Adventures of the Flying Cadets

Adventures of the Flying Cadets is a 13-episode 1943 Universal film serial directed by Ray Taylor and Lewis D. Collins.[1]

Adventures of the Flying Cadets
Directed byLewis D. Collins
Ray Taylor
Written byGeorge H. Plympton
Paul Huston
Story byMorgan Cox
Produced byHenry MacRae
StarringJohnny Downs
Robert Armstrong
Bobby Jordan
Ward Wood
William Benedict
Eduardo Ciannelli
Regis Toomey
Jennifer Holt
CinematographyWilliam A. Sickner (credited as William Sickner)
Edited byIrving Birnbaum
Carl Himm
Alvin Todd
Edgar Zane
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • September 7, 1943 (1943-09-07)
Running time
13 chapters (265 minutes)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Flying students Danny Collins (Johnny Downs), "Jinx" Roberts (Bobby Jordan), "Scrapper" McKay (Ward Wood) and "Zombie" Parker (William Benedict) are suspected of a series of murders perpetrated by engineer, Arthur Galt (Robert Armstrong) operating as a Nazi agent known as the Black Hangman.[2] He has disposed of several people who accompanied him on an expedition which located lost helium deposits in Africa.

Galt has also imprisoned the remaining members of the expedition, Professor Mason (Selmer Jackson) and his daughter Andre (Jennifer Holt). Galt plans to sell the helium to Germany through a Gestapo ring headed by Kurt von Heiger (Eduardo Ciannelli). The four students, believing Galt to be an ally, fly with him to Africa as they hope to track down Von Heiger, thinking he is the Black Hangman, and clear their own names on the charges of murder. The four are pursued to Africa by U.S. Army Intelligence officer Captain Ralph Carson (Regis Toomey).

The boys survive a tailspin and upon landing, take Galt into custody but momentarily he convinces authorities that he is innocent. When he tries to contact other Nazi agents, he is revealed to be their ring leader. The cadets are vindicated and receive Air Force Wings as they prepare to join Allied pilots going off to war.

Chapter titles
  1. The Black Hangman Strikes
  2. Menaced by Murderers
  3. Into the Flames
  4. The Door to Death
  5. Crashed in a Crater
  6. Rendezvous with Doom
  7. Gestapo Execution
  8. Masters of Treachery
  9. Wings of Destruction
  10. Caught in the Caves of An-Kar-Ban
  11. Hostages for Treason
  12. The Black Hangman Strikes Again
  13. The Toll of Treason

Source:[3]

Cast

Production

Adventures of the Flying Cadets was Universal's last aviation serial. The first had been The Airmail Mystery in 1932.[4]

References

Notes

  1. Weiss and Goodgold 1973, p. 210.
  2. Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. p. 28. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
  3. Cline 1984, p. 236.
  4. Cline 1984, pp. 30–31.

Bibliography

  • Cline, William C. "3. The Six Faces of Adventure". In the Nick of Time. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1984. ISBN 0-7864-0471-X.
  • 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. Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania: Tab Books Inc., 1984. ISBN 978-0-83062-374-7.
  • Weiss, Ken and Ed Goodgold. To be Continued ...: A Complete Guide to Motion Picture Serials. New York: Bonanza Books, 1973. ISBN 0-517-166259.
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