Murder in the Air (1940) User Reviews

So Why Wasn't This Ray Available At Pearl Harbor?

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 4 March 2009]

Murder In The Air marked the conclusion of future president Ronald Reagan as two fisted, hard hitting Secret Service agent Brass Bancroft with Eddie Foy, Jr. as his sidekick. It's got every ingredient a B film for the Saturday matinée crowd should have, spies with tattoos, a secret weapon, and a two timing double crossing dame who nearly ends it for our hero.

Although the spies are never outrightly identified as German, the head guy talks with a Teutonic accent, all the bad guys have German sounding names, and they all have the same tattoo on the arm. When a body turns up Philadelphia with a lot of cash and a letter in invisible ink to a guy the US government has been looking to nail for espionage, Ron is sent in undercover taking the dead guy's identity.

These spies have something big in mind, to steal the plans of a secret weapon, a ray that can paralyze electrical currents. The weapon is called the Inertia Projector and its years in advance before the term laser came into general use.

The femme fatale in the plot is Lya Lys who is best remembered for being robbed of all her blood in The Return Of Doctor X by Humphrey Bogart. She's the wife of the dead guy Reagan is masquerading as and she nearly cooks Reagan's act. Good thing Ron was thinking fast on his feet here.

The film was written around some real footage of the USS Macon dirigible crash and incorporated in Murder In The Air. It's the best thing about the movie, the way Warner Brothers skilfully edited the disaster film footage into this movie.

My big question is how come the ray wasn't used the following year at Pearl Harbor against the Japanese?

President Brass Bancroft....I Like It......

[lotus07 · 4/10 · 7 December 2007]

SYNOPSIS: Ronald Reagan, G-Men, Espionage, Airplanes....that about sums it up.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: American Government = Good / Foreigners = Bad. An entertaining propaganda film for its day. Supposedly, the 3rd in a series of G-Men pictures that Ronald Regan stared in. His character is named Brass Bancroft (Hollywood just doesn't use names like this anymore). Written and filmed during a time when the U.S. Government was never questioned and Communism was considered a mental plague and not a political view. It is easy to tell who the good guys are and you know the bad guys will be defeated in the end.

PROS AND CONS: I have a soft spot for the old days. Back in the day when even second rate B-Movies had some art and talent to them. These films reflected the audience that they were marketed toward which was middle class white Americans before World War II. The concept of ethnicity hadn't yet come to light, segregation was the norm. The government was a benevolent autocratic entity that could do no wrong. The film centers around science aviation and espionage, which back in the day was about as gee-wiz as you could get. There are shades of the Movie-Serials of the 40s as well as the coming paranoia of the communist conspiracy. If you want to see the roots of Star Wars and the Indiana Jones films, see pictures such as this.

One of the first things that was evident is that this film was produced on the studio lot. There is no location shooting and everything is shot on sound stage sets. What gives this away is the the lack of any ceiling on the interior shots and the shadows cast by the lighting. This gives the illusion that each room has 20 foot high ceilings that go up forever. This is pretty basic entertainment, meant to satisfy a pretty simple audience that didn't question much. Now, it is almost more entertaining for its simplicity and gullibility than anything else....and of course that the lead actor becomes president of the United States.

Fourth in the "Brass Bancroft" series is the best...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 5 March 2009]

The fourth in the "Brass Bancroft" series is the best. Once again, RONALD REAGAN plays the confident government man whose job it is to expose spies led by JAMES STEPHENSON, the accented villain. It has the flavor of an extended Saturday afternoon serial, the kind that movie fans came to expect as a steady diet during the '30s and '40s.

All the ingredients for such an adventurous tale are here--a mysterious man with a tattoo on his arm; a ring of spies; good guys putting themselves into dangerous positions by posing as gangsters; and the inevitable conclusion with the spies efficiently disposed of by U.S. agents on their trail.

And once again, one gets the impression that Ronald Reagan was indeed being groomed for stardom as an Errol Flynn type of action star in his early days. He once described himself as the "Errol Flynn of the B-films" and it's an apt description.

Simplistic spy story made a year before Pearl Harbor, has its best moments when it uses actual footage from a dirigible disaster at sea with the footage blended evenly with studio scenes aboard the dirigible before it crashes. It's the last twenty minutes or so that makes the whole thing worth watching.

Fortunately for Reagan, it wasn't long after this one that the studio began putting him in A-films where he eventually earned his leading man status and became a dependable fixture throughout the forties.

How Ronald Reagan learned to love the Star Wars defense

[ardithfairchild · 1/10 · 27 June 2003]

This movie is notable for what it wrought 40 years later. In the film, Reagan's character -- Brass Bancroft -- is a government "T"-man who is tasked to protect a new secret weapon called the Inertia Protector, which can destroy all incoming bombs before they hit the US. Total nonsense, of course, but it does explain, years later, why Reagan really believed in Star Wars. He had already seen it work in a movie.

Interesting spy thriller

[chris_gaskin123 · 7/10 · 7 February 2006]

Murder In the Air was the fourth movie to star future President Ronald Reagan as agent Ross Bancroft. This is at present the only one of this series I've seen and was rather impressed.

A man with a tattoo of a circle and arrow is found dead after a rail crash and he turns out to be hobo with £50,000 on him. Bancroft and his sidekick are sent to investigate. The investigation eventually sends them onto an airship, Mason, which could be blown up...

Murder in the Air is worth catching if you get the chance as it is rather hard to get hold of. A good way of spending just under an hour.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

Decent Time Killer

[Michael_Elliott · 23 May 2009]

Murder in the Air (1940)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Fourth and final film in Warner's Brass Bancroft series with Ronald Reagan in the lead. This time out enemy agents are destroying various sites and now they have their eyes on destroying the entire country. Reagan goes undercover and gets inside the gang to try and stop them before more damage is done. This is probably the second best in the series (behind the third film) and fans of "B" movies will certainly have enough here to keep them entertained. The film, running just 55-minutes, makes for some nice entertainment because it throws pretty much everything in except for the kitchen sink but then again that might have ended up on the cutting room floor. The entire movie goes at a very fast pace and it leads up to a very good ending set on a Dirigible, which of course has to crash into the ocean. I wish this sequence would have gone on longer but what's here is nice. Reagan is very comfortable in the role and manages to turn in his best performance of the series. His tough act is a lot more believable here than in the previous three films and Eddie Foy, Jr. is back for comic relief. John Litel and James Stephenson co-star.

Don't blame Reagan for this movie's failings

[fedya-1 · 5/10 · 31 July 2007]

Ronald Reagan the actor is often panned, largely in my opinion because of his politics. Those who would denigrate his acting career should watch a movie like "Murder in the Air". It was designed as a B-movie, and barely reaches that level. But the reasons for that are not Reagan's fault. Reagan is saddled with a threadbare plot about saboteurs wanting to destroy a government weapon, and he's a T-man who has to infiltrate the ring. This is bad enough, but the climax is set aboard a dirigible, which, three years after the explosion of the Hindenburg, is wholly unrealistic. Worse, Reagan's cast alongside a bunch of near-nobodies (Lya Lys??); and, with a running time of only 55 minutes, there's not much time for a good story to develop. But Reagan tries his best, and succeeds in making the movie reasonably watchable.

A nice conclusion to the four Secret Service films

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 16 September 2007]

Starting with SECRET SERVICE OF THE AIR (1938), Ronald Reagan made four B-movie series film with the character of "Brass Bancroft". I have seen all but SMASHING THE MONEY RING. The first film, despite its very low budget and modest pretense, was an exceptional film for the genre. The second, CODE OF THE SECRET SERVICE was just awful--with an extremely poorly written script that wasn't worthy of the franchise. This final film, MURDER IN THE AIR, isn't quite as good as the first film but it sure comes close--making a nice conclusion to this series.

Reagan is given a special assignment to infiltrate a mob of spies who are seeking to destroy American. Oddly, like in his other films, the exact countries involved never are alluded to, though in this one Communists are mentioned. These evil rats have a big plan, but Reagan and the rest of his fellow agents have no idea what it will be. Fortunately, one of the spies is accidentally killed and Reagan assumes his identity. I'd rather not discuss exactly what happens next, as it might spoil the surprise, but I was excited to see that the film was set partially on board a US Navy dirigible and the scene involving it crashing was pretty exciting.

All in all, this is not a film that you'll long remember--it's a B-film through and through. But for a B, it's an excellent one and stand above the crowd of many B series films.

Ronald Reagan's Led Zeppelin

[wes-connors · 3/10 · 7 March 2009]

After spies and saboteurs wreck havoc across the United States, Federal agent Ronald Reagan (as Brass Bancroft) and comic sidekick Eddie Foy Jr. (as Gabby Watters) go undercover to investigate. Secret Service head John Litel (as Saxby) gives Mr. Reagan the identity of dead spy "Steve Swenko". Reagan seeks James Stephenson (as Joe Garvey), who is being investigated for "Un-American Activities". Reagan has to deal with detectives pulling off his shirt to strip search him. Then, he must handle beautiful blonde Lya Lys (as Hilda Riker); the wife of the man he is supposed to be impersonating orders Reagan, "Talk fast and give the right answer!"

Eventually, the plot leads Reagan to board "The U.S. Dirigible 'Mason'" - apparently, so that filmmakers can edit in some exciting footage of a Hindenburg-type airship. Reagan, now undercover as seaman "Steve Coe", is ordered to destroy the airship "Mason" because it carries a new U.S. Defense weapon called the "Inertia Projector". This weapon, according to the script, "makes the United States invincible in war." Who, and what, will survive "Murder in the Air"? This is a patchwork movie for the future President.

*** Murder in the Air (1940) Lewis Seiler ~ Ronald Reagan, Eddie Foy Jr., John Litel

Ronald's first ray-gun: a minor but fun 'spy-fi' thriller

[jamesrupert2014 · 7/10 · 5 April 2021]

Secret Service agent Brass Bancroft (Ronald Reagan) goes undercover to infiltrate a saboteur ring that is after an experimental energy weapon (the "inertia projector") that is about to be tested onboard a giant Navy dirigible. The slim story resembles a forties serial without the numerous cliff-hangers as the Bancroft almost single-handedly defeats nefarious spies led by Garvey (James Stephenson) and Rumford (Victor Zimmerman) through a series of fights, chases and daring-do. Reagan is pretty good as the incredibly lanky Bancroft but his sidekick 'Gabby' (Eddie Foy) who, with his put-upon fiancée Dolly (Helen Lynd), provides some dated comic-relief, get tiresome quickly. The pre-war film is a bit jingoistic but seems more concerned with socialists than with Nazis or the Japanese - at one point Bancroft is roughed-up and 'arrested' after being accused of being a 'wobbly' (a member of 'The Industrial Workers of the World'). The film moves through its brief running time briskly and despite some ludicrous touches (the clandestine saboteurs sport very obvious tattoos that everyone seems to recognise), the story is entertaining and the special effects, such as the downing of the huge dirigible quite well done (for budget and genre). The low-budget, somewhat misleadingly titled thriller may be best known for a plot involving a theoretical energy weapon that (in the hands of the USA) would bring about world peace and starring future President Reagan, who (four decades later) would endorse SDI 'Star Wars', an initiative involving theoretical energy weapons that (in the hands of the USA) would bring about world peace.

Flash Gordon and the Nazis

[richard-1787 · 5/10 · 28 March 2021]

You can't expect a lot from B movie series that were made to fill Saturday afternoons until it was time to show the A pic again. Which is good, because there isn't much here.

Except for a bizarre piece of science fiction called the Inertia Projector, that looks as if it were lifted directly from another Saturday afternoon serial, the Flash Gordon series. This thing shoots a light ray that is supposed to paralyze any sort of mechanical contraption. When it appears in the otherwise very realistic movie, it really seems to come from out - way out - in left field.

Others have joked about this being a precursor to the wacky Star Wars defense system that was proposed during the Reagan administration.

What I found more interesting is that this movie played into the real fear of enemy sabotage in this country a full year before Pearl Harbor.

There's no point in examining this movie too closely. Such movies were produced quickly and not designed to withstand close scrutiny. It was very much a product of its time, and while certainly not a great example of movie-making, decently done for what it was.

'B' Movie? 'B' as in beautiful

[morrisonhimself · 9/10 · 5 March 2009]

"B" as in "basic" and "B" as in "Brass Bancroft," this B-movie series was fairly typical of the fare turned out by studios, partly to give training and a build-up to new actors or directors or writers, and partly just to pump out product to fill the bills at theaters.

"B" movie didn't mean "bad": It just meant lower -- or low -- budget.

Even in his obituaries, less-than-knowledgeable, or less-than-honest, writers kept calling Ronald Reagan "a B movie actor," continuing to carp probably because they didn't agree with what they understood his political philosophy to be. (For people who don't know the history, let me add this word: Being anti-communist was an unforgivable sin in many segments of the media, including even motion pictures.)

Many, if not most, actors began their careers making B movies. Reagan graduated to A features, apparently right after making "Murder in the Air." And his performance in this film was one reason: He was likable, good looking (though kinda skinny without his shirt), and believable in the action scenes.

John Litel was a superlative actor, keeping busy for nearly 40 years, and giving good performances always.

Others in the cast did a good job, some were even great, but most stayed unknown and viewers today might, mistakenly, judge a film by the names connected thereto.

Instead, they should suspend their disbelief, remember the context, and sit back and enjoy.

In an amazing bit of PREEMPTIVE Tinsel Town detective work . . .

[oscaralbert · 6/10 · 13 April 2021]

. . . the sage seers of the always eponymous Warner Bros. Warn America that Ron Reagan is a rabid wolf in (Real Life) Union Boss clothing (that is, a no-good flunky for the Corrupt Communist Corporate Capitalist C of C Fat Cat Cabal) with MURDER IN THE AIR. Sure enough, the most notable outrage of "Brass Bancroft's" (Real Life) Presidency is his slaughter of the Air Traffic Controllers Brotherhood, just as the prophetic prognosticators of Warner caution here. Earlier in this movie these Warner clairvoyants forecast "The Gypper's" back-stabbing "Snitch me a river" stool pigeon rat fink turn before the infamous "H. U. A. C." witch hunters. When historians finally dare to write the Truth about this Kremlin tool, that fact that a gullible bamboozled nation ignored so many strident Warner Bros. Warnings about a traitor who got 1,000 times as many American patriots killed as Benedict Arnold will merit more than one book chapter.

B-9

[hemisphere65-1 · 4/10 · 30 April 2021]

Harmless escapist fun, with Reagan as Brass Bancroft again.

He and Foy aren't bad together, but the "bad guys" are collectively awful.

A Film I Wish Was Available

[theowinthrop · 27 November 2004]

President Ronald Reagan has been accused of being a second rate actor, mostly due to his appearance in BEDTIME FOR BONZO. However he actually appeared (albeit in many supporting roles) in respectable, even good films. Early in his career he was earmarked for some type of stardom by the "Brass Bancroft" films.

I have never seen any of these "Brass Bancroft" Secret Agent films made by Reagan in the late 1930s, but this one has always intrigued me. Supposedly the destruction of the Naval Airship Mason is actually based on some footage of the destruction (in 1935) of the last Naval Zeppelin "U.S.S. Macon" which was lost in the Pacific Ocean at Big Sur. I'm not expecting anything along the lines of the film of the Hindenburg Crash, or of the Challenger explosion, but it would be curious to see it.

Spies are back in fashion!

[JohnHowardReid · 6/10 · 29 May 2018]

Director: LEWIS SEILER. Screenplay: Raymond Schrock. Photography: Ted McCord. Film editor: Frank Magee. Art director: Stanley Fleischer. Gowns: Howard Shoup. Music: William Lava. Dialogue director: Harry Seymour. Assistant director: William Kissell. Sound recording: Robert B. Lee. Producer: Bryan Foy.

Copyright 17 April 1940 by Warner Brothers Pictures, Inc. A Warner Brothers-First National picture. New York opening at the Palace: 3 July 1940. U.S. release: 1 June 1940. Australian release: 14 March 1940 (sic). 5,027 feet. 55 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: Spies attempt to make off with the plans for the U.S. Navy's "inertia projector".

COMMENT: This follow-up to Smashing the Money Ring (1939) is adequate enough as a support, although the promised sci-fi "inertia projector" (which supposedly turns off all machinery including trains, cars and street lamps) turns out to be rather tame. Never mind, Miss Lys makes an attractive femme fatale, while Mr Reagan plays the all-American hero for rather more than the part is worth. The scenes on the dirigible are worth waiting for. Mr Foy, of course, is a pain, but at least he drops out of the action for a spell.

The film's chief disappointment lies in the casting of that fine actor James Stephenson who is forced to make the best of a rather silly role as chief of a foreign spy ring.

Love B-Movies. Better than current trash coming from Hollyweird.

[captaincook1776 · 10/10 · 5 March 2009]

Watched all four of the Secret Agent movies. Every one was fun. Does Hollyweird even have an inkling of what that word means? Fun with dialogue, plot, clean language, no bathroom humor, and no nudity. Going to the movies used to be worth the money. There was support of our great nation and no stupid correctness. It was patriotism and the movies used to make the viewer more positive after the viewing. What a concept. B-Movies were and are better than so called A movies. Ronald was very handsome. Eddie Foy, Jr. was enjoyable as the sidekick. The story actually had a beginning, middle, and end. There was a conflict to be resolved.