Robot Pilot

The fiery crash of a radio-controlled plane on its first test flight sends inventor Doc Williams and rugged pilot Jerry Barton back to the drawing board. The two men labor feverishly to complete a successful prototype of a craft they hope to sell to the Lambert Aircraft Company. As the work proceeds at Doc's remote mountain ranch, enemy agents manage to steal the experimental plane. No one realizes until it's too late that Betty Lambert, the daughter of the aircraft company president, has stowed away in Doc's plane and is now helpless as the pilotless craft barrels through the sky.

Forrest Tucker, the star of Robot Pilot, would gain his greatest fame 20 years later as Sergeant O'Rourke in TV's "F Troop." Prolific director William Beaudine, known in Hollywood for making low-budget features quickly and on schedule, began his film career in 1909, and by the time he directed his final picture, Billy the Kid Versus Dracula, in 1966, he had over 350 films on his resume.

• drama