CENTRAL AIRPORT

DIRECTED BY WILLIAM A. WELLMAN/ALFRED E. GREEN (Uncredited)
PRODUCED BY HAL B. WALLIS
FIRST NATIONAL/WARNER BROS

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Information From IMDB/DVD Savant

Plot
Jack Moffitt's original story deals with the realities of work for 1930s fliers.
Jim Blane (Richard Barthelmess) is booted from his job as a commercial pilot
when investigators fault him for an airliner crash in rough weather.
He meets circus barnstormer Jill Collins (Sally Eilers) just as her pilot brother
crashes to his death, and becomes her partner both in the air and in bed.
They check into hotels separately but always take adjoining rooms.
Jim doesn't believe in marriage for fliers, and Jill soon takes up
with his younger brother Bud (Tom Brown), also a pilot.
And Jim's timing is also off ... although Jill loves him,
she accepts Bud's offer of marriage.
Jim takes off for dangerous jobs in parts unknown,
but we know he'll have to come back to claim what's his.

Full Cast
Richard Barthelmess ... James 'Jim' Blaine
Sally Eilers ... Jill Collins
Tom Brown ... Neil 'Bud' Blaine
Grant Mitchell ... Mr. Blaine
James Murray ... Eddie Hughes
Claire McDowell ... Mrs. Blaine
Willard Robertson ... Havana Airport Manager
Arthur Vinton ... Amarillo Airport Manager
Charles Sellon ... Man in Wreck (scenes deleted)
Robert W. Craig ... Chef (scenes deleted)
Harold Huber ... Swarthy Man (scenes deleted)
Milton Kibbee ... Undetermined Role (scenes deleted)
Irving Bacon ... Amarillo Weatherman (uncredited)
Louise Beavers ... Hotel Maid (uncredited)
Harry C. Bradley ... Doctor (uncredited)
James Bush ... Amarillo Pilot (uncredited)
Harry Depp ... Hotel Telephone Operator (uncredited)
James Donlan ... Havana Driver (uncredited)
Lester Dorr ... Hotel Desk Clerk #3 (uncredited)
Dick Elliott ... Man Looking for Driver (uncredited)
James Ellison ... Amarillo Pilot Crossing Fingers (uncredited)
Betty Jane Graham ... Little Girl in Wreck (uncredited)
Harrison Greene ... Pomona Air Circus Announcer (uncredited)
Charles Lane ... Amarillo Radio Operator (uncredited)
Sam McDaniel ... Train Porter (uncredited)
Frances Miles ... Mother of Little Girl in Wreck (uncredited)
John 'Skins' Miller ... Hotel Desk Clerk #2 (uncredited)
Walter Miller ... Havana Airfield Official (uncredited)
Bert Moorhouse ... Havana pilot (uncredited)
J. Carrol Naish ... Drunk in Wreck (uncredited)
Theodore Newton ... Radio Operator (uncredited)
Bradley Page ... Scotty Armstrong (uncredited)
Russ Powell ... Chef (uncredited)
Jed Prouty ... Hotel Desk Clerk #1 (uncredited)
George Regas ... Havana Mechanic (uncredited)
Harry Semels ... Havana Airfield Worker (uncredited)
Harry Strang ... Havana pilot (uncredited)
Phil Tead ... Duke, Airplane Ticket Agent (uncredited)
Fred 'Snowflake' Toones ... El Paso Craps Shooter (uncredited)
John Vosper ... Man in Wreck (uncredited)
Lucille Ward ... Waitress (uncredited)
John Wayne ... Co-pilot in Wreck (uncredited)
Charles Williams ... El Paso Hotel Desk Clerk (uncredited)
Toby Wing ... Air Show Observer (uncredited)
Jack Wise ... Amarillo Airport Clerk (uncredited)

Writing Credits
Jack Moffitt (story "Hawk's Mate")
Rian James (screenplay) &
James Seymour (screenplay)

Original Music
Howard Jackson (uncredited)
Bernhard Kaun (uncredited)

Cinematography
Sidney Hickox (as Sid Hickox)

Trivia
Alfred E. Green temporarily replaced William A. Wellman as director when he caught the flu.

A note on file in the AMPAS library says that John Vosper replaced Charles Sellon, J. Carrol Naish replaced Harold Huber and Russ Powell replaced Robert W. Craig.

American Film Institute Catalog of Feature Films 1931-1940 erroneously identifies Glenda Farrell (uncredited) as "Woman in Wreck". Glenda Farrell does not appear in this film.

Goofs
* Continuity: The title is Central Airport, yet the story does not revolve around any single airport, and there is no airport in the movie by that name. Only two airports are identified by name in the movie and both are called Grand Central Airport (one in English, one in Spanish).

* Continuity: When Jim is coming in to land after stunting over the Havana airport, we get a good look at the writing and symbols on the right-hand side of his plane. When he actually touches down, they are in different colors and positions, and a diagonal line of bullet holes has appeared.

* Errors in geography: Neil's plane goes down en route from Havana to Mexico City and the radio announcer gives his estimated position as 22°N 88°W. This would be off the Yucatán Peninsula about 400 miles west of Havana, which makes sense. But when Jim and Jill get to the airport, the position marked on the map is south of the Dry Tortugas. This would be about 24°30'N 83°W or about 100 miles north of Havana, and Jim's compass shows him flying north to reach the site.

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Thanks to Hondo Duke Lane for his post regarding the release on DVD of this movie,
it prompted me to realise that there has never been a profile for this film!!
When initially compiling the Movie Reviews, to save endless hours of time,
I decided not to include films with 'very bit parts' of Duke.
However this has now been rectified, with his very early movies,
and now even more so with this profile.

Duke is seen 56 minutes into the film, as an officer
on the downed plane in the Gulf Of Mexico.
Duke's screen time is 36 seconds, as he helps passengers
out onto the wing, and drowns doing so.

His first screen death

For continuity I have copied Hondo's original post over to here.

Hondo Duke Lane
Central Airport
I saw this and found out that Central Airport was released on February 2, 2010. Duke was in this movie (only briefly), and so it is one for your collection.
He is the information in Central Airport.
Central Airport (http://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s3196airp.html)
I am going to get my copy.

Cheers Hondo
Great Airplane Flying, 17 July 2004
Author: Sleepy-17 from Colorado
There's more to this movie than John Wayne in a bit part, there are some spectacular flying scenes involving a train, sincere performances by Richard Barthelmess and Sally Eilers, a strange one by Tom Brown. Except for the flying, there's very little sign of Wellman's directorial expertise in cinematic storytelling (unusual for his 30's films), but it's likable and entertaining enough. Interesting crash scenes, and the sexual aspect of the story is somewhat shocking while being quite tastefully depicted.