Sky Devils: A total mess, but a fun one

Is it worth your time?

Look, if you are a fan of pre-Code chaos or you just want to see Spencer Tracy before he turned into the legend everyone treats him like, yeah, check it out. But if you hate movies that can't decide if they're a romantic comedy or a war flick, you'll be pulling your hair out by the thirty-minute mark. It's not exactly a hidden masterpiece.

The whole thing feels like it was written by five different people who weren't allowed to talk to each other. Which, looking at the credits, is probably exactly what happened.

The biplane stuff actually holds up

Forget the plot. Seriously, just ignore it. The real reason to watch is the aerial footage. You can tell they actually put people in those planes. None of that fake digital stuff that makes everything look like a video game. There’s a specific sequence where they’re dodging fire that made me realize how dangerous this must have been to film. My stomach did a little flip, and I wasn't even the one in the cockpit.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Sky Devils (1932) through its definitive frames.

Spencer Tracy is just… there

It’s weird seeing him this young. He has that same gruff, "I'm annoyed by everything" energy he had in his later years, but he’s playing it for laughs here. There’s a scene where he’s arguing over Mary that goes on for about two minutes too long. You can tell the actors are just improvising because the script ran out of jokes.

It reminds me a bit of the frantic energy in Sharp Shooters, just with more propellers and less sense of direction.

• The dialogue is fast, but most of it misses.
• The ammunition dump explosion? Kind of impressive for 1932.
• Ann Dvorak is doing a lot of heavy lifting here just by standing there looking confused.

Honestly, the movie gets a lot better once they actually stop talking and just start crashing things. The comedy is very vaudeville-gone-wrong. There’s a bit with a ladder that I think I’ve seen in at least ten other movies from the era. It’s not original, but it’s charming in a "they really tried" kind of way.

You’ll probably find yourself checking your phone during the scenes in the barracks. They feel like filler. Like the studio realized the movie was too short and just told the actors to keep shouting at each other until the film reel ran out. But then, a plane swoops down, and you’re back in. It’s a very uneven ride. ✈️