by Hans J. Wollstein
review
The casting folks at Columbia made sure that the identity of the killer in this rather tedious mystery-thriller comes as a distinct surprise. This time, the culprit really is the most unlikely candidate, but that does not make Death Flies East an especially compelling whodunit. Conrad Nagel, Florence Rice (the niece of sportscaster Grantland Rice, incidentally), and a large cast of Columbia regulars do the best they can, but Albert DeMond and Fred Niblo Jr.'s screenplay is routine at best. Of more interest to modern viewers is the glimpse of 1935 commercial air travel.
