El horizonte en llamas

I thought I saw all of Gary Cooper's war movies, but I just caught this one today on TMC. As others have stated, Brennan and Cooper are a great pair and they were a very good pair in this movie. Except for the typical lack of bloody wounds (in forties war movies), it was impressive that the dramatic detail in this movie was more accurate than usual for this genre. The movie did a great job depicting the interaction in the CIC (combat information center) and elsewhere on the ships. However unusual it seemed, transitioning from black and white to color to show plot transition (The Wizard of Oz notwithstanding) was effective for me. Deep down, I think it might have been a way to sneak in color war footage. As I am also a Jane Wyatt (Spock's mother) fan, she was great as Scott's (Gary Cooper's character) wife. Although it did seem to be a bit incongruous that she dressed as well as she did considering her situation. (Sorry, you'll have to see the movie.) Summary: Whether or not you've seen Midway, see Task Force.

If you have Turner Classic Movies, it would behoove you to take the time to watch Task Force, a fine, passionate, and patriotic film about the advent of the aircraft carrier as the principal weapon of the US Navy in World War II. Although it is a product of the times--and the Production Code--TF delivers the story of how "flat-tops" superseded the battleship as the principal tool for, in Navyspeak, "projecting power." With the skillful use of lots of film footage (which helped tremendously in avoiding the use of cheesy ship models), TF tells the story of a young naval officer played believably here by a much older Gary Cooper. As Cooper advances in his skill as an aviator, he runs afoul of bureaucrats and bullies, both outside the navy and in. This results in his being disciplined and scolded for speaking his mind about naval aviation, and his frustration with a lack of personal advancement and the navy not being prepared for future conflict. Cooper is a lanky metaphor for the advent of the carrier as the Queen of the Seas.

With Pearl Harbor, Cooper's "Scottie" Scott is thrown into battle against an enemy that is much better prepared for air combat, and with the aid and leadership of his father figure, Walter Brennan, he (as metaphor) gains the recognition and ultimate victory he deserves.

I read somewhere that Gary Cooper surrendered his chance at ultra-stardom when he made certain decisions about parts that robbed his film persona of the sort of sex appeal that would have guaranteed his place as a film star/sex symbol. The reviewer said something about Cooper being more of a big brother than a lover.

I don't know if all this is true, but Cooper's image of being a friendly, decent, human hero is clearly seen in Task Force. He--and Brennan--carry this movie. The chemistry Coop has with his audience and his on-screen friend and C.O., Brennan, puts real blood and muscle into a movie that at times gets a bit too documentarian. Add in a sweet, loving performance by Jane Wyatt as the graceful and gracious military wife and you have a really human movie that works as history lesson, war film, political essay, and love story.

Finally, what I love about this film is its innate patriotism. There simply is no questioning of America's place and motive in the years leading up to and during the Second World War. We were a democracy threatened by tyranny. We were unprepared for war because we despised it so very much; once confronted, we prevailed. The stock footage of Cooper's carrier (in real life, the badly damaged USS Franklin) arriving at New York with her flight deck and upper hull twisted into scrap metal by Japanese explosives is startling, a metaphor for the cost of not being prepared with the sort of cutting-edge technology, training, and will that might have reduced the bloodiness of the war or prevented it all together.

This has a structure much like the FBI Story where the story of the FBI itself as seen through the eyes of one man is weaved with the personal story of that one man. Here the story of naval aviation is weaved with the story of one mythical witness to that history. In this case the fictional man is Jonathan Scott (Gary Cooper). Scott is getting ready to retire in present day (1949) and then thinks back on all that has transpired in the last 27 years when he and several other pilots were to learn how to land and take off aboard an air craft carrier.

For all the history he witnessed, Scott had a rather tragic life. He wanted to be a pilot. But he gets sent to Washington, then to a desk job in Panama, then to Annapolis as an instructor, and then he is promoted to being an officer on a carrier in the Pacific when WWII begins. Seldom is he in the air himself. That's not the way the film sold it, but I did notice that aspect. Then there is Scott's personal life. He falls in love with Mary Morgan (Jane Wyatt), the widow of a pilot friend of his who died in a plane crash. The two develop feelings for each other fairly quickly, but don't do anything about them for over seven years. Mary says she does not want to marry a pilot again and always worry, and ironically the way Scott's life worked out she wouldn't have been marrying one even if she married Scott early on! And then after Scott actually DOES crash his plane THEN she decides to accept his proposal! Jane Wyatt seems a little homespun for the likes of Coop, but the two actors make it work.

There's lots of actual footage of WWII aerial battles, and you can tell real care went into detail so that this film looked authentic. For some reason, the film switches over to color about two thirds into it. That is where most of the action takes place, but it is rather an odd switchover, seeming somewhat like a holdover from the 1930s when individual scenes of a black and white movie would be shot in color.

Warner Brothers put their best supporting players into this film including Wayne Morris and Bruce Bennett, and there is Walter Brennan making his eighth and final appearance in a film with Gary Cooper. There's also a very early appearance by Julie London as the wife of one of the pilots. If you are interested in naval history this is an interesting way to spend a couple of hours.

Gary Cooper does an excellent job playing a Gary Cooper-type character. This is one of the better WWII movies to come out of the 1940s era. Jane Wyatt and Walter Brennen also do a good job. Somehow, this film always gets a lower rating than it deserves. It is somewhat dated by today's standards but gives good background of naval aviation with some very good live action combat film footage. For another good 1940s era WWII action movie with lots of good gun camera shots, see "Fighter Squadron" with Edmund O'Brien and Robert Stack.

In my opinion, the best movie ever made about the U.S. Navy in the Pacific conflict. With the pre-war black and white, and wartime, colored documentary footage adding that extra gloss to a fine film. Coop took on his role perfectly. Walter Brennan could never let you down whatever role he played. Bruce Bennet, always the reliable supporting actor. John Ridgley too. Stanley Ridges? Reliable as ever as a trouble maker. Moroni Olsen as a senior flag officer, as usual, eminence oozes out of him. And last but least, Wayne Morris; he must have felt at home in the movie, serving as he did as a carrier-based fighter pilot in the navy in the Pacific. Not being on sale in the U.K. video stores. Buyiing this video through Amazon.com was a MUST for me.