The Airmail Mystery is a 1932 Universal pre-Code movie serial directed by Ray Taylor, written by Ella O'Neill, starring James Flavin and Wheeler Oakman, and featuring Al Wilson doing the aerial stunts.Farmer 1984, pp. 293–294.Cline, William C. (1984). "In the Nick of Time". McFarland & Company, Inc. . The Airmail Mystery was Universal's first aviation serial that set the pattern for the aviation serials and feature films to follow.Cline 1984, p. 30. The film also marks the film debut of James Flavin.Harmon and Glut 1973, p. 146. The Airmail Mystery is considered a lost film.Weiss and Goodgold 1973, p. 26.

Plot Airmail pilot Bob Lee, owner of a gold mine, faces off against "The Black Hawk" who has kidnapped Jimmy Ross, Bob's best friend. The Black Hawk carries out a series of attacks on Bob's ore shipments by air, using an unusual catapult device that launches aircraft into the sky to intercept Bob's aircraft. With his sweetheart, Mary Ross, Bob constantly battles against his enemy, and eventually is able to defeat him.

Chapter titles

Pirates of the Air Hovering Death A Leap for Life A Fatal Crash The Hawk Strikes The Bridge of Destruction The Hawk's Treachery The Aerial Third Degree The Attack on the Mine The Hawk's Lair The Law Strikes The Mail Must Go Through Source:Cline 1984, p. 205.

Cast

James Flavin as Bob Lee Lucile Browne as Mary Ross Wheeler Oakman as Judson Ward ("The Black Hawk") Frank Hagney as Moran Sidney Bracey as Driscoll Nelson McDowell as "Silent" Simms Walter Brennan as Holly Al Wilson as Jimmy Ross Bruce Mitchell as Capt. Grant Jack Holley as Andy

Production Al Wilson (who played the hero's sidekick Jimmy Ross in the serial) worked together with stuntmen like Frank Clarke and Wally Timm and also for movie companies, including Universal Pictures. After numerous appearances in stunt roles, he started his actor career in 1923, with the serial, The Eagle's Talons.Wynne 1987, pp. 5–17. He produced his own movies until 1927, when he went back to work with Universal. Wilson was also one of the pilots in Hell's Angels (1930) and during filming, he was involved in an accident where the mechanic Phil Jones died. This episode marked the end of his career as stunt pilot in movies, although he continued to work as an actor."Stunt Pilots." Silents are Golden. Retrieved: January 16, 2011.

Wilson's last role was in The Airmail Mystery. After production was complete, during the National Air Races in Cleveland in 1932, Wilson's aircraft crashed and he died a few days later in hospital due to the injuries he suffered.

See also List of American films of 1932 List of film serials by year List of film serials by studio

References Notes

Citations

Bibliography

Cline, William C. "3. The Six Faces of Adventure";"Filmography". In the Nick of Time. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1984. . Farmer, James H. Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation (1st ed.). Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania: TAB Books 1984. . Harmon, Jim and Donald F. Glut. The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury. London: Routledge, 1973. . Weiss, Ken and Ed Goodgold. To be Continued ...: A Complete Guide to Motion Picture Serials. New York: Bonanza Books, 1973. . Wynne, H. Hugh. The Motion Picture Stunt Pilots and Hollywood's Classic Aviation Movies. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1987. .

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