Flying Tigers (1942)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

David Miller

Writers:

Kenneth Gamet (screenplay) &
Barry Trivers (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

8 October 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War | Romance

Tagline:

NUNCA COMO HASTA AHORA SE FILMO LA GUERRA EL EL AIRE TAN CRUENTA, TAN REAL, TAN VIOLENTA! (original Argentine poster - all caps)

Plot:

The Flying Tigers are a band of American Mercenaries called upon by China to help fight the Japanese two years before Pearl Harbour

Plot Keywords:

China | Pilot | American | Japanese | Flying Tiger

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars.

Cast

John Wayne	...	Capt. Jim Gordon
John Carroll	...	Woodrow 'Woody' Jason
Anna Lee	...	Brooke Elliott
Paul Kelly	...	Hap Smith - Pilot
Gordon Jones	...	'Alabama' Smith
Mae Clarke	...	Verna Bales
Addison Richards	...	Col. R.T. Lindsay
Edmund MacDonald	...	'Blackie' Bales - Pilot
Bill Shirley	...	Dale
Tom Neal	...	Reardon - Pilot
Malcolm 'Bud' McTaggart	...	McCurdy - Pilot (as Malcolm 'Bud' McTaggart)
David Bruce	...	Lt. Barton - Pilot
Chester Gan	...	Mike - Mechanic
Jimmie Dodd	...	'Mac' McIntosh - Pilot (as James Dodd)
Gregg Barton	...	'Tex' Norton - Pilot

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | West Germany:12 (f) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #8468) | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Curtiss-Wright Aircraft Co., Buffalo, New York, USA

Company:

Republic Pictures (I)

Trivia:

This movie broke all boxoffice records for Republic Pictures by a large margin and was one of the top grossing movies of the year.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the burning cargo plane is waved off at the Rangoon airport, it has only the right landing gear down. Moments later the pilots are shown raising the left landing gear.

Quotes:

Woody Jason: Maybe we can have dinner some time.
Brooke Elliott: I never get quite *that* hungry.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Raggedy Man (1981)

Soundtrack:

Battle Hymn of the Republic

campy and over-the-top fun

I am a real sucker for some of the old Republic films--particularly the wartime films. Yes, I know they are NOT artistic masterpieces and the movies of course take advantage of many cinema clichés BUT they also deliver wonderful, if somewhat low-brow, entertainment.

Despite John Wayne being billed as the lead, he is in fact somewhat of a background figure during much of the movie. Instead, the main focus seems to be on the incredibly glib and cocky John Carrol. He's a jerk and he's terribly selfish but boy can he fly. And, Wayne, being an old pal of Carrol's knows that down deep Carrol will prove himself in the end.

Along the way, we are treated to a liberal dose of the nobility of our Chinese comrades in arms as well as the inherent decency of our volunteer pilots. While all basically true, it has all the expected touches of a WWII American propaganda film. For me, that's not really a bad thing, as this film and others like it succeed in being great entertainment. In fact, because of this, I have seen this film several times. It's not exactly deep or sophisticated, but sometimes we NEED a film we can just enjoy and not think too deeply about.