Wings of the Morning (1937)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Harold D. Schuster

Writers:

Brian Oswald Donn-Byrne (story) and
Thomas J. Geraghty (writer)

Release Date:

11 March 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

RECKLESS YOUNG ROMANCE...A NEW STAR ALLURINGLY DIFFERENT...PULSE-TINGLING DERBY DAY THRILLS...SPECTACULAR ENTERTAINMENT GLORIFIED BY PERFECTED, NATURAL TECHNICOLOR! (original ad - all caps)

Plot:

First Technicolor movie shot in the British Isles, features Gypsies, horse racing, singing and romance.

Plot Keywords:

Gypsy | Horse | Ireland | Spanish Civil War | Horse Racing

Cast

Annabella	...	Young Marie (Prologue) / Maria, Duchess of Leyva
Henry Fonda	...	Kerry Gilfallen
Leslie Banks	...	Lord Clontarf
Stewart Rome	...	Sir Valentine
Irene Vanbrugh	...	Old Marie
Harry Tate	...	Paddy
Helen Haye	...	Aunt Jenepher
Teddy Underdown	...	Don Diego
Mark Daly	...	James Patrick Aloysius 'Jimmy' Brannigan
Sam Livesey	...	Angelo
E.V.H. Emmett	...	Racing Commentator
Captain R.C. Lyle	...	Racing Commentator
John McCormack	...	Himself - the Tenor
Steve Donoghue	...	Himself
D.J. Williams	...	Marik (Prologue)

Runtime:

89 min | USA:87 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

Canada:G (Ontario) | Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Buckingham Palace, Westminster, London, England, UK

Company:

New World Pictures Ltd.

Trivia:

Filming started with Glenn Tryon as director and Harold D. Schuster as editor; Tryon was fired and Schuster took over in June 1936.

Soundtrack:

Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms

High Notes and Low

John McCormack of Athlone, County Westmeath and arguably the greatest Irish tenor of all time, failed in several attempts to break into the movies. That's not surprising when one views his stiff acting and singing in this film. Although he sings three songs here, he evidently didn't even bother to memorize the words and sings while looking at the lyrics from a notebook he carries with him. It's no wonder that the film editor decided to cut away from him to inserts of the idyllic Irish countryside during his performance rather than keep the overweight and unphotogenic singer on screen.

Fonda supposedly played a Canadian in this British movie shot partially in Ireland but clearly didn't have a competent dialogue coach because he plays his early scenes with a decidedly Southern drawl. He later lapses into his singularly un-Canadian Midwestern twang.