Andrea King and Dennis Morgan in “God Is My Co-Pilot,” Warner Bros., 1945.
After Andrea King received rave notices for her first featured performance at Warner Bros. in 1944’s “The Very Thought of You,” things began to happen quickly for the promising young actress. She was thrown into a string of back-to-back films, and the studio’s well-tuned, star-making process began. One of those projects was the wartime drama “God Is My Co-Pilot” (Warner Bros., 1945), in which she appears opposite Dennis Morgan as his hometown sweetheart and wife. The film is based on the true-life heroic adventures of Col. Robert L. Scott and his Fighting Tigers squadron that had recently claimed a huge victory overseas assisting China’s battle against the Japanese. Col. Scott penned his memoirs rather quickly in a best-seller with the same title, and Warners purchased the rights and began production immediately.
The original one-sheet poster for “God Is My Co-Pilot,” 1945.
The film is directed by Robert Florey, who would later guide Andrea’s star turn in the gothic classic “The Beast With Five Fingers.” The primary action takes place overseas, and features an ensemble cast of male performers that are the cream of the crop at the famed studio: Raymond Massey, Alan Hale, Dane Clark, Craig Stevens, and Warren Douglas. But it is Andrea’s portrayal of Catherine Scott, the small-town wife, that brings the movie back home to the “Main Streets” of America and gives it its heart.
Gigi Perreau, Dennis Morgan and Andrea King on the cover of Movie Story Magazine, March 1945.
“God Is My Co-Pilot” was a monumental success for Warner Bros. In fact, it became one of the studio’s highest grossing pictures for the year 1945.
Watch the trailer for “God Is My Co-Pilot” on YouTube now: