Flying Leathernecks
Flying Leathernecks | |
---|---|
RKO Radio Pictures | |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 102 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $2.6 million (U.S. rentals)[1] |
Flying Leathernecks is a 1951 American
Plot
Major Dan Kirby arrives at VMF-247 (the "Wildcats") as the new commander when everybody in the unit was expecting Captain Carl "Grif" Griffin to take over. Kirby is strict and makes this understood from day one. Assigned to the Cactus Air Force during the Guadalcanal campaign, Kirby has few planes available and a lot to accomplish with a Guadalcanal airfield attacked daily by the Japanese. His pilots are young and immature, sometimes disobeying orders and foolishly risking equipment and lives. Kirby is pushing for maximum effort, whilst Griffin stays closer to his young pilots, one of whom is his own brother-in-law, Vern "Cowboy" Blithe.
Kirby hates the decisions he has to make, knowing he is sending pilots to their death, but the success of the missions is the most important thing. The hard conditions of war force Kirby to get even stricter with his exhausted pilots and tensions with Griffin increase.
Kirby is a fan of low-level ground attacks to support the Marine units, but HQ does not approve of his tactics until Marines are in imminent danger from the Japanese. Kirby adjusts tactics and losses increase, but there are successes and he leads the squadron in an attack on a huge Japanese convoy – a scene likely based on the Battle of Guadalcanal.
The Wildcats' line chief, MSgt Clancy, is an old Marine veteran and comrade-in-arms of Kirby and he uses unorthodox methods to obtain provisions for the unit. His improvising helps the poorly equipped Wildcats, although by the end of the film, Clancy is a PFC, having lost six stripes.
Kirby is promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and Griffin to Major. Mustered back to Hawaii and destined for Washington D.C., Kirby is given the chance to return to the Pacific front and organize low-level ground attack tactics. He returns to the same unit and aircrew, now equipped with
Cast
- John Wayne as Maj (later LtCol) Daniel Kirby
- Robert Ryan as Capt (later Maj) Carl "Griff" Griffin
- Don Taylor as LTVern "Cowboy" Blithe
- Janis Carter as Joan Kirby
- MSgt (later PFC) Clancy, Line Chief
- William Harrigan as Dr. LCDR Joe Curran
- James Bell as Col E. R. Hughes
- Barry Kelley as Brigadier General
- Maurice Jara as Shorty Vegay
- Adam Williams as LT Bert Malotke
- James Dobson as LT Pudge McCabe
- Carleton Young as Col Riley
- Michael St. Angel as Capt Harold Jorgensen, Ops. Officer (as Steve Flagg)
- Brett King as 1stLt Ernie Stark
- Gordon Gebert as Tommy Kirby
Background
The film's screenplay was credited to James Edward Grant, based on a story by Kenneth Gamet, but some sources claim that Beirne Lay, Jr. was an uncredited contributor as well.[4]
Director Nicholas Ray chose Robert Ryan to play opposite John Wayne because Ryan had been a boxer in college and was the only actor Ray could think of who could "kick Wayne's ass".[citation needed] The role of the more "human" Captain Griffin is a fictional one and contrasts with the more austere Major Kirby. Tim Holt was originally announced as part of the cast.[5]
Production
As indicated in the opening scene of the film, Howard Hughes, himself a pilot with interests in aviation, bankrolled the production. Hughes made the decision to film in Technicolor, making use of color wartime combat footage.[6]
Principal photography began in November 1950 at
During filming, a near disaster occurred when "Air Boss" Paul Mantz and his photo crew, while filming a low-altitude attack, were caught in a premature dynamite detonation. The B-25 camera platform was badly damaged, but Mantz managed to successfully carry out an emergency landing.[10]
Historic references
The role of Major Kirby portrayed in this film was inspired by real World War II
Reception
Flying Leathernecks was critically received as another example of wartime aerial heroics. Howard Thompson in The New York Times commented that "As long as it stays in the air, Flying Leathernecks is an exciting thing to watch."[10] Variety had a similar review, noting: "Actual color footage of battle action in the Pacific has been smartly blended with studio shots to strike a note of realism."[11]
See also
References
Notes
- VMF-223 while the one in the film carried the name of VMF-247.[8]
Citations
- ^ "The Top Box Office Hits of 1951." Variety, January 2, 1952.
- ^ Variety film review; July 25, 1951, p. 6.
- ^ Harrison's Reports film review July 21, 1951, p. 114.
- ISBN 978-0-8196-0258-9.
- ^ Scheuer, Philip K. (September 5, 1950). "Tim Holt Leatherneck; Directors Pick Huston; King Bros. Celebrating All". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ McGee, Scott. "Flying Leathernecks". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved June 8, 2013..
- ^ "Original Print Information: Flying Leathernecks." Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: June 8, 2013.
- ^ a b c Carlson 2012, p. 183.
- ^ a b Orriss 1984, p. 159.
- ^ a b Orriss 1984, p. 160.
- ^ "Review: 'Flying Leathernecks'." Variety, December 31, 1950.
Bibliography
- Carlson, Mark. Flying on Film: A Century of Aviation in the Movies, 1912–2012. Duncan, Oklahoma: BearManor Media, 2012. ISBN 978-1-59393-219-0.
- Hardwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. "A Viewer's Guide to Aviation Movies." The Making of the Great Aviation Films. General Aviation Series, Volume 2, 1989.
- Orriss, Bruce. When Hollywood Ruled the Skies: The Aviation Film Classics of World War II. Hawthorne, California: Aero Associates Inc., 1984. ISBN 0-9613088-0-X.
- Parish, James Robert. The Great Combat Pictures: Twentieth-Century Warfare on the Screen. Metuchen, New Jersey: The Scarecrow Press, 1990. ISBN 978-0-8108-2315-0.
- Ricci, Mark and Boris and Steve Zmijewsky. The Films of John Wayne. New York: Citadel Press, 1970. ISBN 0-8065-0222-3.