his first leading role and features lots of mismatched stock footage
of various types of aircraft. The film is also known as Robot Pilot (American TV title).
(to the general public it was then a science fiction
device) that can fly an aeroplane, Despite his efforts and those of his friend, pilot Jerry Barton, they can not interest anyone in the invention. Barton has found a job as a test pilot
for a millionaire named George Lambert with his own aircraft company. When Doc brings a model of his invention, the two send their model aeroplane to buzz Lambert on the golf course. Lambert is fascinated and arranges a test, but his daughter Betty isn't; especially when the model lands in a puddle and drenches her.
When the time comes for a test of the device installed in a real aircraft, Jerry takes the plane up and switches the plane to remote control. United States Army Air Force observers are skeptical that Jerry is flying the plane himself so Jerry parachutes out of the aircraft. Sadly the device is not perfected and the aircraft crashes. The event is observed by foreign agents working undercover at Lambert Field. Doc and Jerry return in failure to Arizona to perfect the device.
At the same time Betty announces she wishes to go to Hollywood, with her Aunt Maude making an in joke about John Barrymore
being free. Betty and Maude drive to Hollywood when their vehicle runs out of petrol near Doc and Jerry's home. The girls decide to steal petrol from an aerodrome beacon
but are caught. As Doc is a local Federal Aviation Administration
official, he arrests the girls and holds them in custody. They telegraph George Lambert what they have done and they ask and receive his permission to teach the haughty Betty a lesson by making the girls do their housework until "Judge Gildersleeve
" comes to sentence them of who they attempt to frighten the girls with tales of his imaginary severe sentences. Maude later overhears the boys' scheme and wins them over by saying its a great idea; the spoiled Betty has had only her way since childhood and the experience would be good for her.
Meanwhile the enemy agents at Lambert Field conspire to hijack a new Lambert designed bomber being tested at Lambert Field. Like Betty and Maude, the bomber somehow ends up crashing near Doc and Jerry's house with the agent surviving the crash and pretending he has been in an automobile accident. When Doc and Jerry learn the truth, the agent hijacks Doc's aeroplane with the two girls as hostages. However Doc's plane has the teleoperation
control device installed that now works and Doc and Jerry are able to land the plane and capture the agent. At the end of the film the real Judge Gildersleeve, a midget
, appears and fines the girls with Maude breaking the fourth wall
and asking the audience if they believed what they saw.
Spy-fi
-Definition and characteristics:It often uses a secret agent or superspy whose mission is a showcase of science fiction elements such as technology and ideas used for extortion, plots for world domination or world destruction, futuristic weapons, gadgets and fast vehicles that can travel on land,...
romantic screwball comedy film
Screwball comedy film
The screwball comedy is a principally American genre of comedy film that became popular during the Great Depression, originating in the early 1930s and thriving until the early 1940s. It is characterized by fast-paced repartee, farcical situations, escapist themes, and plot lines involving...
directed by William Beaudine
William Beaudine
William Beaudine was an American film actor and director. He was one of Hollywood's most prolific directors, turning out films in remarkable numbers and in a wide variety of genres.-Early life and career:...
. The film stars Forrest Tucker
Forrest Tucker
Forrest Tucker was an American actor in both movies and television from the 1940s to the 1980s. Tucker, who stood 190 cm tall and weighed 93 kg , appeared in nearly 100 action films in the 1940s and 1950s.-Early life:Forrest Meredith Tucker was born in Plainfield, Indiana, a son of...
in his second film and in his first leading role and features lots of mismatched stock footage
Stock footage
Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures and file footage are film or video footage that may or may not be custom shot for use in a specific film or television program. Stock footage is of beneficial use to filmmakers as it is sometimes less expensive than shooting new...
of various types of aircraft. The film is also known as Robot Pilot (American TV title).
Plot summary
Arizona inventor Doc Williams has invented a wireless remote controlRemote control
A remote control is a component of an electronics device, most commonly a television set, used for operating the television device wirelessly from a short line-of-sight distance.The remote control is usually contracted to remote...
(to the general public it was then a science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
device) that can fly an aeroplane, Despite his efforts and those of his friend, pilot Jerry Barton, they can not interest anyone in the invention. Barton has found a job as a test pilot
Test pilot
A test pilot is an aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques or FTTs, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated....
for a millionaire named George Lambert with his own aircraft company. When Doc brings a model of his invention, the two send their model aeroplane to buzz Lambert on the golf course. Lambert is fascinated and arranges a test, but his daughter Betty isn't; especially when the model lands in a puddle and drenches her.
When the time comes for a test of the device installed in a real aircraft, Jerry takes the plane up and switches the plane to remote control. United States Army Air Force observers are skeptical that Jerry is flying the plane himself so Jerry parachutes out of the aircraft. Sadly the device is not perfected and the aircraft crashes. The event is observed by foreign agents working undercover at Lambert Field. Doc and Jerry return in failure to Arizona to perfect the device.
At the same time Betty announces she wishes to go to Hollywood, with her Aunt Maude making an in joke about John Barrymore
John Barrymore
John Sidney Blyth , better known as John Barrymore, was an acclaimed American actor. He first gained fame as a handsome stage actor in light comedy, then high drama and culminating in groundbreaking portrayals in Shakespearean plays Hamlet and Richard III...
being free. Betty and Maude drive to Hollywood when their vehicle runs out of petrol near Doc and Jerry's home. The girls decide to steal petrol from an aerodrome beacon
Aerodrome beacon
An aerodrome beacon or rotating beacon is a beacon installed at an airport or aerodrome to indicate its location to aircraft pilots at night....
but are caught. As Doc is a local Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
official, he arrests the girls and holds them in custody. They telegraph George Lambert what they have done and they ask and receive his permission to teach the haughty Betty a lesson by making the girls do their housework until "Judge Gildersleeve
The Great Gildersleeve
The Great Gildersleeve , initially written by Leonard Lewis Levinson, was one of broadcast history's earliest spin-off programs. Built around Throckmorton Philharmonic Gildersleeve, a character who had been a staple on the classic radio situation comedy Fibber McGee and Molly, first Introduced to...
" comes to sentence them of who they attempt to frighten the girls with tales of his imaginary severe sentences. Maude later overhears the boys' scheme and wins them over by saying its a great idea; the spoiled Betty has had only her way since childhood and the experience would be good for her.
Meanwhile the enemy agents at Lambert Field conspire to hijack a new Lambert designed bomber being tested at Lambert Field. Like Betty and Maude, the bomber somehow ends up crashing near Doc and Jerry's house with the agent surviving the crash and pretending he has been in an automobile accident. When Doc and Jerry learn the truth, the agent hijacks Doc's aeroplane with the two girls as hostages. However Doc's plane has the teleoperation
Teleoperation
Teleoperation indicates operation of a machine at a distance. It is similar in meaning to the phrase "remote control" but is usually encountered in research, academic and technical environments...
control device installed that now works and Doc and Jerry are able to land the plane and capture the agent. At the end of the film the real Judge Gildersleeve, a midget
Midget
A midget is a short person with relatively average bodily proportions in comparison with other human beings. The term is often improperly used to describe a person with the medical condition dwarfism. The two terms are often used synonymously because both terms originate as words defining small...
, appears and fines the girls with Maude breaking the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
and asking the audience if they believed what they saw.
Cast
- Forrest TuckerForrest TuckerForrest Tucker was an American actor in both movies and television from the 1940s to the 1980s. Tucker, who stood 190 cm tall and weighed 93 kg , appeared in nearly 100 action films in the 1940s and 1950s.-Early life:Forrest Meredith Tucker was born in Plainfield, Indiana, a son of...
as Jerry Barton - Carol Hughes as Betty Lambert
- Evelyn BrentEvelyn BrentEvelyn Brent was an American film and stage actress.-Early life:Born Mary Elizabeth Riggs in Tampa, Florida and known as Betty, she was a child of 10 when her mother Eleanor died, leaving her father Arthur to raise her alone...
as Maude Lambert - Emmett VoganEmmett VoganEmmett Vogan was an American actor with almost 500 film appearances from 1934–1954, making him one of the most prolific actors of all time.-External links:...
as "Doc" Williams - William Halligan as George B. Lambert
- George Sherwood as Jones
- Thornton Edwards as Pedro
- I. Stanford JolleyI. Stanford JolleyIsaac Stanford Jolley, Sr., known as I. Stanford Jolley was a prolific American character actor of film and television, primarily in western roles as cowboys, law-enforcement officers, or villains...
as Karl - Stanley PriceStanley PriceStanley Price was an American film supporting actor who appeared in over 200 films between 1922 and 1956. He was born in Kansas, United States.-Career:...
as Otto - Jack LescoulieJack LescoulieJack Lescoulie was a radio and television announcer and host, notably on NBC's Today during the 1950s and 1960s. His parents were both in vaudeville along with their children; Lescoulie's first public performance was at age seven. His first media job was with KGFJ, Los Angeles, when he was still...
as Captain North - Paul Scott as Colonel Lemon
- Billy CurtisBilly CurtisBilly Curtis was an American film and television actor. He was a dwarf who had a 50-year career in a variety of roles...
as Judge Gildersleeve