The Last Flight (film)
Encyclopedia
The Last Flight is a 1931
ensemble film starring Richard Barthelmess
, David Manners
, John Mack Brown
, and Helen Chandler
.
celebration of alcohol involving three young World War I
veterans who opt to drink indefinitely and almost continuously in Paris
with the vivacious and beautiful woman they've befriended.
appeared opposite Fay Wray
in a Broadway
version of the story Nikki while he was still billed as "Archie Leach," and adopted his screen first name from the character he played on stage and Barthelmess had portrayed in the film version ("Cary Lockwood").
John Mack Brown was renamed "Johnny Mack Brown" later the same year when his career skidded from top-drawer films like The Last Flight and The Secret Six
to B westerns; all of Brown's scenes had been reshot by the studio in an important movie with rising star Clark Gable
substituting for Brown.
Helen Chandler, who also starred with David Manners in the original Dracula
opposite Bela Lugosi
the same year, ironically fell victim to alcoholism
later in life and was badly disfigured in a fire caused by falling asleep while smoking.
1931 in film
-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:*Best Picture: Cimarron - MGM*Best Actor: Lionel Barrymore - A Free Soul*Best Actor: Wallace Beery - The Champ*Best Actor: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...
ensemble film starring Richard Barthelmess
Richard Barthelmess
Richard Semler "Dick" Barthelmess was an Oscar-nominated silent film star.-Early life:Barthelmess was educated at Hudson River Military Academy at Nyack and Trinity College at Hartford, Connecticut...
, David Manners
David Manners
David Manners was a Canadian - American film actor.Born Rauff de Ryther Daun Acklom in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Manners came to Hollywood at the beginning of the talking films revolution after studying acting with Eva Le Gallienne, and acting on stage with Helen Hayes...
, John Mack Brown
Johnny Mack Brown
Johnny Mack Brown was an All-American college football player and film actor originally billed as John Mack Brown at the height of his screen career.-Early life:...
, and Helen Chandler
Helen Chandler
Helen Chandler was an American film and theater actress.-Career:Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Chandler began her acting career in New York at the age of nine and was on Broadway two years later in 1917...
.
Plot
The film is known as a Lost GenerationLost Generation
The "Lost Generation" is a term used to refer to the generation, actually a cohort, that came of age during World War I. The term was popularized by Ernest Hemingway who used it as one of two contrasting epigraphs for his novel, The Sun Also Rises. In that volume Hemingway credits the phrase to...
celebration of alcohol involving three young World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
veterans who opt to drink indefinitely and almost continuously in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
with the vivacious and beautiful woman they've befriended.
Behind the scenes
The movie's most lasting impact was offscreen, however; shortly after the film's release, Cary GrantCary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
appeared opposite Fay Wray
Fay Wray
Fay Wray was a Canadian-American actress most noted for playing the female lead in King Kong...
in a Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
version of the story Nikki while he was still billed as "Archie Leach," and adopted his screen first name from the character he played on stage and Barthelmess had portrayed in the film version ("Cary Lockwood").
John Mack Brown was renamed "Johnny Mack Brown" later the same year when his career skidded from top-drawer films like The Last Flight and The Secret Six
The Secret Six
For the DC comic book see Secret Six .The Secret Six is a fast-paced 1931 Pre-Code crime film starring Wallace Beery as "Slaughterhouse Scorpio", a character very loosely based on Al Capone, and featuring Lewis Stone, John Mack Brown, Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Marjorie Rambeau and Ralph Bellamy. ...
to B westerns; all of Brown's scenes had been reshot by the studio in an important movie with rising star Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
substituting for Brown.
Helen Chandler, who also starred with David Manners in the original Dracula
Dracula (1931 film)
Dracula is a 1931 vampire-horror film directed by Tod Browning and starring Bela Lugosi as the title character. The film was produced by Universal and is based on the stage play of the same name by Hamilton Deane and John L...
opposite Bela Lugosi
Béla Lugosi
Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó , commonly known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian actor of stage and screen. He was best known for having played Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version, as well as having starred in several of Ed Wood's low budget films in the last years of his...
the same year, ironically fell victim to alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
later in life and was badly disfigured in a fire caused by falling asleep while smoking.
Cast (in credits order)
- Richard BarthelmessRichard BarthelmessRichard Semler "Dick" Barthelmess was an Oscar-nominated silent film star.-Early life:Barthelmess was educated at Hudson River Military Academy at Nyack and Trinity College at Hartford, Connecticut...
as Cary Lockwood - David MannersDavid MannersDavid Manners was a Canadian - American film actor.Born Rauff de Ryther Daun Acklom in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Manners came to Hollywood at the beginning of the talking films revolution after studying acting with Eva Le Gallienne, and acting on stage with Helen Hayes...
as Shep Lambert - John Mack BrownJohnny Mack BrownJohnny Mack Brown was an All-American college football player and film actor originally billed as John Mack Brown at the height of his screen career.-Early life:...
as Bill Talbot - Helen ChandlerHelen ChandlerHelen Chandler was an American film and theater actress.-Career:Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Chandler began her acting career in New York at the age of nine and was on Broadway two years later in 1917...
as Nikki - Elliott NugentElliott NugentElliott Nugent was an American actor, writer, and film director. He successfully made the transition from silent film to sound. He directed The Cat and the Canary , starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard...
as Francis - Walter Byron as Frink