The Flying Irishman
07/04/1939
This is the story of the historic 1938 flight of Douglas 'Wrong Way' Corrigan. Mr. Corrigan starred in this film, which chronicled his infamous flight. On July 17, 1938, Mr. Corrigan loaded 320 gallons of gasoline (40 hours worth) into the tiny, single engine plane. While expressing his intent to fly west to Long Beach, CA, Mr. Corrigan flew out of Floyd Bennett Field heading east over the Atlantic. Instrumentation in the plane included two compasses (both malfunctioned) and a turn-and-bank indicator. The cabin door was held shut with baling wire. Nearly 29 hours later, he landed in Baldonnel near Dublin. He forever claimed to be surprised at arriving in Ireland rather than California. He returned to the US as a hero, with a ticker tape parade in New York and received numerous medals and awards.
Movie Information
Douglas Corrigan
as Douglas Corrigan
Eddie Quillan
as Henry Corrigan
Paul Kelly
as Butch Brannen
Robert Armstrong
as Joe Alden
Gene Reynolds
as Young Douglas Corrigan
Minor Watson
as Airport Personnel Manager
Dorothy Peterson
as Ma Corrigan
Scotty Beckett
as Young Henry Corrigan
Peggy Ryan
as Edith Corrigan
Becky Bohanon
as Young Edith Corrigan
Donald MacBride
as Roy Thompson
Cora Witherspoon
as Mamie Thompson
Spencer Charters
as Smedley
Dorothy Appleby
as Maybelle
Joyce Compton
as Sally
Roy Gordon
as Dr. Howard
Grady Sutton
as Clothing Store Sales Clerk
Marcia Mae Jones
as Teenager
Edward Gargan
as J.R. Robinson
Charles Williams
as Car Repo Man
George Chandler
as Airport Gas Attendant
Louis Jean Heydt
as Airport Spectator
Knox Manning
as Commentator
Don Barclay
as Bettor
Leon Belasco
as Russian Commentator
Frank Coghlan Jr.
as Teenager Taking Photograph
Joe Cunningham
as Second Man Grounding Doug in New York
Frank Faylen
as New York Mechanic
Ralph Graves
as First Man Grounding Doug in New York
Kenneth Harlan
as Man at New York Airport
Olaf Hytten
as Irish Airport Radio Operator
Lloyd Ingraham
as Doctor Attending Mrs. Corrigan
Charles Irwin
as Office at Ireland Airport
Tiny Jones
as Flower Peddlar
Milton Kibbee
as New York Airport Manager
Ann Kunde
as Airplane Passenger
Dorothy Lovett
as Telephone Operator
George Magrill
as New York Airport Workman
Philip Morris
as Mechanic
Horace Murphy
as Drunk at New York Airport
Perry Noisom
as Messenger
Lee Phelps
as Mechanic Hiring Doug
Jack Rice
as Airplane Owner Selling It to Corrigan
Billy Wayne
as Photographer
Gayne Whitman
as New York City Announcer
J.M. Kerrigan
as Mr. Clyde Corrigan Sr.
