Flying G-Men (2 disk set) (1939) DVD-R

Starring Robert Paige, Richard Fiske, James Craig, Lorna Gray, Sammy
McKim
Directed by James W. Horne, Ray Taylor

Print: black/white
Runtime: 330 min.
Genre: action
Print Quality: B

Columbia's 6th serial (following "The Spider's Web" and preceding
"Mandrake the Magician") is a pre-WW II sabre-rattler that has planes
crashing, secret plans disappearing and a reign of terror sweeping the
USA as (unidentified) enemy spies strike at the nation's defenses. Four
flying G-Men, Hal Andrews, Bart Davis, John Cummings and Charles
Bronson, are assigned to the crisis. The four agree that one of them shall
assume a mysterious identity so he can strike with the swiftness of a
falcon...and the result is The Black Falcon, whose identity is unknown
only to those who didn't have the screen credits to look at. The Falcon
has a black leather flying outfit that is handier to get to when needed than
the Durango Kid's horse, while his two remaining partners are stuck with
your basic gray (Bronson gets knocked off early), and together they are
close to being a precursor to "Blackhawk" and his band. With the aid of
Babs McKay and her kid brother Billy and his band of Junior Air
Defenders, the three Flying G-Men keep a straight face as they face the
legions of henchmen sent their way by the unknown master-mind spy
chief. Keeping a straight face is not easy to do when facing a gang of
henchmen directed by James W. Horne behind the over-wrought
narration of Knox Manning.