Daredevils of the Clouds

Plot

Trans-Global Airlines president Douglas Harrison (Pierre Watkin) wants to force Terry O'Rourke (Robert Livingston), and his rival Polar Airways out of business. When Kay Cameron (Mae Clarke) asks for a job, Harrison connives to have her infiltrate O'Rourke's operation in his Edmonton, Alberta headquarters. She is assigned to work on the official documents required by Jimmy Travis (Russell Arms), a Canadian customs official. Soon after, a Polar Airways flight encounters trouble when an oil line breaks. Radio operator, Eddy Clark (Jimmie Dodd) talks O'Rourke down through a thick fog. O'Rourke decides not to report the accident and the damage to his aircraft, afraid his insurance company will cancel the policy, jeopardizing his lucrative Canadian government contract to haul gold ore.

Harrison's company pilot Johnny Martin (James Cardwell) convinces Kay to send in an insurance claim which will result in O'Rourke's insurance being canceled. Matt Conroy (Grant Withers), superintendent of the Tenana Gold Mine is jealous of the attention that Kay is receiving from Martin and O'Rourke. When Martin duplicitly takes on a contract for O'Rourke to fly $120,000 of Tenana gold ore, Conroy plants a bomb on board. O'Rourke is unaware that his airline no longer has insurance and when Martin's aircraft blows up, he hears a distress message saying the pilot has taken to a parachute. RCMP Sgt. Dixon (Hugh Prosser) of the Canadian Air Patrol join O'Rourke and Kay in searching for the downed aircraft. They find Martin's body, and discover that the ripcord to his parachute had been cut. O'Rourke recovers some Trans-Global Airlines pay stubs with Kay admitting she and Martin were involved in a scheme to ruin him, and that he has no insurance to cover his losses.

O'Rourke becomes angry and fires Kay. Conroy asks her to fly with him to deliver some documents but a microphone hidden aboard the aircraft reveals to O'Rourke that Conroy is the real murderer who killed Martin partly to complete his plan to steal the gold ore and partly in jealousy of anyone who is interested in Kay. When O'Rourke follows the pair to Caribou Flats, Conroy tries to use Kay as a hostage but is killed in the ensuing fight. Finally seeing that Kay is his true love, they return home together and marry.

Production

Under the working title, Daredevils of the Sky, principal photography began in mid-February 1948 at the Republic Pictures Corp. studio and backlots, Los Angeles, California.

The Capelis XC-12, a failed 1933 airliner design that most notably was used as a prop, was featured in Daredevils of the Clouds. The aircraft was bought by RKO in March 1939 and was used in a number of films during World War II, when flyable aircraft were unavailable. Previously, the XC-12 had appeared in Five Came Back (1939) with Chester Morris and Lucille Ball, The Flying Tigers (1942), starring John Wayne, and Immortal Sergeant (1943) with Henry Fonda, Thomas Mitchell and Maureen O'Hara. Grounded by the studio's insurance company, the XC-12 was primarily seen on the ground with flying scenes of an XC-12 model. In RKO's Dick Tracy's Dilemma (1947) the XC-12 was shown somewhat dismantled, but not scrapped, apparently its fate, shortly after the making of Daredevils of the Clouds.

Reception

Daredevils of the Clouds, was primarily a B film. Aviation film historian Stephen Pendo characterized the film as "tedious" with the flying scenes, "routine".

Actor-comedian Chris Elliott kept a vintage Daredevils of the Clouds poster in his office when he was a writer on Late Night with David Letterman.