Flying Leathernecks (1951)

Director:

Nicholas Ray

Writers:

James Edward Grant (screenplay)
Kenneth Gamet (story)
(more)

Release Date:

28 August 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War | Action

Tagline:

AIR-DEVILS OF THE SKY!

Plot:

Major Kirby leads The Wildcats squadron into the historic WWII battle of Guadalcanal.

Plot Keywords:

Guadalcanal | General | Marriage | Japanese Military | World War Two

Cast

John Wayne	...	Maj. Daniel Xavier Kirby
Robert Ryan	...	Capt. Carl 'Griff' Griffin
Don Taylor	...	Lt. Vern 'Cowboy' Blithe
Janis Carter	...	Joan Kirby
Jay C. Flippen	...	MSgt. Clancy, Line Chief
William Harrigan	...	Dr. Lt.Cdr. Joe Curran
James Bell	...	Colonel
Barry Kelley	...	Brigadier General
Maurice Jara	...	Shorty Vegay
Adam Williams	...	Lt. Bert Malotke
James Dobson	...	Lt. Pudge McCabe
Carleton Young	...	Col. Riley
Michael St. Angel	...	Capt. Harold Jorgensen, Ops. Officer (as Steve Flagg)
Brett King	...	1st Lt. Ernie Stark
Gordon Gebert	...	Tommy Kirby
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charles Brunner	...	Navajo Father on Reservation (uncredited)
Ralph Cook	...	(uncredited)
James Craven	...	Fleet CIC Commander (uncredited)
Gail Davis	...	Virginia Blithe (uncredited)
Michael Devery	...	(uncredited)
Sam Edwards	...	Junior (uncredited)
Fred Graham	...	MP Sergeant (uncredited)
Douglas Henderson	...	(uncredited)
Milton Kibbee	...	Indian Affairs Clerk (uncredited)
Keith Larsen	...	(uncredited)
Harry Lauter	...	Freddie (uncredited)
John Mitchum	...	Lt. Black (uncredited)
Brit Norton	...	Capt. Walter Tanner (uncredited)
Melville Robert	...	(uncredited)
Elaine Roberts	...	(uncredited)
Hugh Sanders	...	General on Guadalcanal (uncredited)
Lynn Stalmaster	...	Lt. Billy Castle (uncredited)
Milburn Stone	...	Fleet CIC Radio Operator (uncredited)
Harlan Warde	...	Admiral's Aide (uncredited)
Dick Wessel	...	Mess Sergeant (uncredited)
Mack Williams	...	(uncredited)
Adam York	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Nicholas Ray

Writing credits
James Edward Grant		(screenplay)
Kenneth Gamet		(story)
Beirne Lay Jr.		screenplay (uncredited)

Produced by
Edmund Grainger	....	producer

Original Music by
Roy Webb

Cinematography by
William E. Snyder		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Sherman Todd

Art Direction by
Albert S. D'Agostino
James W. Sullivan

Set Decoration by
Darrell Silvera
John Sturtevant

Makeup Department
Mel Berns	....	makeup artist
Larry Germain	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Cliff P. Broughton	....	production supervisor

Sound Department
Frank McWhorter	....	sound
Clem Portman	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Paul Mantz	....	pilot: camera airplane (uncredited)
Cliff Shirpser	....	aerial camera operator: Technicolor (uncredited)

Music Department
C. Bakaleinikoff	....	musical director

Other crew
Howard Hughes	....	presenter
Richard Hughes	....	technical advisor (as Colonel Richard Hughes U.S.M.C.)
Morgan Padelford	....	technicolor color consultant
Sid Davis	....	stand-in: John Wayne (uncredited)

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1951) (USA) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1952) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1954) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1957) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Image Entertainment (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (2000) (USA) (laserdisc)
• Continental Home Vídeo (2005) (Brazil) (DVD)

Other Companies

• United States Marine Corps  dedicated to

Also Known As:

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (archive footage) | Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Iceland:12 | West Germany:16 (f) | Finland:K-8 | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1986) | USA:Approved (PCA #14994)

Filming Locations:

Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, Oceanside, California, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

The fighter planes seen in the early part of the film are not the actual Grumman F4F Wildcat planes which were part of the Guadalcanal air campaign but Grumman F6F Hellcat planes. Hellcats were more readily available at the time the movie was made in 1951 as not many Wildcats had actually survived World War II. Moreover, Hellcats painted white and red also doubled as enemy Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter planes of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Major Kirby is just home from the war, he takes a letter from a mailbox which in a full-screen shot is shown to have a six-cent stamp. Six-cent stamps weren't issued until 1949, four years after the war ended.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "M*A*S*H: L.I.P. (Local Indigenous Personnel) (#2.7)" (1973)

A hell of a way to run a war.

"Flying Leathernecks" takes an old theme, namely, a struggle between commanders and their subordinates about how to conduct a mission, but treats it rather lamely compared with other films. "Leathernecks" tries to cover too much territory in advancing the cause of air combat Marines as a documentary and establishing a personal story line within a Marine unit.

A subplot concerning one commander's over-identification with his men has resonances with "Twelve O'Clock High," but is not explored to the extent of the latter picture. Again, the result of trying to cover too much ground in one film.

Two Clark Gable pictures, "Command Decision" and "Run Silent, Run Deep," are much stronger in their depiction of such conflict. Even better still are films like "The Caine Mutiny" and "Crimson Tide."