It's in the Air (1935)

It’s in the Air: Directed by Charles Reisner. With Jack Benny, Ted Healy, Una Merkel, Nat Pendleton. Calvin Churchill, a confidence-man, and his sidekick/stooge, “Clip” McGurk, are being pursued by an Internal Revenue agent, Henry Potke, for their failure to file an income-tax on the advice of a shyster lawyer. They are hiding out at the Desert Springs Hotel-Resort, where Calvin is working a scam by posing as a stratosphere-flyer who is looking at making Desert Springs the base of his operations. A rich airplane manufacturer sees a chance to get rid of a stratosphere balloon that he built for an unsuccessful expedition at a great loss. Calvin intends to take the money and run but his estranged wife, Alice, now a tennis instructor at the resort promises to come back to him if he will reform. Alas, reformation does not come easy for Calvin, especially when “Clip” is around, and Henry is closing in.

“This is one of the lee than stratospheric flicks that sent Jack Benny screaming back to Radio. He seems rather bored to be playing an almost straight man to Ted Healy (who as usual seems lost without 3 stooges…and who tries to make up for it by being VERY loud and Very monotonous). There is a spooky line about Benny adding 10 years to Tedu0026#39;s characteru0026#39;s life…ironic given his tragic end around five years later. Benny seems a bit happier to be playing a more or less standard romance with Una Merkel…who is given nothing to do but look pretty and whine at Benny to go straight…advice which he seems to have taken FAR too much to heart. Reliable buffoon Nat Pendleton scores a few smiles…and there is a very strange and oddly nasty cameo by what appears to be a real bald eagle which ends up being treated very roughly.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA more pleasant bit is played by future leading man Dennis Ou0026#39;Keefe who can be spotted nonchalantly dancing by the stars…and actually has a line later on as a radio announcer.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWatchable as a curio…and it may be an eye opener for some to see how primitive effect shots were in 1935…and check out the trailer which promises an u0026quot;all staru0026quot; laugh riot…it is nice to know that some things like high flying hype never change.”