The Air Mail

The Air Mail is a 1925 silent film directed by Irvin Willat and starring Warner Baxter, Billie Dove, and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.. It was produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed through Paramount Pictures. Filmed in Death Valley National Park and the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada, it was released in the United States on March 16, 1925. Only four of eight reels survive in the Library of Congress.

Plot

Russ Kane (Warner Baxter) gets a job as a pilot in order to steal cargo. However, after making a forced landing at a "Ghost City" in the desert, he falls in love with Alice Rendon (Billie Dove) and decides to become law-abiding. When her father (George Irving) needs medicine, he flies to get it, but on the way back is chased by ruffians in other airplanes. As a result, Kane's friend, Sandy (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.), parachutes from Kane's plane with the medicine. Meanwhile, escaped prisoners have invaded Alice's home. All is resolved when a sheriff's posse confronts the invaders, Kane destroys the bandit planes, and Sandy becomes a pilot.

Airmail

Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of being airborne. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be the only option for sending mail to some destinations, such as overseas, if the mail cannot wait the time it would take to arrive by ship, sometimes weeks. The Universal Postal Union adopted comprehensive rules for airmail at its 1929 Postal Union Congress in London. Since the official language of the Universal Postal Union is French, airmail items world-wide are often marked Par avion , literally: "by airplane".

For about the first half century of its existence, transportation of mail via aircraft was usually categorized and sold as a separate service (airmail) from surface mail. Today it is often the case that mail service is categorized and sold according to transit time alone, with mode of transport (land, sea, air) being decided on the back end in dynamic intermodal combinations. Thus even "regular" mail may make part of its journey on an aircraft. Such "air-speeded" mail is different from nominal airmail in its branding, price, and priority of service.

Air Mail (film)

Air Mail is a 1932 American Pre-Code adventure film directed by John Ford, based on a story by Dale Van Every and Frank "Spig" Wead. The film stars Ralph Bellamy, Pat O'Brien and Gloria Stuart. A copy is preserved in the Library of Congress.

Plot

Pilot Mike Miller (Ralph Bellamy) owns and operates Desert Airport, an air mail base at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. He leads a group of young pilots who risk their lives flying through dangerous weather and over treacherous terrain to deliver air mail. When Joe Barnes (Ward Bond) crashes at the base, the other pilots attempt to retrieve the precious mail from the burning wreckage. Mike consoles his girlfriend Ruth (Gloria Stuart), who is also Joe's sister. Mike now realizes that he has to hire a replacement, the reckless "Duke" Talbot (Pat O'Brien).

Duke is a good pilot, but his bravado and affair with Irene (Lilian Bond), wife of fellow pilot "Dizzy" Wilkins (Russell Hopton), has the potential to cause irreparable damage to the tightly knit group of aviators. When Dizzy crashes and dies in a blinding snow storm, Mike is forced to take over the last leg of his flight, even though doctors have told him that his vision has deteriorated. When he also crashes during a blizzard, his distress call reveals that he is still alive, but trapped in an inaccessible mountain valley. Duke considers the rescue as a challenge, commandeering an aircraft and flying to the remote valley. He lands roughly, damaging his aircraft, but manages to fly out with Mike on board. As they reach Desert Airport, Duke knows he cannot land safely so he pushes Mike out before he crash-lands. As the ground crew pull him out of the wreck, Duke is badly injured, but alive.

Air Mail (album)

Air Mail is an album by the improvisational collective Air featuring Henry Threadgill, Steve McCall, and Fred Hopkins recorded for the Italian Black Saint label. The album consists of three compositions dedicated to Bobbie Kingsley, Ronnie Boykins, and Cecil Taylor & Jimmy Lyons.

Reception

The Penguin Guide to Jazz selected this album as part of its suggested Core Collection.

The Allmusic review by Ron Wynn awarded the album 4 stars stating "The Chicago trio Air was at a high point on this 1980 date".

Track listing

Personnel

References