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Kellett K-3 NC12691 appears in the Register on April 13, 1932. It was flown to Tucson by pilot George H. Miller. He carried a single passenger, R.H. Marti. They were westbound having arrived from El Paso, TX. They did not list a final destination in the Register.
NC12691 was a coupe top K-3, and was used in two Hollywood films, "International House" with W.C. Fields, and "It Happened One Night" with Clark Gable. Below, a still image from "International House". This movie was released in 1933, so it could be that Miller was flying the aircraft west to make its movie debut.
Kellett K-3 NC12691 in the Movie "International House"
(Source: Hendrickson)
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In "International House" W.C. Fields, playing Professor Henry Quail, is shown on the ground at Juarez, Mexico in the cockpit of what is supposed to be NC12691. He is loading a large cargo of illicit (Prohibition was the law of the land until December 1933) beverages. During loading he is, of course, loading into himself mug after mug of beer from a tray tendered by a patient ground attendant. He then "takes off" in this autogiro. The image above is of that takeoff. In the movie, the aircraft bobs and weaves; a function of both the heavy load of liquor and the inebriated pilot.
In "It Happened One Night" (1934), the aircraft appears near the end of the film carrying bridegroom King Wesley to his posh wedding. You can view this movie on Google Videos in its entirety at the link. If you slide the time marker to about 1:35:15 (near the end), you'll see NC12691 approach for a landing and come to a stop. A site visitor tells me the pilot in this scene was John Miller (no relationship, as far as I know, to George Miller who flew the aircraft through Tucson). Below, a still image captured from about 1:35:33 of the film. I went through the landing sequence frame by frame and couldn't say I identified the pilot as John, but the black & white film was very grainy, so it might have been John.
Kellett K-3 NC12691 in the Movie "It Happened One Night," 1934 (Source: Google Video)
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UPLOADED: 06/15/11 REVISED: 07/20/11
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