Up in the Air (1940)
Directed by Howard Bretherton and released on September 9, 1940, Up in the Air is an American comedy mystery produced and distributed by Monogram Pictures. Starring the energetic Frankie Darro, the immensely talented Mantan Moreland, and Marjorie Reynolds, this brisk 62-minute Poverty Row feature is a lively, backstage whodunit packed with slapstick laughs and amateur sleuthing.
Plot Overview
When widely despised and untalented radio singer Rita Wilson (Lorna Gray) is mysteriously murdered while performing on a live broadcast, the baffled local police have no shortage of suspects.
Frustrated by the incompetent police investigation, an ambitious young radio station page boy named Frankie Ryan (Frankie Darro) takes it upon himself to crack the case. He drags his reluctant friend and coworker, a station porter/janitor named Jeff Jefferson (Mantan Moreland), into the investigation. Together with the help of the station’s receptionist and aspiring singer, Anne Mason (Marjorie Reynolds), the duo sneaks around the broadcasting studio dodging shady characters, bumbling cops, and the real killer. Their chaotic sleuthing even leads to them putting on a vaudeville comedy act to disguise themselves while closing in on the culprit.
Cast
- Frankie Darro as Frankie Ryan
- Mantan Moreland as Jeff Jefferson
- Marjorie Reynolds as Anne Mason
- Lorna Gray as Singer Rita Wilson (Gladys Wharton)
- Gordon Jones as Tex Barton
- Tristram Coffin as Bob Farrell
- Clyde Dilson as Detective Lt. Marty Phillips
Production Notes & Trivia
- Poverty Row Origins: Up in the Air was produced by Monogram Pictures, one of the most prolific “Poverty Row” studios of the classic Hollywood era, known for churning out fast-paced, low-budget entertainment.
- A Comedic Duo: The movie is part of a highly successful series of Monogram buddy comedies starring Frankie Darro and Mantan Moreland, capitalizing on their fantastic comedic chemistry. They made several films together where Darro would typically play an overeager amateur detective dragging a terrified Moreland into danger.
- Rising Star: Mantan Moreland would soon achieve major fame playing the beloved comedic sidekick Birmingham Brown in Monogram’s massively popular Charlie Chan detective series.
- Vaudeville Roots: In a sequence reflecting the vaudeville sensibilities (and problematic racial tropes) of the time, the film features Darro donning blackface to perform a classic “indefinite talk” comedy and soft-shoe dance routine alongside Moreland.
- Leading Lady: Co-star Marjorie Reynolds would graduate from these B-movie roles shortly after this film, securing cinematic immortality when she was cast as Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire’s leading lady in the holiday classic Holiday Inn (1942).
