Speed Gibson was a precocious 15-year old, ace pilot, and member of the
International Secret Police, or ISP for short. The show aired between1937
and 1939, a scant decade after Lucky Lindy's historic flight across the
Atlantic. Shows featuring aviation were at their peak, and airships
embodied the glamour and excitement of the dawn of the aviation age. Even
girls were enticed by the magic of flying, as evidenced by the Ameilia
Earhart inspired Anne of the Airlines juvenile drama series.
Combining all of these elements,
Speed Gibson accompanied his uncle and ISP agent, Clint Barlow, who with their pilot and sidekick Barney Dunlap took to the air in their Flying Clipper airship, scouring the skies of mysterious
Africa and the Orient in persuit of their nemsis: The Octopus. a master
criminal ruthless gang leader. The show opened with a dramatic flair: the
sounds of airplanes and attention-getting "Ceiling zero... ceiling zero..."
phrase being repeated over the din of spinning props! The show spun off
various advertiser inspired empherma, from secret code books, photos and
badges. Most of the related memoriabilia related to the show's principle
sponsors, Dreikorns, Peter Pan and Brown's Bread Ltd. Kids quickly took up
the show's catch phrase "Suffering wang doodles, Speed!"
Although the show ended before the onset of WWII, aviation's early glamour
would be forever tainted by the stark reality of the horrors of flight in
wartime.
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