Tommy Tompkins Marjorie Reynolds as Betty Lou Barnes Milburn Stone as Skeeter Milligan Jason Robards Sr. as Paul Smith George Lynn as Brandy Rand Lucien Littlefield as Winslow Polly Ann Young as Anita Tommy Bupp as Tommy Betsy Gay as Betty Lou William P. Carleton as Navy Commander John Elliott as Army Colonel John S. Peters as Carl Sayre Dearing as Fred Bruce Mitchell as Detective Capt. Walker Mickey Martin as Young Boy Jerry Jerome as Joe Production "Tailspin Tommy" is listed above the title, Mystery Plane. The opening credits include the following onscreen forward: [The film is a] "tribute to those adventurers who pioneered the American Air Force, the war birds of the World War. Recruited from every walk of life, they wrote a glorious page in aviation history. Being young, many of them were unable to adjust themselves to the peace time routine after their glorious freedom. It is one of those, Captain 'Brandy' Rand, whose life is the basis of our story." (Captain Brandy Rand is a fictional character.) In Hal Erickson's review for Allmovie.com, he describes, "In a charming fadeout bit, the main characters—Tommy, Skeeter and girlfriend Betty Lou (Marjorie Reynolds)—come 'out' of the picture to invite their fans to watch the next 'Tailspin Tommy' entry." Reception Aviation film historian Stephen Pendo in Aviation in the Cinema (1985) characterized Mystery Plane as part of a period when spies and espionage films were popular. With the global aspects of foreign intrigue and a looming war, 1939 was marked by the release of Flying G-Men film serial, Spies of the Air, Q Planes and Trapped in the Sky. Mystery Plane, according to aviation film historian James H. Farmer in Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation, was "action-packed juvenile fun." References Notes Citations Bibliography Farmer, James H. Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation. Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania: Tab Books Inc., 1984. . Pendo, Stephen. Aviation in the Cinema. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1985. . External links 1939 films American aviation films American action films 1930s action films Monogram Pictures films Films directed by George Waggner American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films