I Wanted Wings
I Wanted Wings (German I wanted to wing ) is an American film drama from the year 1941 , in which Mitchell Leisen directed. Ray Milland , William Holden and Wayne Morris play the leading roles of three men who are very different in their background and who become friends . Brian Donlevy , Constance Moore and Veronica Lake are in the leading roles .
The script is based on a template by Lieutenant Beirne Lay junior . The book of the same name was first published in New York in 1937. It also goes back to the short story Axis of Attack: 30 Degrees by Captain John H. Fite.
action
The year is 1940, just before the United States entered World War II . Recruits met Jeff Young, a rich heir and playboy, Al Ludlow, an auto mechanic, and Tom Cassidy, a college student and sports ace, while training to be a pilot with the United States Army Air Forces .
After a simulated air raid exercise involving eighteen US Army Air Corps Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, one of the aircraft flies back through the desert to the base and crashes. Strangely enough, the body of a woman is found in the wreck. The pilot, Lieutenant Jefferson Young III, is accused of illegally carrying a civilian person on board and is court martial for disobedience. There you roll up the military background and Young's personal story.
Jeff is the son of a wealthy Long Island businessman. He joins the US Army Air Corps. During his basic training in Texas, he met the former soccer hero Tom Cassidy and the auto mechanic Al Ludlow. Jeff and Al quickly become close friends who support each other throughout their training. When Jeff meets the young nightclub singer Sally Vaughn, he doesn't know that she has a love affair with Al. Jeff is in a relationship with the photographer Carolyn Bartlett at the time, but Sally thinks she has a chance to get closer to the millionaire heir. The opportunity to do so arises soon. After a crash in which a friend of Jeff's died because he could not pull him out of the burning wreck in time, Jeff drinks more alcohol more often than is good for him. Since Carolyn is out of town for work, Sally manages to get Jeff to her home. However, Al puts an early end to the meeting.
And again something happens while Jeff is training at another airfield, Tom dies while performing a daring stunt in a plane crash. Al, who is responsible for the force, takes the blame for what happened, which leads to his firing. His chance of becoming a pilot is thus zero, his lifelong dream is shattered.
Jeff is forcibly still seeing Sally, who has pressured and threatened him to destroy his reputation and ruin his military career, and she claims to be "in trouble" with him. However, Al wants to save Jeff's career and marries Sally, also because he still loves her. When Carolyn learns of Jeff's betrayal, she leaves him. After six months, Sally confesses to Al that she is not pregnant at all and he replies that he knew that from the start. Sally is so upset about it that she thinks he never loved her anyway and leaves Al.
One day when Jeff is in the air to train for an emergency, he meets Al, who was recruited and is now the boss of a B-17 bomber. Capt. Mercer, always a mentor of Al and Jeff, stands up for Al and so Al gets the chance again to become a pilot as an officer candidate. All of a sudden, Sally reappears and begs Al for help, claiming that she is wanted for murder. Al gives her money so she can disappear and leave. Before Sally can leave the hangar , Air Corps officers, including Al, Jeff, and Mercer, enter the building. Sally hides from them in the bomber's cargo bay. Then, however, the three of all take off the plane in which Sally is still in, without the men having the slightest idea. When Mercer instructs Jeff to test a new set of emergency missiles and Al tries to get them, he discovers Sally. A dispute ensues between the two of them and a torch is accidentally lit. Before they can drop them, Mercer is injured by them and falls from the plane, burning. Al jumps after him with a parachute and is able to save him. Jeff manages to land the machine in the dark desert to pick them up again. Since Mercer needs medical help, Jeff tries to take off in the dark. The machine crashes and Sally is killed.
Al is called to the stand by the court martial and reveals the full story. Jeff is then acquitted of all allegations and finds himself back together with Carolyn. Al is returned to the training program as an officer candidate and bomber pilot. And Mercer is also fully recovering.
production
Production notes
Filming began in the summer of 1940 at Randolph Air Force Base near San Antonio , Texas . The main shooting time extended from August 26 to December 19, 1940. The United States Army Corps provided 1,160 aircraft, 1,050 cadets, 540 officers and instructors and 2,543 crew members for the film. The film then had its preview at Randolph Air Force Base. Paramount also made 130 actors and technicians available. The cast and crew were mixed with more than 200 flight students in the basic training. Stunt pilot and aerial coordinator Paul Mantz filmed the Lockheed 9 Orion with six different camera positions. Director Arthur Rosson assisted with the aerial shots. An early photographed series showing the Boeing B-17 was also used in the final film sequence. Additional material was also filmed at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, where a $ 40,000 replica interior of the machine was available to record the film highlights that were playing there. Elmer Dyer was there as a cameraman for the recordings in the air.
The budget for the film was between $ 1,050,000 and $ 1,262,455.
In the opening credits for the film, the United States Army Air Forces is thanked with a note that the film was actually shot at Randolph Air Force Base. Then a dedication appears that commemorates the people who may soon have to go to war to defend the freedom of the nation. Randolph Field and Kelly Field were US Air Force bases, with Randolph Field being the location for basic training for cadets and Kelly Field being an advanced flight school. March Field in Riverside was also known as the home of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.
background
I Wanted Wings was made when the United States was still neutral and not entered World War II , and was the first film to feature the then little-known United States Army Air Forces .
According to the Hollywood Reporter , Theodore Reed was scheduled to direct, but he resigned after preproduction, whereupon Mitchell Leisen stepped in for him. Contemporary sources gave no specific information about why Reed withdrew; later sources said that his implementation of the material did not appeal to Paramount executives. Leisen later stated that the footage that Reed had already filmed had been destroyed and that he had started from scratch. Leisen was originally intended to direct New York Town , and that role was taken on by Charles Vidor . Actually, Rita Hayworth should have played the role of Sally, but Columbia Pictures refused to approve, also because this role was felt to be unsuitable for the Hayworth. Lana Turner and Susan Hayward were also considered for lead roles, as was Patricia Morison . Alan Hale and Renny McEvoy, son of comedian JP Mc Evoy, made their debut in this film.
Richard Maibaum , who was involved in the script and is best known for his scripts for numerous James Bond films, was very proud to be involved in this film. It was the first film to alert the American public to the importance of pilot training necessary to defend the United States if it entered the war.
There were difficulties with the censors regarding the suggestion that Sally and Jeff had sex with each other, since a pregnancy was in the room. This could only be hinted at when she spoke of difficulties with Jeff, which later turned out to be a lie.
music
The following titles are played in the film:
-
Born to Love , text: Ned Washington , music: Victor Young
- Performed by Veronica Lake in the voice of Martha Mears
- Spirit of the Air Corps by William J. Clinch (as Capt. William J. Clinch)
Initial release
The film premiered in the United States on March 26, 1941. It started in Australia on July 10, 1941, in Mexico on July 25, 1941, in Finland on January 11, 1942, in Sweden on January 15, 1942, in Portugal on August 14, 1942, in Spain (Madrid) on January 13, 1942 August 1945 and in Denmark on November 1, 1946. It was also published in Argentina, Brazil, France (television), Greece and Italy.
Aftermath
Ray Milland and William Holden also played their roles in a broadcast by Lux-Radio-Theater on March 30, 1942 together with Veronica Lake, which made her Lux debut.
criticism
Bosley Crowther of the New York Times noted that Paramount wanted to spread the spirit and efficiency that resulted in hundreds of avid American youths seeking training to learn to fly, to join the military as pilots, and to be part of the flying men of a great nation to be. The cinematic greeting that the Army Air Corps pays to young men who might soon join the military is an extremely exciting film and a reliable inspiration for the country's youth.
Hollywood Reporter affirmed that the film was "propaganda" but also "a living challenge". His goal is to show the people the strength and bravery of America in order to fight dictatorships that shuddered under the influence of individuals. Veronica Lake's debut has been described as "glamorous," while the New York Times said she couldn't do much more than show that she had a talent for wearing cut-out dresses.
Kino.de spoke of an "overly long aviator drama with a melodramatic ending". It also said: "From today's perspective, the acting performances of the pleasantly reserved, young William Holden and the newcomer Veronica Lake, who had her first major role here and makes a brilliant figure as a seductive nightclub singer."
Award
Farciot Edouart , Gordon Jennings and Louis Mesenkop were awarded the Oscar in the “Best Special Effects” category at the 14th Academy Awards in 1942 for their performance in the film.
Web links
- I Wanted Wings in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- I Wanted Wings at Turner Classic Movies (English)
- I Wanted Wings (1941) Information about the film at journeysinclassicfilm.com (English)
- I Wanted Wings movie poster at moviepostershop.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ I Wanted Wings (1941) Screenplay Info at TCM - Turner Classic Movies (English)
- ↑ a b c d e f g I Wanted Wings (1941) Notes at TCM - Turner Classic Movies (English)
- ↑ Bosley Crowther: I Wanted Wings, 'a Stirring Drama of the Army Air Corps In: The New York Times . March 27, 1941 (English). Retrieved January 8, 2017.
- ↑ I Wanted Wings (1941) at kino.de. Retrieved January 8, 2017.