morrisonhimself Review of Tailspin Tommy

Tailspin Tommy (1934)

Evokes, with enthusiasm, the excitement of aviation's pioneer days

[9/10 · 14 January 2021]

I started watching this great serial, at YouTube, and there are several things I'd like to say: 1) One of many objections I have to modern "hero" movies, especially based on comic books (I don't know of any based on comic strips) is the way "heroes" are just suddenly there, with no introduction. "Tailspin" Tommy, though, is shown as a youngster and ... well, no, I'll let everyone watch. More, I *urge* everyone to watch. It's a lot of fun, and Tommy is *introduced*, not just suddenly there as if everyone knows the backstory. We in the audience see him mature from the small-town garage to a mature pilot. As one reviewer (horn-5) said, it's a serial "most faithful to the original source," a newspaper comic strip. 2) This is such a fascinating look at early aviation. It was, to people like Tommy, *exciting* and was made so to everyone else. Even to me, now, in January of 2021. Crowds of people are shown excited by the mere presence of an airplane, especially one landing in a farmer's field, which apparently actually happened often in those early days. There are some darn good actors in the minor roles, and often some very good dialogue. This rural county I live in, Cochise, containing, for example, Tombstone and Fort Huachuca, where the iconic 10th Cavalry was posted, and Willcox, the home of Rex Allen, also had a visit by Amelia Earhart, and some other notable early aviation minor history. Those visits are still written about. 3) "Tailspin Tommy" has lots of very likable characters. 4) There are lots of all kinds of characters, with many of them having speaking and pivotal roles, a sign of a well-done and watchable movie. It might be not as exciting as, say, "Zorro's Fighting Legion" or "Spy Smasher," and there are few "cliff-hanger" chapter endings, but it is great entertainment, and very great motion picture history. For example, look for the iconic Walter Brennan in an early and uncredited role. And watch some scary aerobatics. OK, it's not perfect. Sound effects and fight scenes were much better done at Republic, for example, but that evocation of the era, the enthusiasm for aviation shown by the characters, the tension of the airline's efforts to meet contractual obligations in order to stay in business, and the sheer number of speaking roles all combine to make this a must-see serial. I cannot recommend it highly enough.