Emergency Landing (1941 film)

1941 film by William Beaudine

Emergency Landing

Original film poster

Directed by| William Beaudine
Written by| Martin Mooney (story & screenplay)
Produced by| Jed Buell
Starring|

* Forrest Tucker
* Carol Hughes
* Evelyn Brent

Cinematography| Jack Greenhalgh
Edited by| Robert O. Crandall
Music by| Lew Porter

Production
company

Producers Releasing Corporation

Distributed by| Producers Releasing Corporation

Release date

* May 9, 1941 (1941-05-09)

Running time

| 64 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English

Emergency Landing (a.k.a. Robot Pilot) 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 with co-stars Carol Hughes and Evelyn Brent. Emergency Landing features much-mismatched stock footage of various types of aircraft.

## Plot

[edit]

Arizona inventor "Doc" Williams (Emmett Vogan) has invented a wireless remote control that can pilot an aircraft. [Note 1] Despite his efforts and those of his friend, pilot Jerry Barton (Forrest Tucker), they can not interest anyone in the invention. Barton has found a job as a test pilot for a millionaire named George Lambert (William Halligan) with his own aircraft company. When Doc brings a model of his invention, the two send their model aircraft to buzz Lambert on the golf course. Lambert is fascinated and arranges a test, but his daughter Betty is not, 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 aircraft up and switches to a remote control. United States Army Air Forces observers are skeptical that Jerry is flying the aircraft himself so Jerry parachutes out of the aircraft. The device, however, is not perfected and the aircraft crashes. The event is observed by foreign agents working undercover at Lambert Aircraft. 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. When their vehicle runs out of petrol near Indian Springs, Arizona, the girls decide to steal petrol from an aerodrome beacon but are caught by Jerry who tows their car to Doc's house. As Jerry is a local Federal Aviation Administration official, he has the authority to arrest the girls until Judge Gildersleeve comes. The girls hear tales of his imaginary severe sentences. Jerry telegraphs George Lambert about what they have done and asks his permission to teach the haughty Betty a lesson. The girls have to do housework but Maude later overhears the boys' scheme and wins them over by saying it is a great idea, as Betty spoiled since childhood, needs a comeuppance.

Meanwhile, the two enemy agents hijack a new Lambert-designed bomber being tested at Lambert Field. When the bomber crashes nearby with one agent (I. Stanford Jolley) surviving, he makes his way to Doc and Jerry's house, pretending he has been in an automobile accident. When Doc and Jerry learn the truth, the agent hijacks Doc's aircraft with the two girls as hostages. Doc's aircraft, however, has the remote control device installed that now works and Doc and Jerry are able to land the aircraft and capture the agent. The real Judge Gildersleeve (Billy Curtis), a midget, appears and fines the girls. [Note 2]

## Cast

[edit]

* Forrest Tucker as Jerry Barton
* Carol Hughes as Betty Lambert
* Evelyn Brent as Maude Marshall
* Emmett Vogan as "Doc" Williams
* William Halligan as George B. Lambert
* George Sherwood as Jones
* Joaquin Edwards as Pedro
* I. Stanford Jolley as Karl
* Stanley Price as Otto
* Jack Lescoulie as Captain North
* Paul Scott as Colonel Lemon
* Billy Curtis as Judge Gildersleeve

## Production

[edit]

A Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra stood in for the "Lambert Bomber X291" in Emergency Landing.

Principal photography for Emergency Landing took place from late March to early April 1941.[1] After a stint in Great Britain, director William "One Shot" Beaudine returned to America in 1937 but had trouble re-establishing himself at the major studios. After working at Warner Brothers, Beaudine found work on Poverty Row, working for studios specializing in low-budget films, such as Monogram Pictures and Producers Releasing Corporation. Beaudine became a specialist in comedies, thrillers and melodramas making dozens for these studios. By the 1940s, Beaudine had a reputation for being a resourceful, no-nonsense director who could make feature films in a matter of days, sometimes as few as five.[2]

## Reception

[edit]

Shortly after release, Emergency Landing was re-titled Robot Pilot. Merely a B film, Variety felt the film's major asset was "sex appeal".[3]

## References

[edit]

### Notes

[edit]

1. ^ In the 1940s, to the general public, such a wireless remote control device was considered more of science fiction than science.
2. ^ Maude breaks the fourth wall by asking the audience if they believed what they saw.

### Citations

[edit]

1. ^ "Original print information: Emergency Landing (1941)." Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: October 26, 2014.
2. ^ Marshall 2005, p. 321.
3. ^ Pendo 1985, p. 21.

### Bibliography

[edit]

* Marshall, Wendy L. William Beaudine: From Silents to Television. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2005. ISBN 978-0-81085-218-1.
* Pendo, Stephen. Aviation in the Cinema. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1985. ISBN 0-8-1081-746-2.

## External links

[edit]

* Emergency Landing at the TCM Movie Database
* Emergency Landing at IMDb
* Emergency Landing is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by William Beaudine

1920s-30s|

* Watch Your Step (1922)
* Catch My Smoke (1922)
* Heroes of the Street (1922)
* Her Fatal Millions (1923)
* Penrod and Sam (1923)
* The Printer's Devil (1923)
* The Country Kid (1923)
* Boy of Mine (1923)
* Daring Youth (1924)
* Wandering Husbands (1924)
* Daughters of Pleasure (1924)
* A Self-Made Failure (1924)
* Cornered (1924)
* Lovers' Lane (1924) (unconfirmed)
* The Narrow Street (1925)
* A Broadway Butterfly (1925)
* How Baxter Butted In (1925)
* Little Annie Rooney (1925)
* That's My Baby (1926)
* Sparrows (1926)
* The Social Highwayman (1926)
* The Canadian (1926)
* Frisco Sally Levy (1927)
* The Life of Riley (1927)
* The Irresistible Lover (1927)
* The Cohens and the Kellys in Paris (1928)
* Heart to Heart (1928)
* Home, James (1928)
* Do Your Duty (1928)
* Give and Take (1928)
* Fugitives (1929)
* Two Weeks Off (1929)
* Hard to Get (1929)
* The Girl from Woolworth's (1929)
* Wedding Rings (1929)
* Those Who Dance (1930)
* Road to Paradise (1930)
* Father's Son (1931)
* Misbehaving Ladies (1931)
* The Lady Who Dared (1931)
* The Mad Parade (1931)
* Penrod and Sam (1931)
* Men in Her Life (1931)
* Three Wise Girls (1932)
* Make Me a Star (1932)
* The Crime of the Century (1933)
* Her Bodyguard (1933)
* The Old Fashioned Way (1934)

British films|

* Two Hearts in Harmony (1935)
* So You Won't Talk (1935)
* Dandy Dick (1935)
* Boys Will Be Boys (1935)
* Get Off My Foot (1935)
* Mr. Cohen Takes a Walk (1935)
* Where There's a Will (1936)
* Educated Evans (1936)
* It's in the Bag (1936)
* Windbag the Sailor (1936)
* Feather Your Nest (1937)
* Said O'Reilly to McNab (1937)
* Take It from Me (1937)

1930s-40s|

* Torchy Gets Her Man (1938)
* Torchy Blane in Chinatown (1939)
* She Done Him Right (1940)
* Four Shall Die (1940)
* The Last Alarm (1940)
* Misbehaving Husbands (1940)
* Up Jumped the Devil (1941)
* Emergency Landing (1941)
* Mr. Washington Goes to Town (1941)
* Federal Fugitives (1941)
* Desperate Cargo (1941)
* Flying Wild (1941)
* Mr. Celebrity (1941)
* The Miracle Kid (1941)
* Blonde Comet (1941)
* Duke of the Navy (1942)
* Broadway Big Shot (1942)
* Lucky Ghost (1942)
* Professor Creeps (1942)
* The Panther's Claw (1942)
* Men of San Quentin (1942)
* Gallant Lady (1942)
* One Thrilling Night (1942)
* Phantom Killer (1942)
* Foreign Agent (1942)
* The Living Ghost (1942)
* The Ape Man (1943)
* Clancy Street Boys (1943)
* Spotlight Scandals (1943)
* Ghosts on the Loose (1943)
* Here Comes Kelly (1943)
* Mr. Muggs Steps Out (1943)
* Mystery of the 13th Guest (1943)
* What a Man! (1944)
* Voodoo Man (1944)
* Hot Rhythm (1944)
* Detective Kitty O'Day (1944)
* Follow the Leader (1944)
* Leave It to the Irish (1944)
* Oh, What a Night (1944)
* Shadow of Suspicion (1944)
* Bowery Champs (1944)
* Crazy Knights (1944)
* Mom and Dad (1945)
* Adventures of Kitty O'Day (1945)
* Fashion Model (1945)
* Blonde Ransom (1945)
* Swingin' on a Rainbow (1945)
* Come Out Fighting (1945)
* Black Market Babies (1945)
* Girl on the Spot (1946)
* The Face of Marble (1946)
* One Exciting Week (1946)
* Don't Gamble with Strangers (1946)
* Below the Deadline (1946)
* Spook Busters (1946)
* Mr. Hex (1946)
* Philo Vance Returns (1947)
* Hard Boiled Mahoney (1947)
* Too Many Winners (1947)
* Killer at Large (1947)
* Gas House Kids Go West (1947)
* News Hounds (1947)
* Bowery Buckaroos (1947)
* The Chinese Ring (1947)
* Angels' Alley (1947)
* Jinx Money (1948)
* Shanghai Chest (1948)
* The Golden Eye (1948)
* Smugglers' Cove (1948)
* Incident (1948)
* Kidnapped (1948)
* Jiggs and Maggie in Court (1948)
* The Feathered Serpent (1948)
* The Lawton Story (1949)
* Tuna Clipper (1949)
* Forgotten Women (1949)
* Trail of the Yukon (1949)
* Jiggs and Maggie in Jackpot Jitters (1949)
* Tough Assignment (1949)

1950s-60s|

* Blue Grass of Kentucky (1950)
* Blonde Dynamite (1950)
* Jiggs and Maggie Out West (1950)
* Lucky Losers (1950)
* County Fair (1950)
* Second Chance (1950)
* Blues Busters (1950)
* A Wonderful Life (1951)
* Bowery Battalion (1951)
* Cuban Fireball (1951)
* Ghost Chasers (1951)
* Let's Go Navy! (1951)
* Havana Rose (1951)
* Crazy Over Horses (1951)
* Rodeo (1952)
* Hold That Line (1952)
* Jet Job (1952)
* Here Come the Marines (1952)
* The Rose Bowl Story (1952)
* Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952)
* Feudin' Fools (1952)
* No Holds Barred (1952)
* Jalopy (1953)
* Born to the Saddle (1953)
* Roar of the Crowd (1953)
* Murder Without Tears (1953)
* Yukon Vengeance (1954)
* Paris Playboys (1954)
* Pride of the Blue Grass (1954)
* High Society (1955)
* Jail Busters (1955)
* Westward Ho the Wagons! (1956)
* Up in Smoke (1957)
* In the Money (1958)
* Ten Who Dared (1960)
* Billy the Kid Versus Dracula (1966)
* Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter (1966)

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