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» » Going Wild (1930)

Short summary

Rollo and Lane just happen to be tossed off the train at White Beach where Robert Story -Air ace and writer- is supposed to stop. It is a case of mistaken identity as no one knows what Story looks like. So they get free room and meals at the Palm Inn and everything is going well until they want Story to fly in the race on Saturday. Rollo has never even be up in a plane, never mind fly one, so he must figure a way out. But the girls have everything bet on his winning the race.

A print of this film survives in the UCLA Film and Television Archives.

In September 1928, Warner Bros. Pictures purchased a majority interest in First National Pictures and from that point on, all "First National" productions were actually made under Warner Bros. control, even though the two companies continued to retain separate identities until the mid-1930's, after which time "A Warner Bros.-First National Picture" was often used.

Vitaphone production reels #4472-4478 and #4385 (trailer).

Based on the play, "The Aviator," which ran on Broadway in 1910.

User reviews


  • comment
    • Author: Yojin
    I'm inclined to agree with the positive reviewers about this film. After reading the most negative review, and then actually watching the film itself, I wonder what some of you expect from a comedy. Certainly, this is not a Marx Brothers film and Joe E. Brown is not Groucho Marx. So what? It is a LIGHT comedy, a screwy comedy, and a character story. What's wrong with that? I can't watch Three Stooges ALL the time! As it is, I agree with those who thought that this is a very funny movie; the exposition in particular had me practically clucking in pleasure at Brown's outrageous characterization.

    It does greatly help to see Joe E. movies in first-rate condition on a big screen. I saw the new DVD release from the Warner Brothers Archives, apparently struck right off the original negative or a safety negative, watched it on a 55" flat screen, and it came across very nicely. There are a lot of things to look at in such a pristine print of a film this old and this well made. The actual filmstock was different back then, a little more grainy but very clear, immediately giving the movie that ancient 'vintage' quality, which I find engaging (I associate it with my favorite films of my childhood black-and-white TV viewing). The styles of hair, dress, and architecture are very clear and interesting (the "heart test machine" is particularly quaint). The painted backgrounds are beautiful and perfect, and the rear projection during the rather hair-raising finale is EXCELLENTLY done (as is the rear projection in the train). This is a very high-quality, high-production-value film with loads of extras and great care taken of all the cinematic details.

    The flying bed and the unexpectedly bizarre physical exam are two highlights and both are very funny. No wonder there are no consequences for the main characters' charade—they are obviously not the only frauds in this story! AND, for those of us who want to see more of Brown's specialty acts, he DOES get a funny song!

    It's not a great film like a Chaplin film, or 'Duck Soup' or a wildly inventive W.C. Fields movie, but it is a COMPLETELY enjoyable Sunday-afternoon film, done up in perfect 1930s style, which I will rate 8 stars out 10. Not a film I'll look at over and over, but definitely a Keeper.
  • comment
    • Author: Mr Freeman
    I wish I had recorded more of Joe E Brown's movies when they showed up on TCM and definitely will be on the watch as this movie was freaking funny as hell! I'm a big fan of the Marx Brothers, The 3 Stooges, Laurel and Hardy, and others and now definitely Joe E Brown. Well I can't really say that based on one semi short flick but man, if all of his films are THIS funny I'm in brother, I'm in! I knew I was going to like this flick when they are in the train. OK heres why this was refreshing for me, Joe is not a total dummy, he actually likes woman, and he tries to con people, everyone as a matter of fact, its just too cool. Plus the guy is like a ancient predecessor of Jim Carey for crying out loud, I'm sure Jim got some material from this guy! I was trying to place his face and thanks to the other posted review here I at least know him from Some Like It Hot, but as a lead comedian this movie REALLY holds up well. One of many scenes that made me laugh out loud, he is signing books as a fraud of the author, he is signing in all the woman's books his hotel room number! I mean I'm sorry I never saw that done before and its really funny! There's a little (not to much) slapstick, which I love, a little bit of adult stuff humor (which is classic, like getting drunk before his air race during prohibition, I think), but a whole lot of skit comedy that for me seemed great. 9 of 10, I wont put it in the esteemed best of all time category but I really did laugh a lot watching this.
  • comment
    • Author: Adoranin
    The same cast of 1929's "Top Speed" gets together for similar farcial fare in "Going Wild", a comedy about a nobody being mistaken for a famous pilot. Brown, of course, is the unfortunate nobody who must quickly train to learn how to fly. This leads to some hysterical sequences involving a murphy bed attached to a vacuum cleaner, an X-Ray machine, and a flying machine similar to the one used by Marie Dressler in 1932's "Emma". The flying sequence is similar to the boat sequence used in "Top Speed". There is one minor song between Joe E. Brown and Laura Lee which is tamer than anything they did in their previous film together. Lawrence Gray replaces Jack Whiting as the romantic lead, but Frank McHugh repeats his drunken supporting role. A few years away from stardom, Walter Pidgeon makes a memorable villain.
  • comment
    • Author: Lailace
    Humorous, but not out and out funny. This is Joe E. Brown in one of his earlier films...before he had really formed his on screen persona. Perhaps the best bit in the film is the segment where he is being medically tested...again, humorous, but you're not going to laugh out loud.

    The basic plot is that two down-and-out newspaper reporters get roped into their own lies, with Brown letting people believe he is a famous pilot.

    The casting is interesting. Brown was still in a formative period. Lawrence Gray as a fellow newspaper reporter was decent, and certainly much better than Jack Whiting in another of Brown's 1930 films. Ona Munson is the female lead here (her first starring role). Never heard of her? Yes you have -- Belle Watling in "Gone With The Wind"! Walter Pidgeon is rather dashing here as the opposing pilot...although he had appeared in several films when this film was produced. Frank McHugh is around again, and does somewhat nicely here, though clearly he had not develop his screen persona yet, either.

    Interestingly, this was made as a musical, but all but one musical number was cut from the American release since audiences had soured on musicals. No known full prints exist with the musical numbers intact.

    The finale -- an air race -- had potential, but wasn't realized. How can no one fly a plane and remain in the air that long???

    This film is better for Joe E. Brown fans. His better films are yet to come.
  • comment
    • Author: Narder
    There were several Joe E. Brown movies in the early 30's that weren't funny and this is one of them. He had yet to hit his stride which seems to me occurred from "Elmer The Great" (1933) onward. The screenplay and the script are at fault here and the film was badly in need of a gag writer, and someone who could create funny situations and dialogue to go along with them. Scene after scene falls flat as a pancake with unfunny sight gags and rejected Vaudeville punch lines.

    Wasted in this carnage is Frank McHugh who for some reason is forced to play his role in an inebriated state throughout the picture. Also left in the lurch are Ona Munson, Walter Pigeon and Fred Kelsey. I caught this one on TCM, in a rare lapse of judgment for this normally dependable station.
  • comment
    • Author: Kirizius
    Other than in SOME LIKE IT HOT, I have never been a huge fan of the comedies of Joe E. Brown. A few are amiable enough but none of them seem all that funny or memorable. This film manages to be a little less likable and interesting than most. Now if you ARE a rabid fan of Brown, then consider this as you read my review.

    Brown and his friend (who have almost no chemistry together as partners) wander into a town where everyone is expecting a famous author to arrive by train. However, the author inexplicably doesn't want all the adulation and the two guys are mistaken for the author. Why they decide to do this isn't at all clear--I guess they just read it in the script, as I could see no other reason for their going on this elaborate and later very dangerous ruse. For a while the two guys eat a lot of free meals and chase women and there seems to be no real direction for the film or laughs. However, in the end, Brown is convinced to enter an air race (even though he has no idea how to fly) and he somehow wins AND gets the girl--though NONE of this makes any sense at all and is accompanied by a lot of cheesy special effects (i.e., a rear projected screen)!

    The bottom line is that this is a time-passer and nothing more. If you are looking for laughs, you might find more in the average Boris Karloff film!
  • comment
    • Author: Hap
    My least favorite Joe Brown film. I LOVE Frank McHugh and Waldo Pidgeon, but the bad jokes, bad acting, and bad script are just all too silly. The first time I saw this, I wondered why no director was credited, and now we now why. And another thing. Why do all the women talk in that screechie high pitched voice in films from the 1930s?? Was that really the rage during the 1930s? I'm sure I sound like a grumpy old man by this point, but it really is pretty lame. Interesting piece of spinning equipment when they are giving "Rollo" the exam up on the roof. Was that some real testing equipment, or had they just come up with something silly for the film. You can tell talkies were relatively new.. they still use title cards in this one. Most of the film is like a three stooges scene. Ah well. They can't all be great. It's just "okay. There were a couple fun and funny scenes here and there, so it wasn't a total washout. just my three and a half cents.
  • Complete credited cast:
    Joe E. Brown Joe E. Brown - Rollo Smith
    Lawrence Gray Lawrence Gray - Jack Lane
    Ona Munson Ona Munson - Ruth Howard
    Walter Pidgeon Walter Pidgeon - 'Ace' Benton
    Laura Lee Laura Lee - Peggy Freeman
    Frank McHugh Frank McHugh - 'Ricky' Freeman
    May Boley May Boley - May Bunch
    Anders Randolf Anders Randolf - Edward Howard
    Arthur Hoyt Arthur Hoyt - Robert Story
    Johnny Arthur Johnny Arthur - Simpkins
    Fred Kelsey Fred Kelsey - The Conductor
    Harvey Clark Harvey Clark - Herndon Reamer
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