The Black Parachute (1944) DVD-R

Starring John Carradine, Osa Massen, Larry Parks, Jeanne Bates,
Jonathan Hale
Directed by Lew Landers

Print: black/white
Runtime: 68 min.
Genre: adventure
Print Quality: B

Two years before attaining superstardom in The Jolson Story, Larry Parks
essayed the leading role the Columbia wartime meller The Black
Parachute. Parks is cast as American paratrooper Michael Lindley, who
drops behind enemy lines under cover of night to rescue the deposed
king (Jonathan Hale) of a mythical Balkan nation. Disguising himself as a
slain Naxi colonel, Lindley shows up at the German occupational
headquarters, where he manages to fool the Heydrich-like General Von
Rodenbach (John Carradine). The women in the case are German spy
Marya Orloff (Osa Massen) and beautiful resistance fighter Olga (Jeanne
Bates). Black Parachute was unconvincing even in 1944, but director Lew
Landers kept things moving so quickly that no one had time to dwell upon
the film's logic gaps.