Los tigres voladores

Yes it's a propaganda piece; yes it's a bit cheesy; yes it's not accurate. What did you expect it's a Republic film and made for entertainment in a very dark time of our history: the beginning of WW2 when things weren't going so well.There is also the issue of security. We couldn't afford to name names and be historically accurate without spilling the beans to our enemies. Imagine laying out the entire contingent, personal conflicts, equipment and order of battle just so you could say in the middle of a war that your got it historically accurate. You must view such films in that context and so Flying Tigers turns up pretty well. The flying sequences were nominated for Academy Awards and were great for that day and age.I was especially intrigued by the twin engine transport which turns out to be a failed one off design from the early 1930's which was used for ground shots and model shots. Here's the scoop from Wikipedia.

The transport was the XC-12 1933 with two 525hp Wright Cyclone engines; span: 55'0" length: 42'0" load: 3000#. It was an all-metal; triple biplane tail; *partly-retracting gear, which extended automatically when the throttle was closed. Funded by local Greek restaurateurs as a promotional aircraft, and constructed with help from University of California students. US patent #1,745,600 issued to Socrates H Capelis, of El Cerrito, in 1930 (a modified application for patent of the design with a half-span dorsal wing and two more engines appears in 1932). The main spar was bolted together, and much of the skin attached with P-K screws rather than rivets. These tended to vibrate loose, requiring tightening or replacing every few flights. Promotional tours were soon abandoned, and its career ended as a movie prop, appearing in ground roles* in several motion pictures ("Five Came Back" 1939, "Flying Tigers" 1942, others) before reportedly being scrapped c.1943. * Flying shots in films were of a model; the plane itself was grounded by the studio's insurance company.

Johnmcmd

The Flying Tigers and God Is My Co-Pilot are the two films out of World War II which are dedicated to the American volunteers who flew for the nascent Chinese Air Force both before and after America officially got into World War II.

Though this film is based on fictional people it holds up a lot better than God Is My Co-Pilot because it avoids the racial stereotyping of the Japanese. The Japanese are seen, but only in aerial combat shots with no dialog. And it's true they did have a nasty habit of machine gunning fliers while they were parachuting down, no avoiding that.

The main plot of the film is John Wayne as the disciplined leader of this particular squadron of Flying Tigers based somewhere in western China and an old and rather undisciplined friend John Carroll in a rivalry over nurse Anna Lee. Carroll's irresponsibility causes the death of one man and maybe another.

Still he's not a bad sort, just an overgrown kid. Carroll actually has the best moment in the film consoling Mae Clarke the widow of one of the Flying Tigers.

Some nice aerial combat shots are in this film and it really should be seen today to explain some of the Chinese attitudes towards the Japanese today. We got into World War II on December 7, 1941 which in fact the men in Wayne's squadron hear about in the film. The Chinese were essentially at war with Japan starting in 1931 with the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. It was a longer struggle for them than for any other country.

Other performances of note are Paul Kelly as Wayne's second in command and Gordon Jones are Carroll's sidekick. Check it out if it is shone on TCM.

Yes, this is a second-rate John Wayne war film (which probably makes it a third or fourth-rate movie for some). Its story resembles a Pat O'Brien/James Cagney military actioner of the thirties, or maybe even the Spencer Tracy/Clark Gable flight movie TEST PILOT, more than it does the real story of the Flying Tigers. Wayne plays the paternalistic leader always telling the hot shot to play with the team; ironically, it was because the Army Air Force wanted to deflate the cowboy attitude and emphasize team work that the real Flying Tigers got disbanded. Despite the corn and cliches, Wayne and the movie are lovable. Like all war movies made between 1942-1945, it's also an eye-opening time capsule.

Several friends of mine flew with the AVG. One of them who attended the premiere (c. October '42) recalls that he and a couple other Tigers were so embarrassed by the film that they were caught sneaking out of the theater.

However, the loathing of John Wayne contained in other reviews on this site demonstrates a total lack of objectivity. Wayne was 35 at the time of Pearl Harbor, and not even his friendship with then-Cdr. John Ford could get him accepted for military service. (according to one bio, his distinctive walk resulted from a football injury.) On one tour of the Pacific, Wayne got dead drunk with some fighter pilots in New Guinea. They placed his inert form on a cot and carried it into the middle of the compound and allowed him to awake with a hangover: stark naked. He rolled over and went back to sleep...

Whatever anybody thinks of Wayne or the Vietnam War, he was still visiting troops in-country at age 63.

Being born in 1939 I grew up watching all the John Wayne movies and remember quite well the impact this film had on me and eventually my chosen profession as a pilot. The question that always comes to mind whenever I see the film is; Who built the P-40 Warhawk replicas used in the movie? I assume Curtis-Wright had a hand in it as they are mentioned in the credits. The replicas were done fairly accurately and obviously had an engine and propeller with enough power to taxi. This also means that they had a steerable tailwheel and main landing gear brakes for stopping etc. Noticeable though is that while taxiing you do not see flight control surface movement especially in the rudder which would move with the tailwheel. No aileron movement is observed either, which you would see during taxi over rough ground and the pilot's hand holding the control stick naturally would transmit some vibration to the ailerons. The most obvious difference from the true P-40 is in the area of the canopy and windshield construction, kind of close but not convincing when the actual footage of aircraft taking off shows the true configuration and size of the aircraft. The film is not "TOP GUN" but is always a nice nostalgic event for this old retired pilot.