Sky Raiders

1941 film by Ford Beebe, Ray Taylor

Not to be confused with Sky Raiders (1931 film).

Sky Raiders

Film poster

Directed by| Ford Beebe
Ray Taylor
Written by| Eliot Gibbons
Clarence Upson Young
Paul Huston
Produced by| Henry MacRae
Starring| Donald Woods
Billy Halop
Robert Armstrong
Eduardo Ciannelli
Kathryn Adams
Cinematography| Jerome Ash
William A. Sickner
Edited by| Saul A. Goodkind (supervisor)
Joseph Gluck
Louis Sackin
Alvin Todd
Music by| Charles Previn

Production
company

Universal Pictures

Distributed by| Universal Pictures

Release date

* April 8, 1941 (1941-04-08)

Running time

| 12 chapters (227 minutes)
Country| United States
Language| English

Sky Raiders is a 12-episode 1941 Universal film serial. The serial was directed by Ford Beebe and Ray Taylor. Sky Raiders stars Donald Woods, Billy Halop, Robert Armstrong and Eduardo Ciannelli.[1] Sky Raiders has little in common with Universal’s other early-1940s espionage outings like Sea Raiders or Junior G-Men, although the serial is often lumped in together as if it is part of a series.[2]

## Plot[edit]

Former World War I ace pilot Captain Bob Dayton, (Donald Woods) is the owner of Sky Raiders, Inc., an aircraft company. Dayton has designed a bombsight and a new high speed fighter aircraft, the "Sky Raider". Dayton recruits young Tim Bryant (Billy Halop), a member of Air Youth of America, to help him.

Nazi agent Felix Lynx (Eduardo Ciannelli) attempts to steal these designs for his own country. Lynx is determined to seize this valuable new aircraft, with the help of his female accomplice Innis Clair (Jacqueline Dalya) and of a criminal named John KAne who happens to be a perfect double for Dayton. All attempts, however, to steal the fighter aircraft prototype, fail.

Dayton's new bombsight is being tested in Hawaii, and Lynx intercepts a Sikorsky S-45 flying boat on the way to Honolulu. After it is shot down, Dayton and his secretary Mary Blake (Kathryn Adams) who were on board, were rescued by a government cutter.

Lieutenant Carry (Robert Armstrong) and Tim meet the survivors but find that Lynx has sent his henchmen to finish the job. The foreign agents are killed when they hit an oncoming truck. Mary announces that she has become Mrs. Dayton.

## Chapter titles[edit]

1. Wings of Disaster!
2. Death Rides the Storm
3. The Toll of Treachery
4. Battle in the Clouds
5. The Fatal Blast
6. Stark Terror!
7. Flaming Doom
8. The Plunge of Peril
9. Torturing Trials
10. Flash of Fate
11. Terror of the Storm
12. Winning Warriors!

Source:[3]

## Cast[edit]

* Donald Woods as Captain Bob Dayton / John Kane, World War I ace and co-owner of Sky Raiders, Inc.
* Billy Halop as Tim Bryant, member of the Air Youth of America
* Robert Armstrong as Lieutenant Ed Carey, co-owner of Sky Raiders, Inc.
* Eduardo Ciannelli as Felix Lynx, Nazi agent
* Kathryn Adams as Mary Blake, Sky Raiders, Inc.'s secretary
* Jacqueline Dalya as Innis Clair
* Jean Fenwick as The Countess Irene
* Reed Hadley as Caddens, one of Lynx's henchmen
* Irving Mitchell as R.S. Hinchfield
* Edgar Edwards as Teal, one of Lynx's henchmen
* John Holland as Hess, one of Lynx's henchmen
* Roy Gordon as Major General Fletcher
* Alex Callam as Captain Long
* Phil Warren as Bakeman, the crackpot with gun
* Bill Cody, Jr. as Jack Hurd, a young boy

## Production[edit]

Many exterior shots for Sky Raiders were made at the Grand Central Air Terminal, Glendale, California. A rare Phillips 1-B Aeroneer appears in the serial.[4] Bob Dayton's personal aircraft is a Fairchild 24W-9 (c/n W-101, NC18688).[5]

Aerial photography was a mixture of "fairly effective combinations of process-screen shots, (obvious) model work, stock footage and actual flying work by stunt pilot Jerry Jerome."[6]

The aircraft used in Sky Raiders are:

* Bell YFM-1 Airacuda
* Fairchild 24W-9, c/n W-101, NC18688, c/n 2689, NC15346
* Fairchild Super 71 c/n 646, NC9174
* Kellett KD-1
* Monocoupe 90 c/n 526, NC192K (archive images)
* Pitcairn PCA-2 Autogiro AC-35 c/n J-91, NX70 [N 1]
* Phillips 1-B Aeroneer, c/n 1, NX16075
* Sikorsky S-45
* Spartan Executive 7W, c/n 7-W12, NC17613[5]

### Stunts[edit]

* Dave O'Brien
* Tom Steele
* Ken Terrell

## Reception[edit]

Reviewer Hans J. Wollstein, wrote in his review of Sky Raiders for Allmovie, "Universal catered to the young fans of aviation with this airborne serial, which featured a plucky kid –'Bowery Boy' Billy Halop – and plenty of 'sky riders'. Famous aviator Bob Dayton (Donald Woods) hires a bright member of the Air Youth of America, Tim (Halop), to help him finalize a hush-hush project: a new type of fighter plane and bombsight. This being 1941, plenty of enemy agents are after the invention, including the nefarious Felix Lynx (Eduardo Cianelli). It takes Dayton, Tim, and the co-owner of Sky Raiders, Inc., Lieutenant Ed Carey (Robert Armstrong) 12 breathless chapters before they are able to defeat the enemy. The final installment was quite appropriately entitled 'Winning Warriors'."[8]

## See also[edit]

* List of film serials
* List of film serials by studio
* Junior G-Men
* Junior G-Men (serial)

## References[edit]

### Notes[edit]

1. ^ Stock footage of the Pitcairn PCA-2 Autogiro, piloted by Amelia Earhart in 1931, was shown.[7]

### Citations[edit]

1. ^ Weiss and Goodgold 1973, p. 191.
2. ^ Rainey 2010, p. 120.
3. ^ Cline 1984 p. 229.
4. ^ Farmer 1984, p. 327.
5. ^ a b Santoir, Christian. "Review: 'Sky Raiders'." aeromovies, October 16, 2010. Retrieved: July 11, 2019.
6. ^ Blake, Jerry. "Review: 'Sky Raiders'." The Files of Jerry Blake, January 17, 2014. Retrieved: July 11, 2019.
7. ^ Lovell 1989, pp. 168–172.
8. ^ Wollstein, Hans J. "Review: 'Sky Raiders'." allmovie.com, 2019. Retrieved: July 11, 2019.

### Bibliography[edit]

* Cline, William C. "Filmography". In the Nick of Time. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1984. ISBN 0-7864-0471-X.
* Farmer, James H. Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation (1st ed.). Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania: TAB Books 1984. ISBN 978-0-83062-374-7.
* Lovell, Mary S. The Sound of Wings: The Life of Amelia Earhart. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989. ISBN 978-1-4668-6648-5.
* Rainey, Buck. Serials and Series: A World Filmography, 1912–1956. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2010. ISBN 978-1-47660-448-0.
* Weiss, Ken and Ed Goodgold. To be Continued ...: A Complete Guide to Motion Picture Serials. New York: Bonanza Books, 1973. ISBN 0-517-166259.

## External links[edit]

* Sky Raiders at IMDb
* Sky Raiders at AllMovie

Preceded by

The Green Hornet Strikes Again! (1941)

|  Universal Serial
Sky Raiders (1941) | Succeeded by

Riders of Death Valley (1941)

|
|

* v
* t
* e

Universal serials

Serials

| Silent Serials
(1914-1929)|

* Lucille Love, Girl of Mystery
* The Master Key
* The Trey o' Hearts
* The Black Box
* The Broken Coin
* Graft
* Under the Crescent
* The Adventures of Peg o' the Ring
* Liberty
* The Mystery Ship
* The Red Ace
* The Gray Ghost
* The Voice on the Wire
* The Brass Bullet
* The Bull's Eye
* The Lion's Claws
* The Lure of the Circus
* The Red Glove
* The Great Radium Mystery
* The Lion Man
* The Midnight Man
* The Flaming Disc
* The Moon Riders
* King of the Circus
* The Vanishing Dagger
* The Dragon's Net
* The Diamond Queen
* Do or Die
* The Secret Four
* Terror Trail
* The White Horseman
* Winners of the West
* The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe
* In the Days of Buffalo Bill
* Perils of the Yukon
* The Radio King
* With Stanley in Africa
* Around the World in 18 Days
* Beasts of Paradise
* The Eagle's Talons
* The Ghost City
* In the Days of Daniel Boone
* The Oregon Trail
* The Phantom Fortune
* The Social Buccaneer
* The Steel Trail
* The Fast Express
* The Fighting Ranger
* The Iron Man
* The Riddle Rider
* Wolves of the North
* Ace of Spades
* The Great Circus Mystery
* The Scarlet Streak
* Fighting with Buffalo Bill
* Strings of Steel
* The Winking Idol
* Blake of Scotland Yard
* The Fire Fighters
* The Return of the Riddle Rider
* The Trail of the Tiger
* Whispering Smith Rides
* Haunted Island
* Tarzan the Mighty
* The Vanishing Rider
* The Diamond Master
* A Final Reckoning
* The Pirate of Panama

|

Part-sound Serials
(1929-1930)|

* The Ace of Scotland Yard
* Tarzan the Tiger
* The Jade Box
* The Lightning Express
* Terry of the Times
* The Indians Are Coming

Pre-war Sound Serials
(1931-1942)|

* Finger Prints
* Heroes of the Flames
* Danger Island
* Battling with Buffalo Bill
* The Spell of the Circus
* Detective Lloyd
* The Airmail Mystery
* Heroes of the West
* Jungle Mystery
* The Lost Special
* Clancy of the Mounted
* The Phantom of the Air
* Gordon of Ghost City
* The Perils of Pauline
* Pirate Treasure
* The Vanishing Shadow
* The Red Rider
* Tailspin Tommy
* Rustlers of Red Dog
* The Call of the Savage
* The Roaring West
* Tailspin Tommy in the Great Air Mystery
* The Adventures of Frank Merriwell
* Flash Gordon
* The Phantom Rider
* Ace Drummond
* Jungle Jim
* Secret Agent X-9
* Wild West Days
* Radio Patrol
* Tim Tyler's Luck
* Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars
* Flaming Frontiers
* Red Barry
* Scouts to the Rescue
* Buck Rogers
* The Oregon Trail
* The Phantom Creeps
* The Green Hornet
* Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe
* Winners of the West
* Junior G-Men
* The Green Hornet Strikes Again!
* Sky Raiders
* Riders of Death Valley
* Sea Raiders

War-time Serials
(1942-1945)|

* Don Winslow of the Navy
* Gang Busters
* Junior G-Men of the Air
* Overland Mail
* The Adventures of Smilin' Jack
* Don Winslow of the Coast Guard
* Adventures of the Flying Cadets
* The Great Alaskan Mystery
* Raiders of Ghost City
* Mystery of the River Boat
* Jungle Queen
* The Master Key
* Secret Agent X-9

Post-war Serials
(1945-1946)|

* The Royal Mounted Rides Again
* The Scarlet Horseman
* Lost City of the Jungle
* The Mysterious Mr. M

See also

* Film serials

* List of film serials
* List of film serials by studio

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Ray Taylor

* Fighting with Buffalo Bill (1926)
* Whispering Smith Rides (1927)
* The Avenging Shadow (1928)
* Beauty and Bullets (1928)
* The Crimson Canyon (1928)
* A Final Reckoning (1928)
* Greased Lightning (1928)
* Quick Triggers (1928)
* Tarzan the Mighty (1928)
* The Vanishing Rider (1928)
* The Ace of Scotland Yard (1929)
* Come Across (1929)
* Eyes of the Underworld (1929)
* The Pirate of Panama (1929)
* The Jade Box (1930)
* Battling with Buffalo Bill (1931)
* Danger Island (1931)
* Detective Lloyd (1931)
* Finger Prints (1931)
* The One Way Trail (1931)
* The Airmail Mystery (1932)
* Heroes of the West (1932)
* Jungle Mystery (1932)
* Clancy of the Mounted (1933)
* Gordon of Ghost City (1933)
* The Perils of Pauline (1933)
* The Phantom of the Air (1933)
* Pirate Treasure (1934)
* The Return of Chandu (1934)
* The Ivory-Handled Gun (1935)
* Outlawed Guns (1935)
* The Roaring West (1935)
* Tailspin Tommy in the Great Air Mystery (1935)
* The Throwback (1935)
* The Cowboy and the Kid (1936)
* Flash Gordon (1936)
* The Phantom Rider (1936)
* Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island (1936)
* Silver Spurs (1936)
* Sunset of Power (1936)
* The Three Mesquiteers (1936)
* The Vigilantes Are Coming (1936)
* Boss of Lonely Valley (1937)
* Dick Tracy (1937)
* Drums of Destiny (1937)
* The Painted Stallion (1937)
* Raw Timber (1937)
* Flaming Frontiers (1938)
* Frontier Town (1938)
* Hawaiian Buckaroo (1938)
* Panamint's Bad Man (1938)
* Rawhide (1938)
* The Spider's Web (1938)
* Flying G-Men (1939)
* Scouts to the Rescue (1939)
* Bad Man from Red Butte (1940)
* Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940)
* The Green Hornet (1940)
* Law and Order (1940)
* Pony Post (1940)
* Ragtime Cowboy Joe (1940)
* Riders of Pasco Basin (1940)
* West of Carson City (1940)
* Winners of the West (1940)
* Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie (1941)
* Fighting Bill Fargo (1941)
* Man from Montana (1941)
* Rawhide Rangers (1941)
* Riders of Death Valley (1941)
* Sky Raiders (1941)
* Don Winslow of the Navy (1942)
* Gang Busters (1942)
* Junior G-Men of the Air (1942)
* Stagecoach Buckaroo (1942)
* Treat 'Em Rough (1942)
* The Adventures of Smilin' Jack (1943)
* Adventures of the Flying Cadets (1943)
* Cheyenne Roundup (1943)
* Don Winslow of the Coast Guard (1943)
* Boss of Boomtown (1944)
* The Great Alaskan Mystery (1944)
* Mystery of the River Boat (1944)
* Raiders of Ghost City (1944)
* Jungle Queen (1945)
* The Master Key (1945)
* The Royal Mounted Rides Again (1945)
* Secret Agent X-9 (1945)
* Lost City of the Jungle (1946)
* The Scarlet Horseman (1946)
* Black Hills (1947)
* Border Feud (1947)
* Cheyenne Takes Over (1947)
* The Fighting Vigilantes (1947)
* Ghost Town Renegades (1947)
* Law of the Lash (1947)
* The Michigan Kid (1947)
* Range Beyond the Blue (1947)
* Return of the Lash (1947)
* West to Glory (1947)
* Check Your Guns (1948)
* Dead Man's Gold (1948)
* Gunning for Justice (1948)
* Hidden Danger (1948)
* The Return of Wildfire (1948)
* The Tioga Kid (1948)
* Tornado Range (1948)
* The Westward Trail (1948)
* Crashing Thru (1949)
* Law of the West (1949)
* Outlaw Country (1949)
* Range Justice (1949)
* Shadows of the West (1949)
* Son of a Bad Man (1949)
* Son of Billy the Kid (1949)
* West of El Dorado (1949)

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