Cita en los cielos

I was 17 when this movie came out and in my senior year of high school.. Several of my friends enlisted in various services and I knew I was to be drafted when I became 18.. This movie made me make up my mind to enlist in the Army Air Corps..The movie was very accuate showing all the testing that we had to go through inorder to get into the Cadet program, but by the time I finished my "boot" camp and was about to get assigned, the war in Europe was about over and air-men were no longer needed.. I did serve as an aerial gunner/ flight radio operator so I did get some flying in before I was discharged.. Anyway I'm still trying to get a copy of that movie and I've also tried to contact 20th Century

"Winged Victory" is a most unusual film. Although it was made by Twentieth Century-Fox and was directed by George Cukor, the film stars all sorts of contract actors who had been drafted or volunteered for the war effort. These men and women were mostly all unknowns back in 1944 but many went on to big careers, such as Judy Holiday, Jeanne Crain, Edmund O'Brien, Lee J. Cobb, Red Buttons, Barry Nelson, George Reeves, Karl Malden, Gary Merrill and quite a few others.

The story begins back at home as various men received word that they were accepted into the Air Corps' program. But instead of being sent to various schools (such as pilot training or gunnery), the men are given exhaustive and nerve-wracking tests to determine the best fit for their abilities. Following this, they are assigned to various programs or washed out if seen as unfit. Then, you see them going through training program and finally they are sent into action. Along the way, you see a few vignettes, such as men with their girlfriends and one man in pilot training who was killed...and the reaction of his pregnant wife. I am actually surprised that the movie showed this latter story, as I expected it all to be very upbeat and rah-rah for us...which, fortunately, wasn't always the case. Because of that, it felt more real and interesting to watch. Overall, a very interesting film that seemed more like a hybrid between a drama and a documentary...well made and well worth seeing....as well as an important historical piece.

This movie gets it right. As a former USAF Aviation Cadet, I can tell you this movie has it all. The tedium of the application process. The waiting for word. The joy of acceptance. The worry about making it through the course. The sorrow of watching one's buddies (perhaps the best of them) wash out. The anguish of paying the ultimate price - the death of fellow student airmen. The glory of graduation. Always the flying, the flying, the flying. Many are called but few are chosen. We did for pay what we would have eagerly paid to do. Later, a lifetime of flying fighters and close air support aircraft. Living through combat in Viet Nam but always with the foundation gained in the Aviation Cadet Corps.

I have fond memories of helping to 'make' Winged Victory. As an aviation cadet stationed at Santa Ana, several bus-loads of us were taken to Camp Pendleton to the campsite someone else mentioned above. We were seated around, watching a Christmas show produced by the soldiers stationed on the 'island'. Three performers with mop wigs did a lip-sync imitation of the Andrews Sisters. I think mail call was then going on when the sirens started. Everyone was instructed to 'scatter' and just get out of sight. Some went up the beach out of sight for a swim. I was in a group that crawled into a dummy tent (no tent flap) and we had a long session of poker. The film producers had quite a time trying to round up enough soldiers to do a re-take of the scene. Of course planes were dubbed in later to bomb the camp. They also did a PT session at the SAAC base with hundreds doing exercises and Lon and a taller actor participating. I joined in helping to push one of them up and down when retakes of chinning themselves became overwhelming. I never did see the movie but heard once that that scene was not used. There was a report that a preview used it, and that one of our hands was showing on the cropped scene (we were holding their legs to assist in the exercise). Thanks for the reminiscing. I would love to see it.

Unless you have a personal connection to this movie, you will probably just consider it a good movie. In my case, my grandfather was involved in its production so I rated it higher. My grandfather was too old and had too many kids to serve during WWII so instead, he moved the family as needed to do his part. For most of the war, he was the final inspector for the bombers at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona. Some of the scenes with the bombers were filmed nearby. He received a certificate of thanks for his participation but it has been lost over the years. It meant a lot to my Dad and his siblings to be able to see this movie again.