nehaax.blogg.se

The studio work done with the zeppelin is amazing, better than many of today’s special effects. Only a relatively small percentage of this film deals with aviation, but that little bit is remarkable. He also went to great lengths to make contemporary aircraft look enough like the real thing when flown in formation or lined up for takeoff, even making over a Curtiss Jenny to resemble an Avro 504. Good acting isn’t everything, not if you can marshal the number of genuine World War I aircraft Howard Hughes used to produce this extravaganza. Wow! It was very unusual for a star’s life to be risked in such a manner. notes that in one scene Rogers is clearly shown flying a Thomas Morse. In real life she was a very frightened, unhappy woman, but she remains a luminous screen presence, and a good actress, too.” B.T. comments that “The love triangle is well played: It’s tongue in cheek and a little bit understated, and you just can’t beat Clara Bow. Saunders, Arlen and Rogers were all pilots. Interestingly enough, Wellman, writer F.J. In contrast to “Twelve O’Clock High”, the film features a typically goofy love story of the time, a triangle between Buddy Rogers, Richard Arlen and the inimitable Clara Bow. A few World War I aircraft, including a Spad VII, a Fokker D.VII and an S.E.5a, also make appearances. These include Thomas Morse MB-3A Scouts, Curtiss P-1 Hawks, Martin MB-2s and de Havilland D.H.4s. Wellman’s reputation and contacts were enough to persuade the Air Corps to furnish a virtual armada of more than 220 aircraft for the picture. He got a job in Hollywood as a messenger, and quickly worked his way up to director. Wellman also served briefly after the war with the U.S. Wellman had flown in France with the same Tommy Hitchcock who one war later saw the potential of the Merlin engine to power the P-51 Mustang. Wings was awarded the first-ever Best Picture Oscar in 1929, a salute to its director William Wellman, a former member of the Lafayette Flying Corps.

Perhaps not surprisingly, we are not so picky with films about other subjects. We’re upset when warplane markings are not correct for the period, and we get downright angry when those blasted three Douglas SBDs are portrayed once again as Japanese dive bombers. On the whole, most of us might confess to being too picky.

All the choices listed here are my own, but I’ll also include my collaborators’ insightful comments, attributed by means of their initials. I’ve had the excellent help of some experts in the field in putting together my own list, including author Barrett Tillman ( B.T.) editor, publisher and distinguished film critic David Hogan ( D.H.) and inimitable Jeopardy! player, writer and industry champion Jeff Rhodes ( J.R.). Picking such a list is entirely subjective, of course, not only as a matter of taste but as a matter of background, your age when you first saw a film, your ability to suspend disbelief and your willingness not to be too picky about technical details.

If you’re willing to stretch your definitions a bit, “A Trip to the Moon” might even be construed as an aviation film, though it definitely would not make most people’s 10 best - or 10 worst - lists.

17, 1903, Wright brothers’ flight is paralleled in film history by the advent of two famous cinematic productions, “A Trip to the Moon” in 1902 and “The Great Train Robbery” in 1903. In a very happy coincidence, the airplane and the motion picture came into their own at roughly the same time. The Best Movies About Aviation-and the Worst, Too | HistoryNet Close