Captains of the Clouds (1942)
It's always a bit weird to see semi-propaganda films made with mainstream talent, as if it's just another movie. It kind of eats into the credibility of movies in that period in general, as distinctive art forms as opposed to commercial vehicles. So this has (for example) songs by Harold Arlen (Over the Rainbow fame) and Johnny Mercer, and some photography by the great Sol Polito (though there were four shooters involved, due to the range of situations required). And the director is the indisputably excellent Michael Curtiz, who was making "Casablanca" at roughly the same time. This is a movie about the Canadian air effort in the war. The lead by James Cagney is slightly odd in this regard, but it gives the movie creds. The leading woman (reddish hair and very red lipstick for the Technicolor production) is a more suitable Brenda Marshall. The scene is in isolated lake country, dependent on small planes for getting everything they need in and out (including teams of huskies, at the beginning). It's all quite beautiful, and if the characters are back woods caricatures, that's part of the whole schtick with this kind of film. So this is a manly world with people dickering over money, but showing a kind of integrity that makes them dependable and ready to support the war effort once it gets going. The speech by Winston Churchill heard by radio (halfway through the film) is the key turning point, and the men rise above their petty small town rivalries. The "girl" is what really matters behind all their arguments. But war, of course, changes even love. Devotees of war films will appreciate the accuracies in the training and the aircraft used. Of course, this was shot not long after it actually was happening (a year or two) and legitimacy is almost unavoidable on some level. But finally I have to get to the actual plot, the human interactions that make up the story, because this is a weakness overall. The attempts to give personal relatability to the events are natural, but not all that convincing. So seeing it sixty years later it can't be watched quite for the story itself, but for the many parts that make up the overall arc. Curtiz is great and he makes the most of it all. Max Steiner's music helps though it is overblown for a lot of what amounts to documentary sections. The fact it's in color is interesting (for the expense) and it's actually part of what makes it interesting. And it's quite believable, clean, not oversaturated color, brilliantly controlled.
It's always a bit weird to see semi-propaganda films made with mainstream talent, as if it's just another movie. It kind of eats into the credibility of movies in that period in general, as distinctive art forms as opposed to commercial vehicles. So this has (for example) songs by Harold Arlen (Over the Rainbow fame) and Johnny Mercer, and some photography by the great Sol Polito (though there were four shooters involved, due to the range of situations required). And the director is the indisputably excellent Michael Curtiz, who was making "Casablanca" at roughly the same time. This is a movie about the Canadian air effort in the war. The lead by James Cagney is slightly odd in this regard, but it gives the movie creds. The leading woman (reddish hair and very red lipstick for the Technicolor production) is a more suitable Brenda Marshall. The scene is in isolated lake country, dependent on small planes for getting everything they need in and out (including teams of huskies, at the beginning). It's all quite beautiful, and if the characters are back woods caricatures, that's part of the whole schtick with this kind of film. So this is a manly world with people dickering over money, but showing a kind of integrity that makes them dependable and ready to support the war effort once it gets going. The speech by Winston Churchill heard by radio (halfway through the film) is the key turning point, and the men rise above their petty small town rivalries. The "girl" is what really matters behind all their arguments. But war, of course, changes even love. Devotees of war films will appreciate the accuracies in the training and the aircraft used. Of course, this was shot not long after it actually was happening (a year or two) and legitimacy is almost unavoidable on some level. But finally I have to get to the actual plot, the human interactions that make up the story, because this is a weakness overall. The attempts to give personal relatability to the events are natural, but not all that convincing. So seeing it sixty years later it can't be watched quite for the story itself, but for the many parts that make up the overall arc. Curtiz is great and he makes the most of it all. Max Steiner's music helps though it is overblown for a lot of what amounts to documentary sections. The fact it's in color is interesting (for the expense) and it's actually part of what makes it interesting. And it's quite believable, clean, not oversaturated color, brilliantly controlled.