Lost in the Stratosphere: Difference between revisions

Lost in the Stratosphere
Lost in the Stratosphere
	Film poster
Directed by	Melville W. Brown
Written by	Albert DeMond (writer); Tristram Tupper (story);
Produced by	William T. Lackey
Starring	William Cagney
Cinematography	Ira H. Morgan
Edited by	Carl Pierson
Production; company	Monogram Pictures Corp.
Distributed by	Monogram Pictures
Release date	November 15, 1934
Running time	64 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

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Lost in the Stratosphere is a 1934 American aviation drama film directed by Melville W. Brown and starring William Cagney.^[1] In one of his few roles in front of the cameras, Cagney was the lookalike younger brother of James Cagney.^[2]

Plot

In the mid-1930s, in the early days of military aviation, an era of open cockpits and biplanes, two U.S. Army pilots, in a friendly rivalry, are always trying to get the best of each other.

2nd Lt. Tom Cooper (William Cagney) gets the nickname "Soapy", from his friend, 1st Lt. Richard "Dick" Wood, "Woody" (Edward J. Nugent). Tom's trademark gift to a female friend is an inscribed bar of soap. Tom finds out that "Ida Johnson" (Hattie McDaniel), the girl he's been seeing while Dick has been off the base, is really Dick's fiancée, Evelyn Worthington, June Collyer. She introduced herself as Ida, using her maid's name as a lark. When Dick finds the tell-tale bar of soap from Tom, it's no joke to him, and two friends are at odds. Dick breaks off the engagement while Evelyn is torn between two loves.

The two pilots are picked to go on a dangerous balloon mission launched into the stratosphere, to evaluate high-altitude flight capability. Before they get off the ground, the tense relationship has caused friction between the former friends. The generals keep reminding them that the equipment on board is more important than they are.

When a thunderstorm takes them thousands of miles off course, the two flyers are "lost in the stratosphere". It does not look like either of them will survive until Evelyn begs them to bail out. Dick, finally realizing Tom's innocence, knocks him out and throws him off the balloon, so he can come down safely by parachute, thereby jeopardizing his own chances of survival. After a crash landing in Quebec, from his hospital bed, Dick gives his blessing to Tom and Evelyn.

Cast

William Cagney Lt. Tom "Soapy" Cooper
Edward J. Nugent as Lt. Richard "Woody" Wood
June Collyer as Evelyn Worthington
Edmund Breese as Col. Brooks
Jack Mack as Sgt. Baker
Russ Clark as Sgt. Enfield
Matt McHugh as Matt O'Toole
June Gittelson as Gretchen
Lona Andre as Sophie
Hattie McDaniel as Ida Johnson

Production

Principal photography on Lost in the Stratosphere began August 10, 1934 at RKO Pathé Studios.^[3]

Home media

Lost in the Stratosphere was released on DVD on August 23, 2005.^[4]

Lost in the Stratosphere is in the Public Domain and is available online at the Internet Archive. ^[5]

References

Notes

^ Maltin 1994, p. 121.
^ Warren and Cagney 1986, p. 143.
^ "Original print information: 'Lost in the Stratosphere'. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: February 7, 2017.
^ "Overview: 'Lost in the Stratosphere'." Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: February 17, 2107.
^ "Overview: 'Lost in the Stratosphere'. IMDb. Retrieved: February 17, 2017.

Bibliography

Maltin, Leonard. Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia. New York: Dutton, 1994. ISBN 0-525-93635-1.
Warren, Doug and James Cagney. Cagney: The Authorized Biography. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1986. ISBN 0-312-90207-7.

External links

Lost in the Stratosphere at the TCM Movie Database
Lost in the Stratosphere at IMDb
Lost in the Stratosphere is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive

[1] Maltin 1994, p. 121.

[2] Warren and Cagney 1986, p. 143.

[3] "Original print information: 'Lost in the Stratosphere'. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: February 7, 2017.

[4] "Overview: 'Lost in the Stratosphere'." Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: February 17, 2107.

[5] "Overview: 'Lost in the Stratosphere'. IMDb. Retrieved: February 17, 2017.

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 ==Plot==
-In the mid-1930s, in the early days of military aviation, an era of open [[cockpit]]s and [[biplanes]], two [[United States Army Air Corps|U.S. Army pilot]], in a friendly rivalry, are always trying to get the best of each other.
+In the mid-1930s, in the early days of military aviation, an era of open [[cockpit]]s and [[biplanes]], two [[United States Army Air Corps|U.S. Army pilot]]s, in a friendly rivalry, are always trying to get the best of each other.
-nd Lt. Tom Cooper ([[William Cagney]]) gets the nickname "Soapy", from his friend, 1st Lt. Richard "Dick" Wood, "Woody"  ([[Edward J. Nugent]]). Tom finds out that "Ida Johnson" ([[Hattie McDaniel]]), the girl he's been seeing while Dick has been off the base, is really Dick's fiancée, Evelyn Worthington, [[June Collyer]], She introduced herself, using her maid's name as a lark. When Dick finds the [[tell-tale]] bar of soap, it's no [[joke]], and two friends are at odds over the engagement which Dick breaks off.
+nd Lt. Tom Cooper ([[William Cagney]]) gets the nickname "Soapy", from his friend, 1st Lt. Richard "Dick" Wood, "Woody"  ([[Edward J. Nugent]]). Tom's trademark gift to a female friend is an inscribed bar of soap. Tom finds out that "Ida Johnson" ([[Hattie McDaniel]]), the girl he's been seeing while Dick has been off the base, is really Dick's fiancée, Evelyn Worthington, [[June Collyer]]. She introduced herself as Ida, using her maid's name as a lark. When Dick finds the [[tell-tale]] bar of soap from Tom, it's no [[joke]] to him, and two friends are at odds. Dick breaks off the engagement while Evelyn is torn between two loves.
-The two pilots are picked to go on a dangerous mission into the stratosphere, with a balloon, to test high-altitude flight, but before they get off the ground, the friendship, and the engagement are off. The generals keep reminding them that the equipment is more important than they are.
+The two pilots are picked to go on a dangerous balloon mission launched into the stratosphere, to evaluate high-altitude flight capability. Before they get off the ground, the tense relationship has caused friction between the former friends. The generals keep reminding them that the equipment on board is more important than they are.
-When a [[thunderstorm]] takes them thousands of miles off course, the two flyers are "lost in the [[stratosphere]]". It does not look like either of them will survive until Evelyn begs them to bail out. Dick, finally realizing Tom's innocence, knocks him out and throws him off the balloon, so he can come down safely by parachute, thereby jeopardizing his own chances of survival. After a crash landing in Quebec, Dick is recused and gives his blessing to Tom and Evelyn from his hospital bed.
+When a [[thunderstorm]] takes them thousands of miles off course, the two flyers are "lost in the [[stratosphere]]". It does not look like either of them will survive until Evelyn begs them to bail out. Dick, finally realizing Tom's innocence, knocks him out and throws him off the balloon, so he can come down safely by parachute, thereby jeopardizing his own chances of survival. After a crash landing in [[Quebec]], from his hospital bed, Dick gives his blessing to Tom and Evelyn.
 [[File: June Collyer and William Cagney in Lost in the Stratosphere (1934).jpg|thumb|June Collyer and William Cagney in ''Lost in the Stratosphere''.]]