Crack-Up is a messy, charming relic of the biplane era

Wait, did that dog just save the day?

If you have a soft spot for grainy, old-school aviation stunts and don't mind a plot that’s thinner than a sheet of paper, Crack-Up might kill an hour for you. It’s definitely for the type of person who digs through bargain bins at antique stores, but if you need high-stakes tension or, you know, a script that makes sense, keep walking. You’ll probably hate how quickly the bad guy’s plan falls apart.

David Sharpe plays the daredevil pilot, and honestly, the man seems like he’s having a great time. Most of the movie is just him leaning against biplanes and looking vaguely heroic while waiting for something to actually happen. 🚁

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Crack-Up (1934) through its definitive frames.

Then there’s the kid. The moment that orphan hops into the cockpit, you just know it’s going to end in a disaster. The sequence where the plane actually lifts off feels like it was filmed in one take by a guy holding a camera while eating a sandwich. It’s janky, it’s shaky, and it’s somehow way more interesting than the dialogue.

The villain is just… there. He’s the type of guy who reports fake robberies like he’s ordering lunch. It’s all very theatrical and mostly serves as a reason to keep the plane in the air longer. Why are the welfare workers so gullible? Don't ask. Just enjoy the weird pacing.

Small observations from the cockpit

• Flash the Dog deserves an Oscar. No, seriously, the dog has more screen presence than half the cast.
• The way people talk in this movie makes me feel like I’m listening to a radio play from a parallel universe.
• There is a moment near the middle where the film feels like it’s trying to be Telling the World, but then it just forgets and goes back to planes.
• I swear the same cloud appears in three different shots during the rescue scene.

Watching this feels like catching a fever dream on a local TV station at 3 AM. It’s not trying to be a masterpiece, and it’s barely trying to be a coherent film. But there’s something undeniably sweet about watching these old planes buzz around without the safety net of modern CGI. It’s imperfect, a bit silly, and frankly, I didn't hate it.