CEILING ZERO

Federal Airlines daredevil pilot Dizzy Davis fakes a heart attack so he doesn’t miss a date. His replacement is the victim of a fatal accident. Dizzy will try to redeem himself by carrying out a suicide mission for the company.

Ceiling Zero is a perfectly Hawksian little film, a new foray into the world of aviation for the director, six years after The Dawn Patrol. He chisels dialogues whose suggestive double-meaning happily passes under the censor’s radar, and plants a sexy, mischievous and determined female character, as he likes them. James Cagney, with whom he got along perfectly for The Crowd Roars, plays a daredevil and talented pilot, seductive and insolent, who does not hesitate to kiss his partner Pat O’Brien. Hawks sharpens his themes, adventure, camaraderie, sharpens his way of filming the relationship between men and women, emphasizes the values, merit, strength, elegance, which he holds dear. A beautiful sketch for the future masterpiece, Only Angels Have Wings, which was released three years later.

(Cinémathèque française)