SPOILER ALERT: Think of this as Miami Vice, circa 1949. It has adultery, addicts, and drug dealing gangsters living in a mansion on the water with a private dock and hanger. All it needs are pastel colors and a Ferrari.
The movie starts off with a guilt ridden Richard Widmark flying into a hurricane, reflecting on his screwed up life. We learn in a late reveal that his downward spiral started during WW2 when he was a Navy pilot who disobeyed orders, broke formation and bombed and sank a Jap cruiser. He was punished, not rewarded, so he left the Navy and was paid very well to fly a private Grumman Mallard around the Caribbean on errands for wealthy but shady Italian "candy distributors" from Chicago. Nudge nudge wink wink, but the word Mafia is not used.
His girl Veronica Lake is an addict, but this was deemphasized and she is given little to do. She just complains about being sick, and looks like dog food. This is sad since the movie was made only seven years after Lake's dazzling magic act in This Gun For Hire. Considering that Lake's husband Andre De Toth was the director, and that they were trying to restart her career, they did a horrible job. Anyway, Widmark runs into his old Navy pal John Russell and his hot wife Linda Darnell, who had previously been Widmark's girl friend. Widmark immediately reignites the old flame, and they start an affair. Jumping on your best friend's wife is bad form and they know it, but that doesn't stop them. In sum, Widmark does a fine job of acting like a creep on many levels.
There are good aerial scenes with the Grumman Mallard, and Widmark's pal takes him on a ride through a hurricane in a four engine weather plane, probably a Privateer which is a B-24 with a single tail.
Of course Widmark hits bottom and his shady life style falls apart because The Wicked Are Punished, at least in the movies. A drug deal involving an absurdly small amount of white powder goes sour, and heavies are sent to kill Widmark. His pal learns about the affair, gets drunk and attacks him. Since the pal is in no condition to fly into an approaching hurricane, his Navy career will be ruined. Thus Widmark, feeling guilty as hell, snags a plane and flies solo into the hurricane, gathering crucial data for the hurricane warning system. Good footage of wind and wave damage is spliced in. Widmark's heroic act redeems him; he rejoins the Navy and is even belatedly decorated for his WW2 feat of arms. He takes an overseas assignment and wisely ditches Lake. After being a creep for most of the movie, Widmark straightens up and flies right after all. Other pilots' wives are safe - for now.
The movie starts off with a guilt ridden Richard Widmark flying into a hurricane, reflecting on his screwed up life. We learn in a late reveal that his downward spiral started during WW2 when he was a Navy pilot who disobeyed orders, broke formation and bombed and sank a Jap cruiser. He was punished, not rewarded, so he left the Navy and was paid very well to fly a private Grumman Mallard around the Caribbean on errands for wealthy but shady Italian "candy distributors" from Chicago. Nudge nudge wink wink, but the word Mafia is not used.
His girl Veronica Lake is an addict, but this was deemphasized and she is given little to do. She just complains about being sick, and looks like dog food. This is sad since the movie was made only seven years after Lake's dazzling magic act in This Gun For Hire. Considering that Lake's husband Andre De Toth was the director, and that they were trying to restart her career, they did a horrible job. Anyway, Widmark runs into his old Navy pal John Russell and his hot wife Linda Darnell, who had previously been Widmark's girl friend. Widmark immediately reignites the old flame, and they start an affair. Jumping on your best friend's wife is bad form and they know it, but that doesn't stop them. In sum, Widmark does a fine job of acting like a creep on many levels.
There are good aerial scenes with the Grumman Mallard, and Widmark's pal takes him on a ride through a hurricane in a four engine weather plane, probably a Privateer which is a B-24 with a single tail.
Of course Widmark hits bottom and his shady life style falls apart because The Wicked Are Punished, at least in the movies. A drug deal involving an absurdly small amount of white powder goes sour, and heavies are sent to kill Widmark. His pal learns about the affair, gets drunk and attacks him. Since the pal is in no condition to fly into an approaching hurricane, his Navy career will be ruined. Thus Widmark, feeling guilty as hell, snags a plane and flies solo into the hurricane, gathering crucial data for the hurricane warning system. Good footage of wind and wave damage is spliced in. Widmark's heroic act redeems him; he rejoins the Navy and is even belatedly decorated for his WW2 feat of arms. He takes an overseas assignment and wisely ditches Lake. After being a creep for most of the movie, Widmark straightens up and flies right after all. Other pilots' wives are safe - for now.