A dirigible is an airship. Like the Hindenburg. I'd never heard the word dirigible before so I felt compelled to look it up.
Commander Jack Bradon (Jack Holt) was the skipper of a dirigible for the U. S. Navy. He was tasked with piloting Louis Rondelle (Hobart Bosworth) to the South Pole for a discovery mission. They wanted to attach a plane to the dirigible for more exploration while at the South Pole. The plane was to be piloted by Frisky Pierce (Ralph Graves), a hot shot pilot. Jack wanted no one but Frisky to fly the plane, but Frisky's wife Helen (Fay Wray) was dead set against it. Frisky wouldn't listen to her pleas, but she knew that he would obey Jack if he removed him from the mission.
Jack did just that out of deference to Helen which caused a rift between him and Frisky. Furthermore, it didn't deter Frisky from attempting to go to the South Pole, he'd just have to do it as a civilian. So, when Jack's mission failed, Frisky had the opportunity to take Rondelle to the South Pole himself.
This movie was doing perfectly alright until one scene. It was actually two scenes, but I dismissed the first one. It seems they couldn't dispense with some "comedy" at the expense of a Black man.
The first bit of comedy was when the Navy brass were discussing the upcoming South Pole voyage. While they were discussing it a Navy cook and servant named Clarence (Clarence Muse), a Black man, overheard them talking about what they'd need for the trip. Clarence chimed in with some more "obvious" things they'd need if they were going to be "climbing a pole." This discourse was gratuitously thrown in as a gag and to further cement that Black people are dumb. It was a stupid scene that served no purpose other than to slightly increase my blood temperature, but ultimately I was able to ignore it.
Then Clarence made another appearance. This time he was a part of the second voyage to the South Pole. He was cooking and singing "Swing low sweet chariot" when a no-class white crew member threw a pot at him and hit him in the head with it. Good ol' Clarence took it in stride and understood the blow as a summons. The ignorant loser wanted more coffee.
I wasn't triggered enough to turn the movie off, just triggered enough to mention it in my review. Once they moved on from making Clarence the butt of jokes it was a good movie. It was an adventure that pitted man against the elements--something we'd see many more times in cinema. There was bravery, cocksuredness, and loss--all the things you expect from an adventure such as "Dirigible."
Free on Odnoklassniki.
Commander Jack Bradon (Jack Holt) was the skipper of a dirigible for the U. S. Navy. He was tasked with piloting Louis Rondelle (Hobart Bosworth) to the South Pole for a discovery mission. They wanted to attach a plane to the dirigible for more exploration while at the South Pole. The plane was to be piloted by Frisky Pierce (Ralph Graves), a hot shot pilot. Jack wanted no one but Frisky to fly the plane, but Frisky's wife Helen (Fay Wray) was dead set against it. Frisky wouldn't listen to her pleas, but she knew that he would obey Jack if he removed him from the mission.
Jack did just that out of deference to Helen which caused a rift between him and Frisky. Furthermore, it didn't deter Frisky from attempting to go to the South Pole, he'd just have to do it as a civilian. So, when Jack's mission failed, Frisky had the opportunity to take Rondelle to the South Pole himself.
This movie was doing perfectly alright until one scene. It was actually two scenes, but I dismissed the first one. It seems they couldn't dispense with some "comedy" at the expense of a Black man.
The first bit of comedy was when the Navy brass were discussing the upcoming South Pole voyage. While they were discussing it a Navy cook and servant named Clarence (Clarence Muse), a Black man, overheard them talking about what they'd need for the trip. Clarence chimed in with some more "obvious" things they'd need if they were going to be "climbing a pole." This discourse was gratuitously thrown in as a gag and to further cement that Black people are dumb. It was a stupid scene that served no purpose other than to slightly increase my blood temperature, but ultimately I was able to ignore it.
Then Clarence made another appearance. This time he was a part of the second voyage to the South Pole. He was cooking and singing "Swing low sweet chariot" when a no-class white crew member threw a pot at him and hit him in the head with it. Good ol' Clarence took it in stride and understood the blow as a summons. The ignorant loser wanted more coffee.
I wasn't triggered enough to turn the movie off, just triggered enough to mention it in my review. Once they moved on from making Clarence the butt of jokes it was a good movie. It was an adventure that pitted man against the elements--something we'd see many more times in cinema. There was bravery, cocksuredness, and loss--all the things you expect from an adventure such as "Dirigible."
Free on Odnoklassniki.