The Flying Doctor

The real-life Flying Medical Association of Australia was the inspiration for the box-office hit The Flying Doctor. Hollywood's Charles Farrell is cast as "sundowner" Sandy Nelson, who aspires to tend to the sick in the Austrian outback. He gets his chance when he joins the F.M.A., taking aviation training to become a "flying doctor." Nelson proves his mettle during a medical emergency, in which he's required to ship supplies to a remote, desolate and virtually impenetrable region. The Flying Doctor was also the title of a late 1950s series, again based on the exploits of the F.M.A. and again featuring an American screen favorite (Richard Denning) in the lead.