JohnHowardReid Copyright 1 February 1935 by Paramount Pictures, Inc. New York opening at the Paramount: 1 February 1935. Australian release: 8 May 1935. Sydney opening at the Prince Edward: 4 May 1935 (ran 2 weeks). 8 reels. 75 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Ken Gordon is a flier attempting to perfect instruments for safe flying in the dark or fog. Sheila Mason, barnstorming sky-writing stunter, managed by Nick Williams, falls in love with him. Her affection is coldly received. At the moment when triumph for his devices seems just ahead, Gordon is blinded by a gas explosion. Gordon, who has retired to the country accompanied only by his faithful mechanic, Mac, gets a seeing-eye dog to lead him around. Trying to be a writer, but only getting rejection slips, he never knows that the checks he cashes are the result of Sheila's taking any kind of a breakneck job that manager Williams can conceive. COMMENT: Attractive photography by William Mellor on the ground and Dewey Wrigley in the air; but otherwise this is a somewhat less than routine suds opera, pedestrianly directed by James Flood. Admittedly, the script is no help. It's one of those turns in which the characters stand around and talk a lot, but actually say nothing of real interest at all.The movie starts off quite promisingly too. The director gives the opening scenes extra liveliness by using a large number of camera set-ups, employing angles that are very smoothly edited. The players are not unattractive either. This first teaming of Loy and Grant (later to pair in such box-office winners as The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer and Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House) has considerable curiosity value.Alas, once the Grant character goes blind, the soap opera takes over, leading direction, performances - and audience interest - right down into a deep, dark decline.

Michael_Elliott Wings in the Dark (1935) *** (out of 4) Ken Gordon (Cary Grant) is a pilot who is trying to use technology so that other pilots will be able to fly blind. He meets stunt pilot Sheila Mason (Myrna Loy) but soon afterwards Ken is blinded in an accident. He soon hits depression but he believes now that he's really blind he can prove his technology.WINGS IN THE DARK isn't a masterpiece or even a classic Hollywood picture but it's certainly an entertaining if rather routine drama that features two great stars and enough entertainment to make it worth watching. The film isn't one that was made to be an "A" picture but as far as a "B" film goes there's no doubt that it's very much worth watching.There are a lot of cliché things in the picture even for 1935 standards. For starters, the entire story is rather predictable and especially in the way that it plays out. I'm not going to ruin the ending but you'll see it coming from a mile away and what happens at the very end was silly enough to where you'd have to right to boo it. Yes, the closing moments are really that bad! I'd also argue that the romance in the film really doesn't work either.With that said, there are some terrific moments with the stunt sequences. The aerial flying sequences are extremely good and if you enjoy Hollywood films with real stunts then you'll certainly enjoy what's on display here. I'd also argue that both Grant and Loy were very good in their roles. Loy got the top-billing since Grant wasn't yet a star but it's his performance that steals the picture. I wouldn't say he gave one of the greatest performances by an actor playing someone who is blind but I thought the actor did a really good job in the scenes where his character acts out his frustration.WINGS IN THE DARK will certainly appeal to fans of the two stars and they're both good enough to make it worth watching.

robb_772 A rather preposterous melodrama on the surface, WINGS IN THE DARK manages to retain a surprising amount of credibility due to solid direction and convincing performances. The far-fetched storyline of a recently blinded pilot Ken Gordon (Cary Grant) relying on newly-created aviation software to guide fellow pilot and girlfriend Sheila Mason (Myrna Loy) through deadly fog is brimming full with gaping plot holes and ham-fisted dialogue, which typically spell serious trouble for most productions. However, the film is salvaged, and even made thoroughly enjoyable, by the compelling, believable performances of Loy and Grant and director James Flood's brisk direction, which moves the picture along at a steady rate and helps to minimize much of the script's potential schmaltz. The combined efforts of Loy, Grant, and Flood make an entertaining and sometimes compelling little aviation drama out of what could have been a total disaster, which is quite an amazing feat on each individual's part!

lugonian WINGS IN THE DARK (Paramount, 1935), directed by James Flood, is an agreeable little story that centers upon a pilot named Ken Gordon (Cary Grant), attempting to perfect instruments for safe flying through darkness and fog. While working with some chemicals, a gas explosion occurs, blinding him before he can ever prove his experiments successful.Top billing goes to MGM star Myrna Loy, in her first film for Paramount since LOVE ME TONIGHT (1932) where she played the secondary role opposite Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald in the now regarded classic musical. Seeing Loy in this Paramount programmer comes as a surprise, especially since the studio had a roaster of contract players ranging from major names as Sylvia Sidney or Carole Lombard, to less important but familiar actresses as Frances Drake or Mary Brian (all who have worked opposite Grant at one time or another), but for the standpoint of the story as to whom would possibly be more satisfactory and believable in assuming the role as an aviatrix, or whose name on the marque would be important enough to draw attention, Loy, reaching the height of her career, became the chosen one. She is well cast as Sheila Mason, an woman flier whose initial meeting with Ken becomes turbulent, and even more of a problem after Sheila, feeling responsible for his accidental blindness, acquires a seeing eye dog for Ken. As he did earlier with Sheila, Ken, now taking up residence in the country with his faithful mechanic/ friend, Mac (Hobart Cavanaugh), and working on becoming a writer, rejects the faithful German Shepherd, not wanting to be pitied by anyone and to make it on his own. In time he comes to accept both as they each guide him every step of the way. The story finally gets off the ground as Sheila takes a big risk by flying her airplane from Moscow to New York through intense fog and darkness in order to earn back the finances she secretly supplied to Ken as well as putting his experiment to the test. Her flight is broadcast coast to coast on national radio and makes headlines in every major newspaper. When Sheila's plane gets lost through intense fog over Boston, Ken takes control of his airplane, flying blind through the clouds (hense the title), hoping to reach her in time before any danger occurs and lead her to safety.The supporting players consist of Roscoe Karns as Nick Williams, Sheila's manager; Dean Jagger as Tops Harmon; Bert Hanlon as Yipp Morgan; Russell Hopton as Jake; and radio broadcaster Graham McNamee appearing as himself. Hobart Cavanaugh, a familiar face of countless movies throughout most of the 1930s and '40s, usually appearing without credit from minor to bits parts, ranging from drunks to mousy husbands, plays up his role to good advantage. This, along with I COVER THE WATERFRONT (United Artists, 1933), ranks one of the few opportunities in finding Cavanaugh leading fine support.Not an important film by any means in spite of a its two leading actors, WINGS IN THE DARK could have been an important project with such a fine premise that might have worked into an powerful and dramatic theme dealing with one man coping with blindness as with John Garfield's character in THE PRIDE OF THE MARINES (Warners, 1945), or a top-notch aviation story combining adventure and romance as with Grant's ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS (Columbia, 1939). Grant's skills as a dramatic actor are properly showcased here, especially with one particular key scene where he tries to rehabilitate himself through the course of his blindness, roaming about and bumping into things, along with his rejection towards his seeing eye dog, as enacted by Lightning.Grant and Loy, in their initial screen performance, are best remembered for their two future unions together, THE BACHELOR AND THE BOBBY SOXER (1947) and MR. BLANDINGS BUILDS HIS DREAM HOUSE (1948), both RKO Radio releases. While these films have become notable comedy classics, thanks to frequent television revivals and availability on video cassette and later DVD, their initial pairing, having played sporadically on commercial television during the afternoon or late night movie era back in the 1960s and 70s, remains in the dark as being their least known of their three on screen partnerships.Close to being largely forgotten today, WINGS IN THE DARK, which runs at 75 minutes, is cliché at best but watchable, thanks to the know how combination of Myrna Loy and Cary Grant early in their movie careers. A little item from the 1930s worthy of rediscovery now that it's available on DVD. (***)