Ceiling Zero (1935)

50% of users liked it
(138 ratings)

Ceiling Zero is an adaptation of the Broadway play by Frank "Spig" Wead. James Cagney and Pat O'Brien are supremely typecast as, respectively, Dizzy Davis, a cocky civil aviator and Jake Lee, a sober-sided ground commander. Dizzy ducks out of a dangerous mission in order to dally with pretty Tommy… More Ceiling Zero is an adaptation of the Broadway play by Frank "Spig" Wead. James Cagney and Pat O'Brien are supremely typecast as, respectively, Dizzy Davis, a cocky civil aviator and Jake Lee, a sober-sided ground commander. Dizzy ducks out of a dangerous mission in order to dally with pretty Tommy Thomas (June Travis). Texas Clark (Stuart Erwin) takes Dizzy's place, and the unpolished young pilot dies in a fiery wreck. Disgraced in the eyes of his co-workers after Clark's death, Dizzy redeems himself by taking a crucial test flight in fog-laden "ceiling zero." Dizzy dies a hero, leaving behind his pal Jake to deliver the eulogy. Isabel Jewell co-stars as Clark's wife, given yet another opportunity to shake the rafters with her emotionally supercharged acting. Ceiling Zero was remade in a wartime setting as International Squadron (1940). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 35 min.
Directed By: Howard Hawks
Written By: Frank Wead
Genres: Drama, Romance, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Jan 16, 1936 Wide
On DVD: Aug 18, 1993

Critic Reviews

Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
The overlapping, speeding dialogue is perfectly launched, as Hawks cuts to the core of the play with his own meditations on personality and responsibility.
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
Howard Hawks' speed, vitality and precision are startling

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Cast

            James Cagney as Dizzy Davis

            Pat O'Brien as Jake Lee

            June Travis as Tommy Thomas

            Stuart Erwin as Texas Clark

            Barton MacLane as Al Stone

            Henry Wadsworth as Ted Lawson

            Martha Tibbetts as Mary Lee

            Isabel Jewell as Lou Clark

            Craig Reynolds as Joe Allen

            Dick Purcell as Smiley Johnson

            Carlyle Moore Jr. as Eddie Payson

            Addison Richards as Fred Adams

            Edward Gargan as Doc Wilson

            Robert Light as Les Bogan

            James Bush as Buzz Gordon

            Pat West as Baldy Wright

            Mathilde Comont as Mama Gini

            William "Wild Bill" Elliott as Transportation Agent

            Helen Ericson as Hostess

            Francis McDonald as Office Worker

            Harold Miller as Pilot

            Garry Owen as Mike Owens

            Margaret Perry as Girl

            Louise Seidel
            
            Carolyn Hughes as Birdie

            Paul Mantz as Stunt Flier

            Frank Tomick
            
            Jerry Jerome as Mechanic

            Michael Lally
            
            Howard Allen
            
            James Barnes
            
            Mary Lou Dix
            
            Don Wayson
            
See full cast

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