Parachute Jumper (DVD)

"I'm a stenographer without a typewriter to pound, a piece of gum to chew or a place to put it!" In Central Park, a plucky blonde named Alabama (Bette Davis) explains Depression realities to Bill (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.), an ex-Marine pilot who's likewise out of a job. They strike up a romance that leads them straight into danger when Bill finally finds employment with a bootlegger. Bill thinks he's flying premium booze from Canada to Prohibition-era America. Unknown to him, his contraband also includes narcotics. Only a cool head and acrobatic piloting skills can save Bill from both the Border Patrol and his ruthless boss. A top supporting cast -- Frank McHugh, Leo Carrillo and Claire Dodd -- join the stars in "a fast-moving tale of adventure in the air and on earth a racy affair, with glimpses of airplane crashes and others depicting men leaping from flying machines with parachutes" (Mordaunt Hall, The New York Times).

• drama