Stevecorp
Don't listen to the negative reviews
Maidexpl
Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast
Jonah Abbott
There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.
boblipton
This comedy-mystery has a goodly amount of energy. Mantan Moreland offers his befuddled comedy, Marjorie Reynolds sings two songs surprisingly well (for those of us who remember her more for suffering the revolting developments on THE LIFE OF RILEY) and everyone on hand does a good job, given the constrained budgets that Monogram Studios offered for their B movies.Given that it's Frankie Darro in the lead, though, the movie doesn't turn out well. He's an annoying smart aleck who drags Mr. Moreland into all sorts of unwanted danger and inveigles him into a comedy act in which they engage in cross-talk -- with Mr. Darro in blackface for a radio performance. In 1940 this made an acceptable second feature. Today, its time has passed long ago.
Leofwine_draca
UP IN THE AIR is a slight comic murder mystery about a singer who is murdered while singing live on the radio in a popular studio. A couple of characters who happened to be in the area at the time decide to investigate with typically bumbling consequences.The youthful Frankie Darro is the hero of the piece; he's a diminutive chap but sparkling with energy and thus proving to be a more than adequate protagonist. The script is fairly episodic but there are some good jokes littered throughout the narrative and at just an hour in length this film doesn't really have the time to outstay its welcome. Some songs are included to enliven things and pad out the running time. The biggest asset is the great Mantan Moreland, who bags all of the funniest lines and reaction shots. Be warned, a blackface interlude may be off-putting for sensitive viewers.
Robert J. Maxwell
A short, comic murder mystery at a radio station, with a couple of songs thrown in, presented at a speed that can only be measured in Mach numbers.It's strictly functional. At one point, Frankie Darro, the diminutive hero and page boy, blows a line but just corrects himself and dashes on. Two lady singers are featured, both looking pretty good.The direction, like the acting, is effectively rudimentary. If five people are going to be in the scene, two of them arguing, the five actors are lined up next to one another like troops at attention. The jokes are applied with such blunt force they could be hammering nails.But the movie does have Mantan Moreland at his glorious best. Oh, how un-politically correct it all seems now. Darro dresses up in black face and he and Moreland do an Amos and Andy number trying to get on a radio show. A singing cowboy calls him "Banjo Eyes." The police lieutenant calls every suspect by name except Moreland, who become "the porter there." Moreland, on the other hand, addresses everyone as "Mistuh Frankie" or whatever. Speaking of eyes, his seems to be on springs. They pop out just before he becomes frightened and flees the scene, which is about every other five minutes.What a time of innocence. Except for Moreland, I can't think of many other reasons to bother watching what is a routine B movie about the solution of a murder.
JohnHowardReid
One movie genre that a normal person might think off-limits to Poverty Row is the musical (because of the extra expense involved with orchestras and singers, not to mention songs and copyright clearances). Yet quite a few musicals made their appearance from time to time along the Row. For this one, Monogram has ingeniously combined the songs and musical capers with a typical murder mystery. And who solves these radio killings that have stumped the keenest minds of the Los Angeles Police (Hollywood Division)? Why none other than dapper, personably brash Frankie Darro and his delightfully hesitant, broom-wielding sidekick, Mantan Moreland (soon to enrich the Charlie Chan series with his smile-a-minute, banjo-eyed presence). Further enjoyment is provided by that really lovely girl, Marjorie Reynolds, as the one-step-into-fame heroine. Her voice is a real treat too. The support players do everything that's expected of them and Mr Bretherton's direction definitely rates a cut or two above the average.
