page_title: Flight (1929 film)
section_title: Production
hierarchical_section_title: Flight (1929 film) / Production
caption_attribution_description: English: Three Curtiss OC-2s of the United States Marine Corps in flight (1929)
context_page_description: Flight is a 1929 adventure and aviation film directed by Frank Capra. The film stars Jack Holt, Lila Lee and Ralph Graves, who also came up with the story, for which Capra wrote the dialogue. Dedicated to the United States Marine Corps, the production was greatly aided by their full cooperation.
context_section_description: At the time of production, Jack Holt's career with Columbia Pictures was as a leading man. Capra specifically asked for him to star as the laconic pilot and with the acquiescence of studio head Harry Cohen, his role in Flight was emblematic of the studio's reliance on the popular and profitable action film.
  Receiving full cooperation from the Marine Corps, including the use of facilities and personnel at Naval Base San Diego and NAS North Island, provided the authentic settings Capra required. The initial flying sequence depicts the landing and taxi of an FB-1 fighter, with Holt stepping from the cockpit. {
  The flight training sequences were staged using Consolidated NY-1B trainers based at San Diego. Nine Marine Corps Curtiss OC-2 aircraft from Marine Attack Squadron 231 (VMA-231) were featured in the aerial combat sequences. The squadron, along with VO-10M (Marine Observation Squadron 10), also prominently appeared in the Devil Dogs of the Air (1935).
  A total of 28 aircraft were at Capra's disposal and with the benefit of using actual aircraft, Capra did not have to rely on "process shots" or special effects which was the standard of the day, although dangerous crash scenes and a mass night takeoff were staged using studio miniatures. Along with principal aerial photographer, Elmer Dyer, who filmed from a camera-equipped aircraft, Capra flew alongside in a director's aircraft to coordinate the aerial scenes. Jack Holt who was an accomplished pilot, flew in the film but crashed during one scene. Capra pushed for aerial close-ups and in one scene, wanted Holt to stand up in the cockpit but his parachute had deployed, and he remained seated, causing the scene to be abandoned. Noted Marine Corps exhibition pilots Lts. Bill Williams and Jerry Jerome were also involved in the production.
caption: Curtiss OC-2s in flight, c. 1929
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