DbcultAccessing Vault...
3.1/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 3.1/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. The Sky Spider remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Alright, so The Sky Spider. If you’re looking for something that moves at a breakneck pace or has a plot that’ll twist your brain, this isn’t it. But if you’re a fan of old, old movies – particularly those from the early sound era, or if you just really dig aviation history – you might find a bit of fun here. Everyone else, honestly, probably skip it. You won't miss much beyond some quaint charm. ✈️
The film kicks off with the Morgan brothers, all pilots, which is pretty cool. Glenn, Jim, and Buddy. They’re flying mail, which back then was a big deal, kind of a glamorous, dangerous job. You get a real sense of that right away, even though the flying shots are pretty basic.
Then Jim’s plane gets shot down. Not by some rival pilot in a dogfight, but by Hugh Jeffries, a bad guy who wants the money on board. It’s a pretty cold open, just boom, down goes the plane. No real fuss about it. The film doesn't linger, which is both efficient and a little jarring.
This Jeffries fellow, played by Philo McCullough, he’s got this sneering quality. He just looks like a rotter. And he doesn't stop with Jim. Buddy, another Morgan brother, goes up next, and guess what? Jeffries is right there, trying to take him out too. It’s a very direct kind of villainy, no complex motives, just pure greed.
What really got me was some of the flying sequences. They’re clearly stock footage, or models, sometimes both. There's a moment when a plane is supposed to be diving, but it kinda just looks like it’s being dropped on a string. It’s endearing in its way, a real peek into how they made do with what they had. You really have to give them credit for trying.
The dialogue is often very blunt. Characters just state facts or intentions. It’s efficient, but you sometimes wish for a little more flavor. Like, when someone says, “He’s after the money, alright,” it’s not delivered with any real emotion, just a statement of obvious fact. Like they're reading it off a cue card almost.
Blanche Mehaffey, she plays the love interest, I think? She’s mostly there to worry and look concerned. Her presence adds a touch of that classic damsel-in-distress vibe, which was pretty standard for the time. But she does have a few moments where she seems genuinely distraught. Not bad.
One scene, I remember, where they're trying to figure out how to catch Jeffries. It involves a bit of a chase, and the pacing picks up quite a bit here. The movie, which mostly just *explains* what’s happening, actually *shows* it for a bit. It felt like a little burst of energy, quite welcome.
The whole thing wraps up pretty quick, under an hour, so it never overstays its welcome. It's a simple good-versus-evil story, with a bit of a cat-and-mouse game in the air. You don’t need to think too hard. Just sit back and watch the old planes fly. Or kinda fly. 🤷♀️
It’s not a masterpiece, not by a long shot. But for what it is, a very early talking picture with a straightforward plot about air mail and bad guys, it’s… fine. A curiosity. A little window into a specific kind of old Hollywood filmmaking. Don't go in expecting too much, and you might actually enjoy the ride for its historical value.
IMDb —
1919
Community
Log in to comment.
