To me, this movie is perfection.

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Spectacular aerial flying sequences shot by aerial lenser Elmer Dyer distinguish "Tarzan's Revenge" director D. Ross Lederman's criminal conspiracy caper "Murder in the Clouds," a Warner Brothers' B-movie toplining Lyle Talbot and Ann Dvorak. Clocking in at 61 nimble minutes, "Murder in the Clouds" will keep you entertained from fade-in to fadeout. Talbot is cast as blustery "Top Gun" type pilot 'Three Star' Bob Halsey who loves to perform daredevil aerial maneuvers that alarm his desk-bound boss at Trans-America Lines, Lackey (Charles Wilson of "Satan Met a Lady"), but who cannot fire him because he is such an impressive aviator. These reckless stunts worry Halsey's stewardess girlfriend Judy Wagner (Ann Dvorak of "Scarface") who keeps putting off marriage. Lederman and scenarists Dore Schary (later a top executive at MGM who championed social consciousness in films like "Bad Day at Black Rock"), and novelist Roy Chanslor, best known for his western novels "The Ballad of Cat Ballou" and "Johnny Guitar," focus on a case of industrial espionage. A scientist, Clement Williams (Edward McWade of "Arsenic and Old Lace"), has created a new kind of explosive, and a U.S. Government official, Brownell (Henry O'Neill of "), requests that Lackey furnish transportation for Williams to Washington on what Brownell stresses is a top-secret mission. What Lackey doesn't know is that office worker Jason (Arthur Pierson) informs the chief villain Taggart (Russell Hicks) about the flight. Naturally, Lackey assigns 'Three Star' to fly Brownell to Washington, while a group of unscrupulous villains led by urban Taggart want to get their hands on it, too. Taggart sends an accomplice to a local bar where 'Three Star' loves to get drunk. This time our pompous hero claims that he will only be drinking cream soda. Instead, 'Three Star' gets suckered into a bar brawl, and George Wexley (Gordon Westcott) volunteers to take over the flight without anybody warning Lackey about the change in pilots. Writing any more about the sophisticated set-up that enables Wexley to put the secret formula in Taggart's hands would spoil this snappy, fast-paced effort. "Murder in the Clouds" is a lot of fun.

A Mickey Finn saves Lyle Talbot from "Murder in the Clouds" in this 1934 B movie from Warner Brothers. Talbot plays a daring pilot named 3-Star, who is capable of great stunts in the air. His boss chooses him to transport a secret weapon; but the situation is manipulated so that his harmless drink is spiked, and two other men go up in his place, one of whom is the brother of his girlfriend (Ann Dvorak).Not very realistic but some really fun aerial scenes and a good cast. The film moves quickly and isn't overly long. I remember Lyle Talbot from his TV days when I was growing up, and I love seeing him in these early films. He lived to be 94 years old, which is pretty impressive. A long and prolific career.Enjoyable.

This is a 7 if compared with other hour-long B features of the day, not when compared with the A features of the same time period. There are plot holes big enough for ace pilot 3-star (Lyle Talbot) to fly his plane through, but that's OK, because the pace is brisk and the film is full of action. I won't list all of the questions that the characters - not to mention the screenplay writer - should have been asking, because I'd give too much away.Suffice it to say that pilot Bob 'Three Star' Halsey gets himself grounded for hot-shotting in the air near the airport where he is based. His boss would love to fire him, but both the boss and Three Star know he's too good a pilot for him to lose him to another airline. Of course Halsey has a girl, Judy Wagner (Ann Dvorak), and Judy has a brother who is also a pilot based out of the airport. Up to now Judy has been having to share Bob with his love of the air, but along comes an espionage plot centering around an important invention needed by the military that is to be transported by the airline that soon changes everything.There are some great aerial scenes here, and although the laws of reason - and sometimes physics as well as the limitations of human eyesight - are being violated left and right, it turns out to be fun although somewhat formulaic without being corny.

This is a rarity--a movie with Lyle Talbot where he is the leading man. While in A-pictures he was usually a supporting player, he did star in some lesser productions during the early years of his long career.Talbot plays a man who is oddly nicknamed "Three Star" (why, I have no idea) and he's a hotshot young pilot working for a small airline. While he was supposed to transport government agents and a top scientist along with his recent invention, Talbot is unable to fly because he's beaten by a gang of ruffians. With another pilot at the helm, the ship is lost and it's feared the secret formula was either destroyed or stolen, so it's up to the intrepid Three Star to save the day.In many ways, this film plays like a movie serial condensed into a short film. With plenty of action and some decent suspense, it's a pretty good time-passer and interesting due to its aerial scenes as well as fast-paced plot. Deep? Not exactly, but still fun nonetheless.