The Flying Irishman (1939)
1h 11m
Running Time
April 7, 1939Release Date
The Flying Irishman (1939)
1h 11m
Running Time
April 7, 1939Release Date
Plot.
This is the story of the historic 1938 flight of Douglas 'Wrong Way' Corrigan. Mr. Corrigan starred in this film, which chronicled his infamous flight. On July 17, 1938, Mr. Corrigan loaded 320 gallons of gasoline (40 hours worth) into the tiny, single engine plane. While expressing his intent to fly west to Long Beach, CA, Mr. Corrigan flew out of Floyd Bennett Field heading east over the Atlantic. Instrumentation in the plane included two compasses (both malfunctioned) and a turn-and-bank indicator. The cabin door was held shut with baling wire. Nearly 29 hours later, he landed in Baldonnel near Dublin. He forever claimed to be surprised at arriving in Ireland rather than California. He returned to the US as a hero, with a ticker tape parade in New York and received numerous medals and awards.
Where to Watch.
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This Movie Is About.
Cast & Crew.
Eddie Quillan
Henry Corrigan
Douglas Corrigan
Douglas 'Wrong Way' Corrigan
Paul Kelly
Butch Brannan
Robert Armstrong
Joe Alden
Gene Reynolds
Clyde 'Douglas' Corrigan
Leigh Jason
Director
Minor Watson
Airport Personnel Manager
Ernest Pagano
Writer
Dorothy Peterson
Ma Corrigan
Dalton Trumbo
Writer
Scotty Beckett
Young Henry Corrigan
Roy Webb
Composer
Peggy Ryan
Edith Corrigan
J. Roy Hunt
Cinematographer
Becky Bohanon
Young Edith Corrigan
Donald MacBride
Roy Thompson
Arthur Roberts
Editor
Cora Witherspoon
Mamie Thompson
Spencer Charters
Smedley
Dorothy Appleby
Maybelle
Joyce Compton
Sally
Roy Gordon
Dr. Howard
Grady Sutton
Clothing Store Sales Clerk
Marcia Mae Jones
Teenager
Edward Gargan
J.R. Robinson
Charles Williams
Car Repo Man
George Chandler
Airport Gas Attendant
Louis Jean Heydt
Airport Spectator
Knox Manning
Commentator
Don Barclay
Bettor
Leon Belasco
Russian Commentator
Frank Coghlan Jr.
Teenager Taking Photograph
Joe Cunningham
Second Man Grounding Doug in New York
Frank Faylen
New York Mechanic
Ralph Graves
First Man Grounding Doug in New York
Kenneth Harlan
Man at New York Airport
Olaf Hytten
Irish Airport Radio Operator
Lloyd Ingraham
Doctor Attending Mrs. Corrigan
Charles Irwin
Office at Ireland Airport
Tiny Jones
Flower Peddlar
Media.
Details.
Wiki.
The Flying Irishman (aka Born to Fly) is a 1939 biographical drama film produced by RKO Pictures about Douglas Corrigan's unofficial transatlantic flight the previous year in a dilapidated Curtiss Robin light aircraft. The film was directed by Leigh Jason based on a screenplay by Ernest Pagano and Dalton Trumbo.The Flying Irishman covers the material of Corrigan's autobiography, That's My Story, from his early life to his return from his wrong-way flight. Because of the huge popularity of Corrigan and his flight, the screenplay assumes that the material is already familiar to its audience.