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Edit
Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| John Wayne | ... | Frank W. 'Spig' Wead | |
| Dan Dailey | ... | 'Jughead' Carson | |
| Maureen O'Hara | ... | Min Wead | |
| Ward Bond | ... | John Dodge | |
| Ken Curtis | ... | John Dale Price | |
| Edmund Lowe | ... | Adm. Moffett | |
| Kenneth Tobey | ... | Capt. Herbert Allen Hazard | |
 |
James Todd | ... | Jack Travis |
| Barry Kelley | ... | Capt. Jock Clark | |
| Sig Ruman | ... | Manager | |
| Henry O'Neill | ... | Capt. Spear | |
| Willis Bouchey | ... | Barton | |
| Dorothy Jordan | ... | Rose Brentmann | |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
See All (31) »
Storyline
U.S. Navy pilot Frank 'Spig' Wead is a fun-loving and rowdy adventurer, but also a fierce proponent of Naval aviation. His dedication to the promotion of the Navy's flying program is so intense that his marriage and family life suffer. When an accident paralyzes him, Spig finds a new means of expressing his love of flying: screenwriting. Successful and acclaimed, he finds the U.S. entry into World War II to be an irresistible call. Pleading that he be reinstated in the Navy despite his paralysis, Spig finds he has an enormous contribution yet to make. Written by Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>
Plot Keywords:
flying | u.s. navy | world war two | jet fighter | based on true story |Taglines:
A NEW TRIUMPH FOR WHAT-A-GUY WAYNE! (original print ad - all caps) See more »Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents »
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Edit
See more on IMDbPro »
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
22 February 1957 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Alas de águila See more »Edit
Box Office
Budget:
$2,644,000 (estimated)Gross USA:
$2,300,000, 31 December 1957Cumulative Worldwide Gross:
$3,650,000, 31 December 1957Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Color:
Color (Metrocolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1
Edit
Frank W. 'Spig' Wead: Why not, It probably just Washington. Oh I forgot - you know you're in the arms of a new lieutenant commander in the United States Navy.
Min Wead: Star-Spangled Spig.
Frank W. 'Spig' Wead: And a squad leader.
Min Wead: All I know is I'm in the arms with a fellow named Spig that I'm nuts about. Hey! How about getting back to your necking with a little more enthusiasm.
Frank W. 'Spig' Wead: Right!
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
After John Dodge (the fictional version of John Ford) gives Spig a job writing for his studio, he is led out to his new office to begin work and passes in front of numerous actors' head shots. John Wayne pauses for a beat in front of one of his earliest head shots before continuing. See more »Goofs
When Spig and Dodge are screening the dailies of "Hell Divers", the smoke they exhale goes behind the movie screen on the wall. During the take they were sitting in front of a blank wall and the dailies they were "watching" were added later causing them to obliterate the exhaled cigarette smoke. See more »Quotes
Min Wead: [Phones rings while their cuddling] Let it ring.Frank W. 'Spig' Wead: Why not, It probably just Washington. Oh I forgot - you know you're in the arms of a new lieutenant commander in the United States Navy.
Min Wead: Star-Spangled Spig.
Frank W. 'Spig' Wead: And a squad leader.
Min Wead: All I know is I'm in the arms with a fellow named Spig that I'm nuts about. Hey! How about getting back to your necking with a little more enthusiasm.
Frank W. 'Spig' Wead: Right!
See more »
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The iconic director and his usual cast of players take on Naval Aviation in this look at a man who helped to advance navy aviation as John Wayne again looms on the screen bigger than life in the role of Frank "Spig" Wead, a pioneer of the navy air corps. Based on the autobiography of Wead the usual themes of adventure, patriotism and romance abound with stellar supporting roles with veteran actors like Ken Curtis, Dan Daily, and Ward Bond as a thinly veiled portrait of director Ford himself. Set against the background of World War II the film is about courage and commitment in a big way, and there really is not another actor who could have brought it to the screen with the believability that the "Duke" manages so easily. One of his finer roles.