Flying High

Flying High (1931)

BERT LAHR The Funniest, Most Imitated Man on Stage or Screen Charlotte Greenwood The Longest Laugh in Pictures.

An inventor and his lanky girlfriend set an altitude record in his winged contraption.

Date of release
1931-11-14
TMDB
5.8 / 10 (5)
Runtime
1h 20m
Genres
Romance, Comedy, Music
Director
Charles Reisner

Casting

Interesting facts

Flying High is a 1931 American pre-Code musical film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, produced by George White, and directed by Charles F. Reisner. The film stars Bert Lahr, in his first film role, Charlotte Greenwood, and Pat O'Brien, and features Charles Winninger, Hedda Hopper, and Guy Kibbee, with Gus Arnheim and his orchestra.

Production

In 1927, Bert Lahr left burlesque to star in musical comedies on Broadway. After playing to packed houses, his reputation as a gifted comic led him to films. When the "talkies" came in, MGM brought producer George White's stage hit Flying High (1931) to the screen, giving Lahr his first film role, reprising his Broadway turn. In a letter to the Hays Office, MGM claimed to have paid $100,000 to buy the show.

John Gilbert was originally slated to appear in the film, presumably in the role played by Pat O'Brien. Martin Broones was to have adapted and supervised the film.

Production took place from mid-August to late September 1931.

A number of flying scenes were set at the Oakland Airport.

A scene in the film, the "examination scene" in which Lahr pours liquor into a test tube, was objected to by the Hays Office, which also objected to some "vulgarities" in the script, but apparently did not object to a scene where the women of the chorus stripped down to bras and slips to be examined by a doctor.

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