Tail Spin
WOMEN AIR RACES...Ripping the skies asunder with blinding speed.
1939 | 84m | English
Popularity: 1 (history)
| Director: | Roy Del Ruth |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Frank Wead |
| Staring: |
| Trixie is a female pilot looking to win a big race to advance her career. During one race, however, her plane becomes damaged, and she needs help to repair it. She meets a Navy pilot named "Tex" Price and tries to gain his aid. Tex soon meets another pilot, Gerry, a novice who seeks to win an important upcoming race. Tex, concerned for Gerry's safety, tries to convince her not to race. But Gerry, now a rival of Trixie's, is determined to fly. | |
| Release Date: | Feb 19, 1939 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Roy Del Ruth |
| Writer: | Frank Wead |
| Genres: | Drama |
| Keywords | |
| Production Companies | 20th Century Fox |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Aug 03, 2024 Entered: Apr 21, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Alice Faye | Trixie Lee |
| Constance Bennett | Gerry Lester |
| Nancy Kelly | Lois Allen |
| Joan Davis | Babe Dugan |
| Charles Farrell | Bud |
| Jane Wyman | Alabama |
| Kane Richmond | Lieutenant Dick 'Tex' Price |
| Wally Vernon | Chick |
| Joan Valerie | Sunny |
| Harry Davenport | T.P. Lester |
| Edward Norris | Speed Allen |
| J. Anthony Hughes | Al Moore |
| Mary Gordon | Mrs. Lee |
| Robert Allen | Charlie |
| Irving Bacon | Storekeeper (Uncredited) |
| Helen Brown | Gerry's Nurse (Uncredited) |
| William B. Davidson | Sales Manager (Uncredited) |
| Fern Emmett | Matilda, Gerry's Maid (Uncredited) |
| Jonathan Hale | Racing Official Starter (Uncredited) |
| Sam Hayes | Announcer (Uncredited) |
| Harold Miller | Officer at Bar in Cleveland Club (Uncredited) |
| Adrian Morris | Repo Man (Uncredited) |
| Renie Riano | Chick's Pilot Girlfriend (Uncredited) |
| Harry Rosenthal | Harrison, Cafe Manager (Uncredited) |
| Edwin Stanley | Doctor (Uncredited) |
| Emmett Vogan | Powder Puff Derby Starter (Uncredited) |
| Eddie Dunn | Eddie, Mechanic (Uncredited) |
| Robert Lowery | Sam, Mechanic (Uncredited) |
| Ralph Dunn | Mechanic (Uncredited) |
| Jack Pennick | Mechanic (Uncredited) |
| James Conaty | Nightclub Patron (Uncredited) |
| Larry Steers | Nightclub Patron (Uncredited) |
| Murray Alper | Albuquerque Mechanic (Uncredited) |
| Kit Guard | Kansas City Mechanic (Uncredited) |
| Eddie Marr | Kansas City Mechanic (Uncredited) |
| Milburn Stone | Kansas City Mechanic (Uncredited) |
| Alice Armand | Flyer (Uncredited) |
| Barbara Brewster | Flyer (Uncredited) |
| Gloria Brewster | Flyer (Uncredited) |
| Dorothy Dearing | Flyer (Uncredited) |
| Helen Ericson | Flyer (Uncredited) |
| June Gale | Flyer (Uncredited) |
| Betty Gillies | Flyer (Uncredited) |
| Mary Healy | Flyer (Uncredited) |
| Teddy Kenyon | Flyer (Uncredited) |
| Ruth Nichols | Flyer (Uncredited) |
| Lillian Porter | Flyer (Uncredited) |
| Margo Tanner | Flyer (Uncredited) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Allen McNeil | Editor |
| Roy Del Ruth | Director |
| Karl Freund | Director of Photography |
| Jule Styne | Vocal Coach |
| Rudolph Sternad | Art Direction |
| Audrey Scott | Stunt Double |
| Frank Wead | Writer |
| Bernard Herzbrun | Art Direction |
| Thomas Little | Set Decoration |
| Gwen Wakeling | Costume Design |
| Booth McCracken | Assistant Director |
| Eugene Grossman | Sound |
| Roger Heman Sr. | Sound |
| Louis Silvers | Music Director, Additional Music |
| Cyril J. Mockridge | Additional Music |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Darryl F. Zanuck | Producer |
| Harry Joe Brown | Associate Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 1 |
| 2024 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 2 |
| 2024 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 1 |
| 2024 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 2 |
| 2024 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 1 |
| 2024 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2024 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| 2024 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2024 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Trending Position
Alice Faye tries really hard here as "Trixie" who begs, blags and borrows in order to take part in the "Powder Puff" air race across the USA - the prize is a whopping great $100,000! Her main competitor is the wealthy "Gerry" (pronounced "Gary" - Constance Bennett). What now ensues is a rather proce ... dural rivalry drama peppered with a rather melancholy song from Faye and some really quite good aerial photography. The film itself is nothing at all to write home about. The writing is bland and most of the sound stage stuff set against back-projected scenarios just looks cheap. Joan Davis ("Babe") is enthusiastic enough, providing some light-hearted input but for the most part this is really quite a disappointing rendering of what could have been a much better, more exciting, film. The gorgeous silent film star Charles Farrell ("Street Angel" (1928) and "City Girl" (1930) are great films) chips in now and again, and that helps significantly, but not enough to get this off the ground. Watchable, but forgettable.