Dirigible (1931) User Reviews

Historically valuable

[1250man · 6/10 · 20 January 2007]

Aside from featuring Fay Wray BEFORE she became famous in King Kong, the movie has value as historical record, because of the scenes of the U.S. Navy's dirigible, LOS ANGELES. The LOS ANGELES served a dual role in the film, first as the fictional PENSACOLA, destroyed in a storm at sea, and then as her real self. The loss of the PENSACOLA is prescient in a way, because her successors, the very real AKRON and MACON, which had yet to enter service when the movie was made, were subsequently both lost at sea in storms, bringing an end to rigid airships in the U.S. Navy. A predecessor, the SHENANDOAH was lost in 1928 in a storm over Ohio.

When this movie was made, only the LOS ANGELES was in service. The movie shows excellent closeup film of the ship mooring at Lakehurst N.J. as well as her experimental trapeze which allowed an aircraft to moor to the ship while in flight. This feature was incorporated in AKRON and MACON, along with a hanger to stow the planes aboard. These two, the biggest in USN service at 800 feet could each carry 3-4 planes. The planes could be "captured" on the trapeze, brought inside and then launched from their trapeze. An amazing sight to see!

Fascinating look at the U.S. Navy's airships in early '30s...

[Doylenf · 7/10 · 18 May 2009]

The "7" is strictly for the amazing aerial scenes involving airships or dirigibles (like the Hindenberg that crashed at Lakehurst, N.J.). In fact, all of the aviation moments are skillfully photographed for dramatic effect, especially the fierce electrical storm that destroys one of the dirigibles by pulling it apart in mid-flight.

The romance on the ground is far less convincing than the action sequences involving pilots flying to the South Pole. FAY WRAY is the femme lead, hopelessly in love with hubby RALPH GRAVES and begging his best friend JACK HOLT not to use him on his expedition to the South Pole. She's sick of staying behind and worrying about him and his grandstanding exploits. Unfortunately, none of the domestic scenes between Graves and Wray bear any semblance to reality--her weeping gets pretty tiresome before the plot is resolved.

But FAY WRAY was unquestionably a beautiful woman and director Frank Capra gives her plenty of close-ups. Her role is not particularly well written and she has trouble being anything more than a decorative ploy. RALPH GRAVES is not totally convincing as a reckless pilot. There's an awkwardness about his acting that is somewhat disconcerting here. JACK HOLT handles his role with authority and good screen presence.

A fascinating look at early aviation exploits using dirigibles and balloons when they were seriously considered to be the modern methods of aviation. Well worth watching.

Historically speaking, this film is amazing--too bad some of the plot elements also make it, at times, quite dull

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 22 January 2007]

This is a must-see film for people like me. I am a history teacher and love aviation and especially dirigibles. Despite how amazingly large and spectacular these airships were, very few films were ever made about them. Here, fortunately, is a homage to America's rather ill-fated dirigible service operated by the US Navy. Additionally, fans of naval aviation will also be thrilled by the airplanes and aircraft carrier (USS Lexington) featured in the film. However, to those out there that could care less about these things, there is little that will interest you about the film--particularly since the romance in the film seems "tacked on" and confusing.

But first, a bit of background. In the 1930s, the Navy purchased some of these airships from the Germans and also made some their own--all of which eventually crashed! Some of this was due to pilot error and some of this was due to the weaknesses of the American designs. So, since the use of these enormous gas-bags was limited to a very short period of time, there just isn't all that much information about them. In hindsight, they were a very cool idea that was already impractical and outdated--at least as far as military use goes. One of the airships in the film (the Pensacola) did not exist, while the Los Angeles was an actual airship.

So back to the film. The aerial sequences are generally quite good and a lot of actual footage was rather seamlessly integrated into the film--in particular, the amazing Aviation Day sequence where two dirigibles and many non-rigid airships fill the screen. Also, while a bit ponderous, the Antarctic scenes were well made and interesting. BUT, the gratuitous romance just got in the way of the film and made no sense. Because Fay Wray loved her husband so much, she wanted to leave him? And then, when he's nearly killed, she calls off her plans to run away with his ex-best friend and returns! It's convoluted and senseless and a major distraction.

Quite An Achievement and a "Must See" for Fay Wray Fans

[aimless-46 · 15 July 2007]

While "Dirigible" (1931) is notable as Frank Capra's best early film, the real credit for making something that was both a huge hit during the early years of talking pictures and an old film that will interest even today's jaded action movie fans should go to Editor Maurice Wright. Wright had to assemble this early blockbuster from what Capra shot and what the U.S. Navy provided in the form of stock and promotional footage. He did a great job and you rarely are aware that you watching a movie, let alone a fictional drama.

The story is a historical concoction, mixing elements of Robert Falcon Scott's sledding disaster at the South Pole and Nobile's ill-fated North Pole expedition in the airship "Italia". It is likely the producers of "The Red Tent" (1970) borrowed heavily from Capra's technique when they dramatized the crash of Nobile's dirigible for their film.

The destruction of the fictional dirigible "The Los Angeles" is the most interesting sequence in the film but the Navy's promotional footage is also quite interesting, particularly to viewers 75+ years later. There is extensive coverage of operations on the first USS Lexington; which would be sunk during WWII (The Battle of the Coral Sea). The rest of the simulated action stuff leaves something to be desired but was no doubt quite credible to viewers at the time of the film's release.

I wouldn't pay much attention to complaints that the back-story is lame and boring. It features a pre-Kong Fay Wray. She is younger and has her natural darker hair color. As such, I think you will find her about as beautiful as any actress in film history, especially in profile. Apparently Capra quickly figured out what he had with Wray as he makes extensive use of close-ups during her scenes; a technique that would not really come into fashion until the 1970's. And Wray exhibits considerable acting talent in these scenes, earnestly sincere as the wife of a glory-seeking Navy pilot. And since you can't take your eyes off her, any complaints about scripting and content are pretty much irrelevant.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Some good views of USS Los Angeles if you can tolerate the sickening romantic sub-plot

[fisherforrest · 7/10 · 15 January 2007]

I have about 3 feet of shelf space in my library devoted to books about airships, and I don't think any of them use the term "dirigible", except derisively, in referring to lighter-than-air flying machines. "Dirigible" comes from the French "dirigible ballon", meaning "steerable balloon". For English speakers, the proper term, and the one used by the U.S.Navy, is "airship", but apparently the director and writers for DIRIGIBLE didn't know that. "Airship" is not used once throughout this interesting, if seriously flawed, film. There's a lot about airships the director and writers didn't know. For example, in one part of the story, USS Los Angeles, in her proper persona, is shown flying over the South Pole to rescue some downed aviators from a Ford Trimotor crash. Since the pole lies in excess of 10,000 feet above sea- level, and since none of the Navy's four rigid airships were designed to fly higher than 3,000 feet high, such a project would have been totally impossible. The Germans in WWI had some ships designed for as high as 20,000 feet, but our Navy never did.

Well, despite all the wrong-headedness of the story, USS Los Angeles manages to be the star of this movie and upstages all of the human cast. In the course of the film, USS Los Angeles plays a dual role. First as the fictional USS Pensacola, which was destroyed in a hurricane while flying on a hare-brained project to the South Pole. This was no doubt inspired by the real fate of USS Shenandoah, which was destroyed over the U.S. middle-west while on an equally hare-brained project. Later in the story, as herself, USS Los Angeles is sent to the South Pole on the already mentioned impossible rescue mission. Some of the events involving the downed aviators seems to have been suggested by the real troubles of the ill- fated Scott expedition to the South Pole of 1912. There, one of the explorers who was being almost literally carried by the others, went out of the tent and died to spare his comrades. Incidentally, Ford Trimotors were used by the early U.S. polar expeditions, but there were no crashes involving them. There was one air crash, but it occurred near the shore, and was not a Ford Trimotor.

There were a number of great scenes, possible and impossible, in the film, but inevitably we come back to poor Fay Wray in the thankless role of the wife who can't abide her husband's adventurous career as a Navy pilot. While her romantic entanglements are boring us silly, we are also given the impression that the U.S.Navy had a whole fleet of rigid airships. In a scene near the beginning we see what looks like a number of airships flying in formation. If this didn't involve camera trickery, those other airships were blimps, not the big rigids. In a brief scene, it might be hard to tell the difference. At no time during the roughly ten year period beginning about 1924 did the U.S.Navy have more than one rigid airship in commission. The Congress kept such tight purse strings on the Navy that they could only afford enough helium to keep but one flying!

Almost a remake of Lost Zepplin from 2 years earlier this is a spectacular film hurt by the soap opera of home life

[dbborroughs · 7/10 · 22 June 2009]

Very similar to a film called the Lost Zeppelin (to the point its almost a remake) that was released two years earlier this is a story of an attempt to reach the South Pole via dirigible. The story begins when the US Navy tries to get into the good graces of a polar explorer who is planning yet another trip to the pole. The navy enlists Jack Holt, a dirigible pilot, to impress the explorer in the hopes of his considering using one of their ships to make the trip. Holt seals the deal when he agrees to bring along a plane which can hook and unhook from the airship. The trip goes badly and ends in disaster. However it sets the stage for a later expedition and a shot at redemption.

Spectacular large scale production this is a grand adventure, if some what slow moving tale, of pushing the envelope in the name of adventure and science. Filmed with the cooperation of the navy this film has some absolutely stunning images of planes and airships in flight. The sets are truly amazing and it's not really clear as to what's real and what's not. The look of the film will blow your mind.

What is less thrilling is the soap opera between the airplane pilot and his wife, played by Fay Wray. Wray is very good as the wife who loves her husband but can't stand all of his macho antics. The scenes between the husband and the wife, and even Holt and Wray, Holt is the husbands best friend, are pure soap opera (well acted but still soap opera). I'm sure the reason the romantic scenes were inserted for the women in the audience, but the scenes kind of stop the film and diminish the rest, making the film seem much longer than its 100 minute running time.

Still the film really is worth seeing. It's a grand spectacle and adventure that they don't make any more. It will knock your socks off.

As to similarities with the Lost Zeppelin, you have the same goal, the clash of friends, the wife of one of the men being unhappy in her marriage, a crash needing rescue and a few similar points. I wouldn't go so far as to say that Dirigible steals from Lost Zeppelin, so much as remakes it with a few significant changes.

Interesting slice of history (*** Spoilers in last paragraph ***)

[cwillson · 6/10 · 15 December 2009]

For those interested in the history of aviation, the artful integration of old Navy footage of the Los Angeles airship (a German-built Zeppelin which was the 4th aircraft to cross the Atlantic), including footage of the experimental underside mooring mast used for docking an airplane in flight, and the Lakehurst field and hangar, all offer a wonderful slice of history. This footage, and the parts of the film which show the interior of this airship and its mock-ups and use, are wonderful, and many other elements provide a wonderful view of what the world looks like through a 1931 lens. It is interesting to see how some things (parts of the Navy ships), do not look all that dated, while other elements are radically different. This alone makes this film a very worthwhile, and trumps all the issues and complaints below. For many, this alone makes it worthy of a 9 out of 10, although for those without this interest, it is more like a 6.

At the story level, there are a lot of holes. There is an inconsistent and totally unbelievable romance kludged on, with a Fay Wray performance that doesn't work, and will leave you scratching your head. This part is a 1 or 2 out of 10. Like other scripts which take a little bit of current technology and try to extrapolate to spin out a story without really understanding the technology, some parts seems pretty silly today, but this was the view from 1931. The writing seems to be oblivious to the service ceiling of the craft, and the limitations imposed by the large surface area and low speed of the craft when exposed to winds, especially as channeled by terrain. However, in the era shortly before the end of serious airship use, they were losing them at an alarming rate, and the Los Angeles was one of the few that survived to be decommissioned and disassembled.

**** SPOILERS BELOW ****

The plot has issues. Bravado and personal agendas trump planning on important expeditions and military (Navy) ops (a failing shared with Capra's 1929 "Flight", also starring Holt and Graves, which stretched bravado and credulity even further). Here we are to believe that "Frisky", upon successfully reaching the South Pole, but having dropped most critical supplies to lighten the load, decides to chance a landing on an unknown surface, in an area where no rescue would be possible (per their orders). We are then given scenes at the South Pole which do not represent conditions at the pole. (My uncle was at Byrd Station, and it gets pretty cold there, with average summer temps close to -30C, and it appears that the north and south hemispheres are both in summer, so we are also left to wonder if they understood they are reversed south of the equator.) When a rescue does come, instead of sending people down the rescue lines, they parachute in from a very low altitude for dramatic effect, but then get pulled back in by the lines. Okay, you get to see cool parachuting footage from 1931, so I guess its okay. Overall, a great slice of history with contemporary use of (now) archival footage, but the plot and romance drag the ratings down.

Mildly Interesting Early Airship Adventure

[CitizenCaine · 6/10 · 21 June 2009]

In addition to the films Submarine and Flight, Frank Capra directed a third film with both Jack Holt and Ralph Graves: Dirigible. Originally set to be a follow-up to Wings at Paramount, it was eventually sold to poverty row Columbia. It's a heroic adventure story about competing naval officers who attempt to be the first to reach the South Pole. Holt attempts to do it via dirigible and Graves tries the conventional way by ship and sea plane. In between them there's a girl of course: Fay Wray. In their films together, Holt is always the more experienced individual offering some gentlemanly levity to a given situation; where as, Graves is often the young hothead recruit or inexperienced pilot who needs his wings clipped.

In Dirigible, Capra features the airship throughout the film, and it's probably one of the few films to do so. Lots of aerial footage of Holt commanding the dirigible and Graves as a pilot move the creaky plot forward. The film was actually based on a real life incident and adapted by Jo Swerling and Dorothy Howell based on Frank Wead's story. As in many films from this period, an obligatory romantic subplot is tacked on, which kind of detracts from the film. Fay Wray is Helen Pierce, Graves' wife. The script fails Wray as she acts discombobulated throughout the film. She lives Graves, but can't stand the danger he readily embraces. Meanwhile, good guy Holt, who plays second fiddle, offers a shoulder to cry on and rescues the big lug Graves on top of it, but he doesn't get the girl. OK as entertainment, but a notch below most of Capra's efforts. **1/2 of 4 stars.

Standard Storyline But Great Footage for Zeppelin Enthusiasts

[fx_gent · 6/10 · 11 July 2007]

A reasonably decent motion picture for its time, the one attribute that makes this film stand out from its standard storyline, is its footage and scenes regarding dirigibles. When this film was released in 1931, it was the golden age of zeppelin travel, and the crash of the Hindenburg, which doomed this type of transportation, was still five years in the future. There were numerous scenes shot at Lakehurst Naval Air station, where ironically the Hindenburg crashed, that was the center of dirigible activity at the time for the U.S. Navy. As someone who is interested in this subject, I found this part of the movie fascinating as well as the part of the story that took you behind the scenes of airship travel and how much danger could be involved. The riveting scene dealing with the crash of a dirigible in a violent storm brought to mind the U.S. Navy zeppelin Akron, launched the same year as this film, which was destroyed in a similar storm only two years later. It was also interesting to see actress Fay Wray two years before she would gain fame with her role in King Kong. I had the opportunity to catch this film recently during an airing on the TCM cable channel and would recommend it for anyone with a similar interest.

Off To The South Pole

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 15 December 2009]

Dirigible was the last film that Frank Capra made with Jack Holt and Ralph Graves about the armed services. In this last one the two of them are more like James Cagney and Pat O'Brien than ever. Dirigible also resembles as the other two Graves/Holt films a film that John Ford was more likely to direct.

Again the two men clash over a woman, this time Fay Wray who is married to Graves, but who is being driven nuts by Graves's irresponsibility as a flier. Give me one of those lighter than air guys instead and good friend Holt fills the bill.

The film echoes the headlines of the time with the country watching the exploits of Admiral Richard E. Byrd and his polar expeditions. Both Holt and Graves go to the South Pole and each has to rescue the other at times.

There is a very poignant performance by Roscoe Karns who usually played fast talking annoying characters who were entertaining, but hardly endearing. Karns plays a frostbitten marine who is truly suffering and you really feel for what he's going through.

The film was shot according to the Citadel Film series book on the Films of Frank Capra at a dirigible training facility that was eventually closed down and the land was taken by the newly built Santa Anita racetrack later in the decade. The flight sequences were done in the air, just like Howard Hughes's Hell's Angels was.

It's a good action film, I wonder though if John Ford could have gotten more out of it, Dirigible is definitely more his kind of film.

Action! Thrills! Blimps!

[Scott_Mercer · 8/10 · 16 September 2007]

Okay, I know, they are not blimps. They are Zeppelins. "Airships" was the preferred term by the U.S. Navy.

This is a very exciting action film for 1931. Apparently made with quite a high budget. I saw model shots, large sound stages filling in for Antartica, thousands of extras, real airships, and a gigantic ticker tape parade shot on location in New York City. All of these things cost much money. The U.S. Navy's use of airships was so brief that this film also marks one of the few stories about this chapter in our military history.

This film proves that Capra was also adept at high intensity action directing (for 1931) as well his usual character-driven morality plays that he became so well-known for.

The one thing that is the most striking to me about (some) early talking pictures, of which this is one, is that they have hardly any music score. This is true here, and only adds to the isolated feeling in the scenes of the doomed expedition struggling to escape from the frozen tundra. Plenty of sound effects in the scenes of the doomed Pensacola going down, but no music. In fact, the film even uses a few silent film style narration cards.

Anyway, in spite of this film dating from 1931, it has aged really well and doesn't seem too dated at all. A nice action/adventure film. The print they showed on TCM on television was in very good shape, even the sound was strong in most places. Yes, the love story seemed tacked on, but there are thousands of films in the history of Hollywood that could have survived artistically with their romantic subplots (probably inserted at the insistence of cigar-chewing studio bosses to get "the female market") jettisoned. In any case, this movie is quite entertaining and Worth checking out.

Zepps before the US Navy screwed them up...

[sensha · 7/10 · 2 March 2013]

Return to the heady days of the 1920s, when the strategic bombers of World War I were still seen as a viable alternative to the rickety airplanes of the day. While the acting is wooden and stereotypical (brave fly boy, conservative large "ship" commander, frail stay at home wife), just seeing the footage of the long-gone rigid airships is worth the tariff.

The best shot is near the beginning, when the camera pans upward, past round naval observation balloons, surprisingly modern non-rigid 'blimps' flying in formation, and then (above them all) the massive (larger by a factor of five or more) dirigible of the title.

Scenes of the real dirigible flying, landing, dropping naval "parachute men", and hooking up to the mooring mast are also worth the time.

Not so much the rest of the movie. Period special effects do not hold up well under modern scrutiny, and the silly pining away of Fay Wray really gets in the way.

(Odd too is the fact that the Review Board passed on a plot line involving an obviously cheating on her husband woman, including a racy scene at the beach where the two have been sharing an afternoon swimming, barely clad by 1930s standards). Perhaps this was during the Hays to Breen transition period, and it slipped under the radar.)

Note that the poor USS Pensacola (a mythical Navy airship; there was a cruiser by that name but never an aircraft) doesn't catch fire, despite the dramatic breakup of the structure. US airship were filled with helium (due to the almost monopolistic corner of the world's supply of helium by the US), and although they suffered through a series of dramatic crashes (Shenandoah, Akron, Macon), none of them caught fire a la the Hindenburg.

Buy it in the newly released DVD for the flying, and try to ignore the rest. (Oh, and Fay Wray looks far better as a brunette than she ever did as a blonde.)

Jealous Drapery

[tedg · 20 March 2007]

Here's the sequence that led to this in my life: I read about the Scott disaster, an amazing story. Then last night I saw the 1958 film of it, an extraordinary story and an interesting film.

For those who don't know the story it is of a British expedition to be the first to the south pole. They were beaten by a month by a Norweigian explorer, and on the return lost their lives. They made extraordinary errors, but they were loved by the Brits because, well because they were so heroically aristocratic and gentlemanly in their bearing. This story was huge, just huge.

It was huge enough to serve as the basis for this film, which I saw following the 58 UK film. That film showed the sleds as pulled by humans, as cooking with certain pots, as the sleds with odometer wheels, as certain surely genuine clothing. It shows a man dying of wounds after being pulled in exhaustion; another knowing his fate was sealed and going off into the cold to die in sacrifice. We have all that here.

This is three films in one, two of them palatable. I usually get annoyed at Capra, but this is before he developed his sugary world for us.

One film is of a crew wrecked at the south pole and having to recreate the doomed Scott voyage, in evocation of that great adventure. Keep in mind that this was only 20 years before (and its over 75 years since this film!)

Another is an equally amazing adventure sequence. The story here is that the top dirigible pilot and top plane pilot ("Frisky") are buddies. They plan a joint trip to the pole. The sequences that have these two flying are still darned impressive today, three quarters of a century later. The flying cameras are great. The flying balloons are shown with convincing reality. If all we had were the shots of the real facility and its devices and sailors, this would be worth it.

The third story grows to take over the thing. Its the story of Frisky's wife, played by Fay Wray a couple years before "King Kong." She's upset that Frisky is away so much doing his stunts. The dirigible pilot is his best friend and in love with her. While Frisky is on his way to the pole, she plans to divorce Frisky and marry his buddy. Naturally Frisky is saved by his buddy making a dangerous flight over Antartica, and he generously arranges to hide the affair, knowing that Fay has discovered her "love" for her husband. All this is rather horrible in every dimension.

But see it for the other two components. Darn worthwhile.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

Enjoyable antique tale of dirigibles, airplanes, South Pole.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 29 March 2012]

I kind of enjoyed this, despite the stagy performances at the beginning, the ligneous leading man, and the period visual effects. It was written by Spig Wead, the protagonist of John Ford's "The Wings of Eagles", and directed by Frank Capra before he became warm and populist. Fay Wray is a cute and unwittingly sexy as she was in the same year's "King Kong," even if she does keep her dress on this time around.

Ralph Graves is a hot-shot aviator in the 1932 US Navy. You ought to see him do outside loops and laughing at orders not to do it. Jack Holt is his superior officer who is committed to the giant dirigibles that fly out of the Naval Air Station in Lakehurst, New Jersey. Graves is married to Fay Wray, whom Holt loves from afar, in a gentlemanly kind of way. Graves doesn't take Wray seriously when she complains that he's more interested in headlines and aviation trophies than he is in her. He placates her with lines like, "Say, honey, you must know nothing means more to me than you." He thinks he's smart but he's pretty dumb.

Graves is chosen to pilot a flight over the South Pole and dropping a flag on it. He decides to land the airplane and plant the flag in person, the happy-go-lucky lug. Well -- maybe not so lucky. He cracks the plane up. Two of the four-man crew wind up dead. And Graves carries the third guy until he collapses from exhaustion, hunger, and cold, abjectly accepting death. But before they can snuff it, the two men are rescued by a dirigible flown by Holt.

The first part is a little goofy. The actors speak as if they're on a stage and have to shout to reach the balconies. But the last two thirds of the film are packed with action scenes, and fairly convincing, considering the year. The suffering undergone by the crash survivors isn't stiff-upper-lip stuff either. Roscoe Karns is a wisecracking radioman on the crew. Usually these characters survive and sometimes they're given the final witticism as the film closes on the lovers kissing. But when his foot is injured and he's being hauled along on a sled, he breaks down and shouts with pain, squealing, "I don't want to cry! I don't want to cry!" It's a little horrifying. It's done with such artlessness that it's believable, and the cure turns out to be worse than the disease.

It's a commercial enterprise, not a masterpiece. Capra uses some stunning shots from high up in the rafters of the dirigible hangars but aside from that it's a straightforward and somewhat familiar adventure story. It will likely sweep you along by sheer momentum after you're through the initial exposition. Interesting to note that even in 1932 radio operators used speed keys.

The best of Capra's Military films

[davidmvining · 7/10 · 19 January 2024]

The third of Frank Capra's military themed romantic triangles, Dirigible is the one that addresses my issues with character that happened in both of the earlier films, Submarine and Flight, and it ends up working better than either of the previous two. This is also probably Capra's most ambitious physical production with an impressive combination of special effects and real, documentary footage of airplanes and dirigibles all while much more effectively telling a character-based story in between. It's not great, setting up a lot of stuff that never really comes to any point while kind of lurching from one major direction to another, but the throughline is solidly good throughout.

Frisky (Ralph Graves) is a hotshot navy pilot who likes to show off by flying through hangers during airshows while his good friend Jack (Jack Holt) captains a dirigible, a lighter than air aircraft that still needs to prove itself to the navy brass. The prospect to prove the dirigible comes when the explorer Rondelle (Hobart Bosworth) asks the brass for help reaching the South Pole, something the brass recruits Jack for while Jack recruits Frisky. The problem is that Frisky's wife, Helen (Fay Wray), feels like she's only been married for two months to a man she wed two years ago, begging him to stay from any more extended trips. However, the prospect of something as grand as being part of the first team to reach the South Pole is just too much to pass up.

Where this film really sets itself apart from the previous two films in this unofficial little trilogy is in the characters. Helen may be less compelling than a Hawksian woman, but her concerns are well drawn while she runs into Jack's arms mostly out of desperation. He loves her already, and she feels like she can fall back on him if she were to leave Frisky. Frisky genuinely does love Helen, but he's torn between her and his need for glory. Jack does love Helen, but he's loyal to his friend. So, when Helen goes to Jack to try and get Frisky off the project, Jack does it because he loves her, Frisky is mad at Jack because Frisky wants to share in the glory. And where it really sets itself apart is when these people get into danger.

In the previous films, one of the two men would get into danger, along with several other military men, and the one left behind would dither, sometimes for days, about whether they should do their duty to rescue the men in trouble. When Jack's dirigible goes down in a story, Frisky doesn't hesitate and is the first man to find the fall aircraft. Later, when Frisky gets into similar trouble, Jack does the same. There's no pausing, despite their differences. They do their duty, and it makes both men, no matter whose side one might take, all the more appealing as main characters in this story of danger.

And the danger is kind of great. The destruction of the first dirigible is terrifying as a major storm steadily rips it in half and we see it from the inside out, complete with steel girders twisting like rope. The later sections set in the Antarctic are just as impressively staged (though a model is never not a model, though I do find model work adorable and love it all). I just kind of have this issue where the point of the film is the Antarctic, but they decided to name it after a kind of aircraft that's honestly not that much in the film. They were apparently trying to mimic Wings to some extent, even in marketing, so it's really a problem with how the film was sold than how it was made. Still, there is a certain change in focus as things move, focusing on the dirigible and its flightworthiness first and then the actual Antarctic expedition in the second half.

The film essentially becomes a survival movie in its second half as Frisky flies the expedition privately to the South Pole, gets ambitious, tries to land, crashes, and they need to walk the seven-hundred miles back. This all happens while Frisky carries a note with him from Helen that he's supposed to open upon his arrival at the South Pole where she announces that she's leaving him. That he completely forgets about it for weeks while walking back is...thin, but okay.

Another character who sets herself apart from her predecessors is Helen, torn over her loves and immediately hating herself for having written the letter once she gets word of the danger she's in. The resolution of all these little subplots is really good, the kind of smaller scale ending for three people intertwined in an adventure that works surprisingly well.

I just kind of wish that skyhook bit that got so much focus in the first act had some kind of payoff, you know?

Some Bad Comedy, but Good Overall

[view_and_review · 6/10 · 8 February 2024]

A dirigible is an airship. Like the Hindenburg. I'd never heard the word dirigible before so I felt compelled to look it up.

Commander Jack Bradon (Jack Holt) was the skipper of a dirigible for the U. S. Navy. He was tasked with piloting Louis Rondelle (Hobart Bosworth) to the South Pole for a discovery mission. They wanted to attach a plane to the dirigible for more exploration while at the South Pole. The plane was to be piloted by Frisky Pierce (Ralph Graves), a hot shot pilot. Jack wanted no one but Frisky to fly the plane, but Frisky's wife Helen (Fay Wray) was dead set against it. Frisky wouldn't listen to her pleas, but she knew that he would obey Jack if he removed him from the mission.

Jack did just that out of deference to Helen which caused a rift between him and Frisky. Furthermore, it didn't deter Frisky from attempting to go to the South Pole, he'd just have to do it as a civilian. So, when Jack's mission failed, Frisky had the opportunity to take Rondelle to the South Pole himself.

This movie was doing perfectly alright until one scene. It was actually two scenes, but I dismissed the first one. It seems they couldn't dispense with some "comedy" at the expense of a Black man.

The first bit of comedy was when the Navy brass were discussing the upcoming South Pole voyage. While they were discussing it a Navy cook and servant named Clarence (Clarence Muse), a Black man, overheard them talking about what they'd need for the trip. Clarence chimed in with some more "obvious" things they'd need if they were going to be "climbing a pole." This discourse was gratuitously thrown in as a gag and to further cement that Black people are dumb. It was a stupid scene that served no purpose other than to slightly increase my blood temperature, but ultimately I was able to ignore it.

Then Clarence made another appearance. This time he was a part of the second voyage to the South Pole. He was cooking and singing "Swing low sweet chariot" when a no-class white crew member threw a pot at him and hit him in the head with it. Good ol' Clarence took it in stride and understood the blow as a summons. The ignorant loser wanted more coffee.

I wasn't triggered enough to turn the movie off, just triggered enough to mention it in my review. Once they moved on from making Clarence the butt of jokes it was a good movie. It was an adventure that pitted man against the elements--something we'd see many more times in cinema. There was bravery, cocksuredness, and loss--all the things you expect from an adventure such as "Dirigible."

Free on Odnoklassniki.

Easy To Watch and Enjoy

[barnesgene · 8/10 · 26 September 2007]

As we watch the Twentieth Century disappear in our wake, we're going to find films like this more and more precious. I mean, can you imagine? -- Here's a film that takes the airship absolutely seriously as an equal partner with the airplane. Here's a film that shows you basically how an airship was constructed and what it looked like inside, and all that as part of the plot! And if you're going to interrupt the main plot with a soap opera, who better to put in front of your eyes than the beautiful Fay Wray? And what a great way to get out of the romantic sub-plot's basic dilemma -- nice, clean, and fast. All things considered, a more than satisfying way to spend an evening.

It captures a bygone era's sense of adventure

[dbarton-1 · 8/10 · 12 January 2007]

I liked this film for it conveys a can-do-attitude that was so prevalent in America at that time. This movie was made (1931) in a time when man was just beginning to test the limits of himself, machine, and the elements (it was only 5 years earlier in 1927 that Limbergh crossed the Atlantic in the Spirit of St. Louis.) This movie focused on the race to the south pole and it made for good entertainment. The special effects for the time were very good.

The human interest aspect of the film showed the negative side of ambition (how it affected a marriage and a friendship)this I found interesting. The character development in the one, Frisky, was especially satisfying.

I would recommend this movie to anyone--however do not compare it to the movies of our time--that would be a disservice to the movie.

If you like balloons...

[will_lee63 · 11 January 2007]

Lakehurst, the setting for much of this film was the epicenter of American ballooning and dirigibles, before the second world war and through it as well. A recent book, _They sailed the skies : U.S. Navy balloons and the airship program_ led me to this film, since it represents an easy way to get a look at some of the men and machines in action. Frank "Spig" Wead is the writer and Frank Capra directs. Wead of course was a flyer himself and only turned to writing after a crash broke his neck, crippling him. See WINGS OF EAGLES by John Ford for a dramatization of his life. The early sound era is not known for the sleekness of it's screen story-telling, but if you have interest in the history of zeppelins, or pre-WW2 aviaton, this film is worth watching.

Great action and survival film that packs a moral

[AlsExGal · 8/10 · 28 November 2009]

I'm rather interested in films that show close-ups of technology from years past, and if this sort of thing doesn't interest you then maybe this movie is not for you. The title says it all - this film is about a grand-standing naval pilot in the early 30's at the time the U.S.Navy was experimenting with dirigibles. Because this experiment didn't last that many years, this film is a great opportunity to see the technology up close.

Jack Holt plays Jack Bradan, a stalwart friend and loyal navy man. Ralph Graves plays "Frisky" Pierce, also in the navy, but more out for himself and his own reputation as aerial stuntman than anything. Frisky loves collecting trophies, a category in which he puts his lonely and frightened wife Helen (Fay Wray). She's frightened because she once saw Frisky crash, and she's lonely because if Frisky isn't out breaking records he's out with the boys bragging about it.

A break between the two friends occurs when Jack first invites Frisky to come along on his dirigible expedition to the South Pole and then disinvites him according to the pleas of Frisky's wife. Jack has sworn not to tell Frisky about her wishes, so Frisky vainly assumes that Jack can't take Frisky hogging the spotlight. Jack's expedition fails almost immediately due to a hurricane that crosses paths with the dirigible. Frisky then gets a chance to head up a second expedition for all the wrong reasons - another trophy and also a chance to get back at Jack.

Some reckless and headstrong decisions by Frisky added to some bad breaks have him realizing what it means to have other men's lives in his hands and even what his own life means to him. What you end up with is "It's A Wonderful Life" in reverse. In "Wonderful Life" George Bailey always let his own wants take a backseat to everyone else's welfare and is shown the world would have been a much worse place without him - he really did make a difference. In this film, Frisky has always done what he wanted, and when faced with his own mortality realizes that his own life and actions haven't amounted to much in the grand scheme of things. This one has higher production values than many of the early Columbias. This is partly due to the artful direction of Frank Capra and partly due to the cooperation of the U.S. Navy in making this film.

Part of our history, a must see!

[appleimacdude · 10/10 · 16 September 2007]

This film shows via a entertaining story how different air travel may have been if the dirigible had not had the terrible Hindenburg disaster, which was about 4 years after this movie was shot, and when trying to land in the same area as the hanger shown in the movie. Only recently it was found that the real problem with the Hindenburg apparently was individual panels not been grounded, and a fabric covering that was extremely flammable - a dangerous mistake.

It is fascinating to see the Navy equipment of 1931, the dirigible shown is real. These machines may have been much more fuel efficient than airplanes, and perhaps better suited for many trips -

And or course, Fay Wray is a great actress as usual, as is the rest of the cast.

Nice Capra

[Michael_Elliott · 27 February 2008]

Dirigble (1931)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Frank Capra directed this disaster flick about a hot shot pilot (Ralph Graves) who tries a daring expedition to the South Pole but ends up crashing. Back at home his wife (Fay Wray) is having an affair with his best friend (Jack Holt) but when news gets back to them about the crash the friend decides to go after him. Capra, Holt and Graves teamed up for Flight two years earlier and this film has some of the same greatness as well as some of the same weaknesses. The great stuff deals with all the action and some of it is among the best stuff I've ever seen. I'm going to guess that a lot of miniatures were used but they look terrific and come off very realistic. There's one brilliant sequence where a blimp gets caught up in a tropical storm and slowly begins to break apart. However, the love triangle thing is really, really boring and very unrealistic. Holt and Graves are good in their parts but Wray comes off pretty weak but this is due mostly to her part being poorly written. In the end the film is still worth seeing for the amazing action scenes.

Give It a Chance

[cstaeble · 8/10 · 23 January 2007]

The great Frank Capra manages to make a melodrama in a nice piece of escapist entertainment. Of course, you wish that they put Faye Wray on the dirigible! Both have an ethereal quality that rise above the mediocre script. The aerial shots remind me of the magic of Hells Angels.Can you imagine the fascination for an audience unused to radio let alone air-flight? The shots of her on the beach are simply insufficient for this beauty. I guess you have to be satisfied to ogle her along with King Kong!

The scene with the aircraft taking off from the aircraft carrier is definitely prescient, coming at a time when Billy Mitchell was being courtmartialed for pushing air-flight. And yet the Hindenburg with its giant swastika tail changed everything.

There is a gritty quality in this movie toward life and death that seems to elude modern filmmakers. This is not a great movie, but give it a chance and it will hold your interest.

An important piece of history

[BusyGuyInPTC · 10/10 · 28 February 2013]

The US Navy's airship program, including dirigibles, seems to have been lost to history. This is a shame, as the Navy were pioneers in this area.

We forget that the Navy was not only pioneers, but also instrumental in the USA airship program, and that they were the victims of history: especially the hydrogen (and aluminum oxide) problem of the Hindenburg.

This film reminds us of the US Navy's original efforts in this field. Despite the clichés and acting that seems somewhat hammy today, this is an important film both from a scientific and historical perspective. It's entertaining and (gasp!) educational.

Visually very exciting

[edalweber · 8/10 · 8 September 2014]

This is really a very entertaining old movie.The plot element has whiskers on it, but that is subordinate to the aircraft footage anyway. One thing about the plot which has fallen so far out of "style" as to be incredulous to most people of today is the idea that Jack keeps his word even though somebody misunderstands why he is doing something and he looses their friendship. The idea of "honor" seems to be a totally obsolete concept these days, hardly surprising in view of the "role models people have, ie. politicians.

The footage of vintage planes, and the detailed shots of the airship are fascinating, and the Antarctic scenes are gruesomely realistic, though of course simulated. It certainly shows the harsh reality of exploration. And certainly the scene of the breakup of the airship is very realistic looking and dramatic. All in all, quite a change from the usual movie of the period.