Flying Fool, The

1570. THE FLYING FOOL (1929-usa). With William Boyd, Marie Prevost, Russel Gleason. Directed by TAY GARNETT. Scripted by JAMES GLEASON. Before becoming one of Hollywood’s top cowÂboy stars, rugged William Boyd was a leading man in loads of 1920s features. He’s well cast in this entertaining romantic drama-adventure as Bill Taylor, AKA “The Flying Fool,” crackerjack, devil-may-care World War I pilot. Taylor wins medals as easily as ho flirts with mademoiselles. He doesn’t take women seriÂously, and is a confirmed bachelor-playboy; his motto is “find ’em, fool ’em,” and his affection is reserved for his adoring kid brother Tommy. “Ain’t no dame gonna make a chump of Tommy,” he brags, when a young French girl admires the boy’s photo. Bill returns to Los Angeles and to Tommy, who is deeply involved with an older woman: Patsy, a jazz singer. Bill discourages Tommy’s feelings for Patsy-and wouldn’t you just know that he’ll soon be finding himself falling hopelessly in love with his kid brother’s girl. There’s also a fair sampling of airplane footage, first of Taylor battling the Germans and then of his exploits as a stunt pilot back home; the final sequence of Bill and Tommy in the air is especially well-done. The film was written by James Gleason, father of Russel and soon to be one of the movies’ most beloved character actors. 72 minutes. Drama