Screenplay

STAGGERWING

What the heck’s a Staggerwing?

An intoxicated wingman?

No, it’s a very cool airplane first built by Beech Aviation back in the 1930s. The design was, at the time, revolutionary. Take a look at the pics. It was a biplane but the high wing was set aft of the low wing to increase stability and decrease drag. Plus it looked cool.


Okay, so what’s the Bendix Trophy Race?

It was a transcontinental cross country point to point airplane race sponsored by the Bendix Corporation. The first competition took place in 1933 and the last one in 1948. Some years the race flew west to east (LA to Cleveland) and other years it flew east to west (New York to LA).

In 1936 a pair of female pilots, Louise Thaden and Blanche Noyes took home the trophy and the prize money. Their victory came at the controls of a C17R Beechcraft Staggerwing.


And so what’s this Screenplay all about?

The Screenplay and accompanying Treatments are adapted from the exceptional and exciting novel by Robert Wells of the same name.

The story is based loosely on the victory achieved by Thaden and Noyes and features plenty of aerial action in vintage airplanes. A love story occupies the center of the narrative, as our protagonist, aviatrix Maggie Rockwell, is torn between her love of flying and her love for Fernando Martín.


STAGGERWING is presently making the rounds at various production houses in New York and Hollywood. And while we wait, Simpson Books has decided to make the Screenplay and Treatments available here for anyone’s reading pleasure.

Screenplay
Screenplay
Full treatment
Full treatment
Short treatment
Short treatment

If you read it and love it and have an extra thirty to fifty mil collecting dust somewhere, maybe you’d like to be a Hollywood Producer!

Thanks and Safe Flying!