Man, I can honestly say I've just seen the most bleak, dark, depressing, demoralizing... and downright dull war movie I've seen to date....

A Walk in the Sun follows a squad of soldiers as they land on a beach in Italy, and proceed to an occupied farmhouse in a quest to blow up a bridge.  Of course since their Lieutenant's dead, it seems they have to figure that out for themselves.

Of course they have to walk to get there.  And that's about all this movie is about, walking, and talking.  There is endless talk, most of it is the kind of soliloquy and chatter that might've read well on paper, but translates into pretentious pontification on the screen.  Talk, talk, talk.  Some of the most depressing and cynical you'll hear.  It starts off that way, it ends that way.

Oh sure there are a couple of (very!) brief moments where they get shot at, and somebody dies, but then it goes right back to more of the same.  Sure that's probably part of the goal of the picture, to portray the "hurry up and wait" and "nobody knows what's happening" aspects of going to war that are faced.  But it just doesn't make for a good picture.

Add to that the cheesy and sappy "soundtrack" if you want to call it that, with some vibrato tenor singing a overly pretentious song about "a walk in the sun."  Ick.

Interestingly, it seems that in 1945, "loving" was a perfectly acceptable replacement for "f--king" where the Hayes Office is concerned.  At least in this picture.  Kind of funny in a way.  "This loving war."  "My loving gun." Etc, etc.

I went into this picture expecting a lot more from the ratings and reviews I read.  I suppose in an academic sense its a good picture with a good message, but from the outset its such a downer I recommend to spend your time elsewhere....

A Walk in the Sun is directed by "All Quiet on the Western Front" and "Halls of Montezuma" helmsman Lewis Milestone.  It's interesting to compare this picture with "Halls" as a lot of the same themes are presented, but "Halls" is just a much better picture on so many levels it isn't even comparable.

Starring are Dana Andrews, John Ireland, Lloyd Bridges, George Tyne, Huntz Hall and Richard Conte.

Technorati Tags: war movie review, a walk in the sun, 1945, lewis milestone, Dana Andrews, John Ireland, Lloyd Bridges, George Tyne, Huntz Hall, Richard Conte, world war ii 2, wwii

1943's Action in the North Atlantic is quite frankly an enjoyable bit of film, and is one of the few WWII films to focus on the efforts of the civilian merchant marine fleet which brought much-need supplies to Allied troops all over the world.

Sure it's a period "propaganda" film. That much is almost expected. And at times the "prop" comes across as pure aged-cheddar cheese, especially the closing lines of the film. But as I say a lot, context is everything, and folks ate it up.

Humphrey Bogart pulls off another "40's Ahnold" role as the stoic but still-vulnerable first mate, and Raymond Massey's Captain is a role-model character. The rest of the crew delivers equally, providing a lot of humor, a great bit of which was probably pretty risque back in the day.

The mechanics of the fleet convoy are illustrated well, as is the entire operation. We get to see the role of the folks "on the homefront" as well, and how the merchant marines were needed just as badly as our uniformed boys... and missed just as much.

The action is pretty good at points, although I think their German translators needed a bit more schooling! Parts of the U-boat scenes came across pretty funny.

Definitely worth a viewing, if nothing else as a history lesson into one of the more obscure aspects of the war.

Technorati Tags: war movies, action in the north atlantic, bogart, massey, world war ii, liberty ship, merchant marines

Ah context.  Context is everything, especially when you're watching war films of this era.  You've got the Hayes office, the Dept. of War, and in the end, you get propaganda films like 1943's Air Force.

Of course, that's not to say that this is a bad film.  On the contrary, this is actually quite a good movie.  I really wasn't expecting it to be as good as it was.  You actually "get to know" the crew of the Mary-Ann, a B-17 that was (well, in this movie anyway) part of the group that was on its way to Hickham Field on Dec. 7, 1941.  The attachment to this crew you'll develop is pretty impressive.

You'll follow the crew all the way from before Hawaii, all the way to their involvement in the attack on a Japanese fleet on their way to Australia.  It's funny, too, how they make a special point to call out the importance and "secret-ness" of the Norden bomb sights and how they can't fall into enemy hands... during the height of the war in 1943!  Surprised "they" let that pass the censors!

Also impressive are the special effects here, especially considering the time this was made.  You'll find yourself believing most of it.  Sure there are several shots where the models are evident, but there are quite a few that make you wonder.  And the interspersing of the effects shots with actual stock footage is nearly imperceptible.

And, yes, this film is historically *in*accurate.  A lot of the events never took place, or didn't happen as portrayed, sure.  That's not the point.  The point of this film was to get people "on our side" and in that it succeeds wildly.

All of the acting is fair-to-good.  I really can't flaw anyone on their performances here.  Not too much anyway.  And its actually pretty "raw" for a film of its time.

So if you're in the market for a good "Saturday Matinee" style war movie, Air Force is just the ticket.

...

PS: When I saw this on Turner Classic Movies, it was followed by an interesting 1943 propaganda newsreel called 'Plan For Destruction.'  It was a surprisingly long and academic (if overly dramatic) look at Germany's rise to power in the 30's and 40's, and some of the causes for it.  It made a nice bookend for the movie.  Glad to see things like this come "off the shelf" once and a while.  You can just imagine movie audiences watching this movie, jeering the Japs and cheering our boys, and then watching this bit and coming out mad-as-hell!!

Technorati Tags: war movies, film, air force, 1943, world war ii, pacific, pearl harbor, b-17, plan for destruction

I love Laurel and Hardy.  I really do.  I mean how can you not?  During the 30's they were sort of a counterpoint and companion to the slapstick of the Three Stooges.

But in 1943's Air Raid Wardens, that original magic was pretty much gone.  They were both a few years older, and by this time were just going through the motions, and their "shtick" had already become somewhat dated, having been surpassed by more contemporary acts like Abbot and Costello.

The picture finds the two in their usual state of decrepitude.  Having gone belly up in several business ventures, they've started a bicycle shop.  But shortly after they get the patriotic itch and decide to join up with the war effort.

In the same vein as the thoroughly enjoyable Air Force and the dreadful Wake Island comes the light-hearted yet still deadly serious Bombardier.  It's basically a War Department-sponsored (with real Air Corps Brass no less!) bit of propaganda which follows the development of the first group of precision high altitude "bombardiers" through to the beginning of the war and their first runs over Japan.

First, realize that this is without a doubt, a wartime propaganda film in its finest form.  That having been said, just put away any preconceptions you might have about its origins, and just sit back and have a bit of fun.

We find ourselves present at the formation of the first "bombardier" school, where they teach cadets how to use the new (but never actually named in the film!) Norden bombsight.  Of course if you've studied your history you know this little device is what made high altitude bombings possible, as opposed to the "old school" dive-bombing methods which were employed until that time.  It also illustrates just how secretive the government was about this box, including the oath these guys (at least in this picture) had to take to protect the box to their own deaths.

Sure you have to put up with a bit of a love story, and some silly antics that you know wouldn't have happened.  But as it plays out, you really start to get into the characters a little, well as much as you can anyway.  And yes, you will have to put up with (or fast forward through) an entire auditorium singing the Bombardier anthem.

The film takes on a more serious tone, though, as the cadets near graduation, right about the same time as Pearl Harbor, and after a rather horrific accident.  I was actually surprised to see them portray such a terrible accident in a film like this.  It really sinks home just how dangerous and "seat of the pants" the somewhat new business of military aviation was.

Then there's the actual bombing run over Nagoya, which initially goes terribly wrong, but through some Hollywood heroism turns out alright (well for most of our boys) in the end.

There are some aspects of this film which might interest the aviation buffs out there, namely the numerous appearances by the B-25 Mitchell and the B-17 Flying Fortress.  And a few scenes where they demonstrate some of the absolutely ingenious devices used to train these guys.  I mean brilliant.  The tabletop bomb trajectory simulator was my personal favorite.

I'll give it a seven, just because it is a lot of fun.  Probably more like a 6.8 or so, but I just can't bear to dock an effort like this too much.

It also appears that Bombardier doesn't exist yet on DVD, so a big thanks once again to Turner Classic Movies for throwing this one out there!

Technorati Tags: war movie review, bombardier, 1943, world war ii, b-25 mitchell, b-17 flying fortress, norden bombsight, army air corps, japan, pacific, propaganda, war department

What? There was a Canadian Air Force during World War II? Who knew!?

Well, 1942's Captains of the Clouds takes us into the Canadian Air Force, which looks to have been kinda-sorta an arm of the RAF.  The big problem though is it takes half the movie, with a strange and convoluted love-story plot to get us there.  So basically we're talking about two movies in one, as there isn't much connecting the two "segments" except the characters.

The story starts in the wilds of Canada following the exploits of a few "bush pilots", most notably Johnny Dutton (Dennis Morgan) and the conniving new arrival Brian MacLean (James Cagney.)  Throw in a few "second string" pilots like "Blimp Lebec" (George Tobias), "Tiny" Murphy (Alan Hale), and "Scrounger" Harris (Reginald Gardiner).

The problem is that Johnny's Fiancee, Emily (Brenda Marshall) takes a liking to MacLean after an accident, and proves herself to be quite the unworthy wife candidate for Johnny, as MacLean steals her away just to get her away from Johnny, then dumps her.

Of course Johnny finds out, and throws away his dream of starting an airline to join the RCAF.  A short time later, the rest of his bush pilot friends join up, including MacLean, and they all end up in "training" roles, since they're just too old to be adequate combat pilots.

Well, MacLean's "maverick" style gets him booted, and in a crazy stunt, "Tiny" gets killed in another pilot's plane.

But later, as they're all called up to fly a trans-atlantic mission to deliver some bombers to Britain, who should show up but MacLean, under the auspices of "Tiny" Murphy.

They fly the mission, and in a last effort to prove his worthiness, MacLean is killed (along with the rest of the initial gang, save Johnny.)  And the picture's done.

So really that's about all there is to it.  Sure its a mildly entertaining couple of hours, and Cagney is his usual gruff and likable (un-likable?) self.  Admittedly, Marshall's presence steals the first half of the show.  But for the most part this is just your average Saturday matinee fare.  I'd watch Captains of the Clouds if it were on and nothing else was, but I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to catch it, unless you're a big Cagney fan, or you really want a glimpse into the RCAF.

Technorati Tags: war movie reviews, captains of the clouds, 1942, royal canadian air force, james cagney, dennis morgan, brenda marshall, alan hale, george tobias, reginald gardiner

1942's Flying Tigers pays homage to the group of American volunteers who risked their lives to help the Chinese under Japanese occupation before World War II. 

John Wayne stars as Capt. Jim Gordon, in a role (although not the same character) he would play several more times in his career, such as in Flying Leathernecks, and The Sands of Iwo Jima.  The tough-as-nails, yet thoughtful and sort-of sensitive role model that the men in his command (and audiences) could look up to.  John Carroll plays "Woody" Jason, the brash, cocky, young pilot who joins up after quitting his commercial pilot job.  And Anna Lee plays their common love interest, nurse Brooke Elliot.

The plot? Well, to be honest there isn't much of a plot to speak of.  The Japanese drop bombs, the Tigers go up to shoot them down, and the two guys vie for the heart of the drop-dead gorgeous nurse.  Really that's about it.  In between there are some interludes involving the other pilots, Jason's crashing (twice no less), and a look at the Chinese orphanage where Elliot works.

That's the great part about this film, the way in which the Tigers are portrayed both as selfless heroes and real human beings, all at the same time.  The plight of the Chinese is outlined fairly well, which shows, quite effectively why they were there....  And drives home the nation's feelings when Dec. 7, 1941 rolls around.

At that point, the Tigers' overseer, Col. Lindsay shows up, and asks Gordon to effectively make a suicide run on a Japanese supply route.  Of course Jason goes along for the ride, and ends up redeeming his character in grand style, but not before delivering a speech worthy of the Flying Tigers.

Its also unfortunate the treatment the Chinese were given in the film.  Yes, I know it was 1942 and stereotypes were inevitable, but some of the ones presented here are just plain silly.  Especially the restaurant owner.

As for the performances, well, again, I can't say that they're stellar or anything.  But then again they didn't need to be.  Wayne is, well, himself.  What more can you say about that?

Flying Tigers does what it sets out to do, pay much-needed respect to the fighter squadron of the same name, and in that regard it still holds up, and carries a lot of weight today.  To top it off you get to see a lot of Curtiss P-40s in action, which is always welcome in my book.

Its a lot of fun, and manages to be serious in the process, but doesn't make you pay for it emotionally like a lot of modern films do.  Seems like I say that a lot about these classics, but it really is true.

Technorati Tags: war movie reviews, flying tigers, 1942, curtiss p-40, john wayne, john carroll, anna lee, world war ii 2, pacific, china