verbusen I caught this on Turner Classic Movies USA, I think they ran it on a Saturday like a matinee. I really enjoyed it from the action WB type logo reminded me of the Looney Tunes WB intro from the same time as well as their Westerns! From the first scene you realize that although this is a shorter "B" film, it is not a poverty row film such as from a Monograph studio with cartoon pictures or painted city-scape title cards, this is using really cool real planes from the 1930s straight from the intro. For that reason alone plane buffs should really like this film as it takes you inside a Ford Tri-Motor and there are some great shots of late 1920s Travel Air Speedwings biplanes that really dance in the air! Those biplanes were the same models used in the legendary films Wings, and The Dawn Patrol! Trivia, the plane on the boss's desk is the next generation of passenger planes, I am guessing a Boeing 247 which looks a lot more modern than the Fords used in the film. Fans of Lyle Talbot from his days with low budget sci-fi like Plan 9 From Outer Space will be surprised, I thought he was really entertaining in a lead role here. Ann Dvorak is also a good leading lady even though this is a B film, so I can't see why people would hate this so much unless they are not old film fans. No stereotype black characters (like in a lot of B films) also helps the film maintain interest in the present day. According to it's Wikipedia page the aerial shots were done by aviation film cameraman pioneer Elmer Dyer and you can tell they are different than the standard models used in many B films back then. The wiki page also said footage from this film was spliced and used in two other films (so it must be decent). All in all, it was a great watch, I even liked the comic relief! As B movies from the 1930s go, I rate Murder in the Clouds an excellent 8 of 10.

robinakaaly The airline in the film flies Ford Trimotors. One in particular, an AT-4, is identified: NC5578. Full details of the history of this aircraft can be found in the Davis-Monthan Aviation Field Register. It was apparently exported to Ecuador in 1945; there is no further information after that.Three Star flew a biplane, registration NC406N which would indicate it was a Travel Air D-4000. The company, founded in 1925, initially built a series of sporting and training open-cockpit biplanes, including the Model A, Model B, 2000, 3000 and 4000. It was forced into liquidation in 1929 and its assets were purchased by the Curtiss-Wright corporation, which continued to manufacture some of its designs.The airline company's base is said to be Los Angeles, but it doesn't look like that today.The main reasons for watching this film are the excellent flying and aerobatic sequences, and the extremely attractive Ann Dvorak who certainly knew how to act in this sort of film.

calvinnme This is a 7 if compared with other hour-long B features of the day, not when compared with the A features of the same time period. There are plot holes big enough for ace pilot 3-star (Lyle Talbot) to fly his plane through, but that's OK, because the pace is brisk and the film is full of action. I won't list all of the questions that the characters - not to mention the screenplay writer - should have been asking, because I'd give too much away.Suffice it to say that pilot Bob 'Three Star' Halsey gets himself grounded for hot-shotting in the air near the airport where he is based. His boss would love to fire him, but both the boss and Three Star know he's too good a pilot for him to lose him to another airline. Of course Halsey has a girl, Judy Wagner (Ann Dvorak), and Judy has a brother who is also a pilot based out of the airport. Up to now Judy has been having to share Bob with his love of the air, but along comes an espionage plot centering around an important invention needed by the military that is to be transported by the airline that soon changes everything.There are some great aerial scenes here, and although the laws of reason - and sometimes physics as well as the limitations of human eyesight - are being violated left and right, it turns out to be fun although somewhat formulaic without being corny.

MartinHafer This is a rarity--a movie with Lyle Talbot where he is the leading man. While in A-pictures he was usually a supporting player, he did star in some lesser productions during the early years of his long career.Talbot plays a man who is oddly nicknamed "Three Star" (why, I have no idea) and he's a hotshot young pilot working for a small airline. While he was supposed to transport government agents and a top scientist along with his recent invention, Talbot is unable to fly because he's beaten by a gang of ruffians. With another pilot at the helm, the ship is lost and it's feared the secret formula was either destroyed or stolen, so it's up to the intrepid Three Star to save the day.In many ways, this film plays like a movie serial condensed into a short film. With plenty of action and some decent suspense, it's a pretty good time-passer and interesting due to its aerial scenes as well as fast-paced plot. Deep? Not exactly, but still fun nonetheless.