Infierno en las nubes

I saw this overlooked Nicolas Ray film for the first time this week and was surprised by the director's ability to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear within the tight limitations of the post WWII propaganda war genre. Of course, the jingoism, the low budget fx and the formula finishing lines are dated and tedious, but the core of the film is the fascinating relationship between Wayne, as the tough Major with a good heart, and Robert Ryan as his compassionate second-in-command with a tough mind. If you zapped past the battle and home front scenes, you would have a highly charged exploration of male-bonding issues. As well, the film seems to be covertly raising questions which go as far back in our literature as ancient Greece when officers initiated their men into rites of passage. The intensely rich Technicolor and the interior tent sets evoke a crucible environment which powerfully thrusts along the character development. Ray draws from Ryan a brilliant portrayal and from Wayne a solid effort that seems to prepare him for his splendid characterization in a similar conflicted relationship with Maureen O'Hara for his very next film, John Ford's "The Quiet Man", for which Wayne got an Oscar nomination in 1952.

"Flying Leathernecks" has the virtue of a director taking on a run of the mill commercial film project, infusing it with his idiosyncratic style and providing the audience with some thematic depth and many fine moments. The most interesting example for me is a scene two-thirds into the film when John Wayne receives orders to depart immediately for another assignment and seeks to explain to Robert Ryan why the command of the squadron will be passed to another officer and Ryan not promoted into the job. Instead of an explosive argument, the conflict is conveyed mainly through non-verbal signals that each man is unable or unwilling to read from the other. A frustrated Wayne finally shrugs his shoulders and strides out of the tent while a tight-jawed Ryan keeps his backed turned away from him. Fortunately, there are enough of such involving scenes to make this a worthwhile film, even though this is not in the same league as Ray's great ones like "Rebel Without a Cause".

On one level this is a standard flag-waving WW2 film--which was what audiences wanted. On another level, though, this movie says some pretty harsh things about war. Mixed in with the combat footage are several scenes of wounded soldiers covered in blood, the sort of images that were censored from pictures made during the war. Some have objected to this... but I think it adds an extra layer of realism. Yes, they are shocking images--maybe that was Ray's point. We should be shocked that men get killed like this. The interplay between Robert Ryan and John Wayne is fascinating. Ryan turns in a splendid performance and Wayne surprised me with the depth of emotion he displayed, particularly when he visits his family. The movie shows us the emotional toll of ordering men to their deaths. The movie has pacing problems, particularly in the final battle, and Jay C. Flippen's scrounging sergeant wears a little thin. Still, this is a well-done war film.

A Howard Hughes War breathtaking film that probably accounts for the brilliance of the cinematography of the aerial dogfights . Classic war film with a magnificent John Wayne as tough Major fighting Japanese and a nice secondary cast who provide stalwart support . This is a flag-waging and patriotic tribute to US fliers . Very decent war scenes along with documentary footage that convey us the assault troops supported by aviation to establish on the Pacific islands, but like the navy, the US army and Air Force fought its way from island to island in the Pacific . The squadron's designation in the movie was VMF-247 "Wildcats" but in the movie was based on VMF-223 "The Bulldogs". The Leathernecks of the film's title is military slang . Leatherneck is a common nickname for marines of the United States Marine Corps (USMC). The film's dedication states : "Dedicated to the United States Marine Corps, and especially to Marine aviation . Appreciation is gratefully acknowledged for their participation and assistance which made this picture possible" . Regarding Marine Major Dan Kirby (John Wayne) is tough on his group of World War II aviators , he is even tougher than his subordinate Captain Carl Griffin (Robert Ryan) . As squadron leader fights with his fellow officer in Guadalcanal island . Both of them are two-fisted officers whose inevitable feud ranges from the wartime Pacific to peacetime America . As Kirby proves that his method is more suited to the demands of war and he leads his soldiers to into victorious battle , winning the devotion and admiration of his fliers . As when the real fighting begins all is forgotten . They subsequently bomb a convoy that is nicknamed by Kirby as ¨Tokyo Express¨.

The film is based correctly on Guadalcanal battle in a hard-fought US operation , one of the most difficult campaigns of the Pacific theater , detailing this fight as well as other battles in Orient . This is a Howard Hughes production as the opening credits declare . It is well known that Hughes himself was an aviation aficionado who also produced Hell's angel (1930), Sky Devils (1932) and Jet Pilot (1957), the latter of which also starred John Wayne . It's a good film dealing with war in human terms . This colorful movie contains action , breathtaking battles , thrills , stock-shots , historical events and the dogfighting scenes are impressively made . Stalwart main cast , Wayne and Ryan , both of whom give splendid interpretations . Being stunning supported by Don Taylor , Barry Kelley , James Bell , James Dobson , and special mention for J.C. Flippen as grizzled veteran . Big production design , lavishly produced , brilliant photography and rousing soundtrack by ordinary Roy Webb as you'd expect from RKO Pictures at the time . Superp photography in glimmer color by William E Snyder , superbly captured in bright , sharp Technicolor which nowadays' processors never seem able to reproduce .

The picture was compellingly directed by Nicholas Ray , author of various master pieces and hits as Rebel without cause , The savage innocents , Johnny Guitar , King of Kings , 55 days at Pekin and many others . Nicholas has a sensitive handling of actors and provides an exact compositional sense . Ray is a classic director , his films deal with a deep description of civilized societies , he believes that corruption is an essential part of it , that society punishes sincerity , innocence and love, vengeance and greed determine the behavior of people. ¨Flying leathernecks¨ is often considered merely another assignment of Nicholas Ray's at RKO for Howard Hughes to prove his political and professional alliance during the Red Scare and being Nicholas Ray's first film in color.

I had previously watched this one on TV, but I recall being underwhelmed by it: I liked the film better a second time around, but it’s clearly no classic (despite director Ray and co-star Robert Ryan’s involvement); contrary to Ray’s best work, which is marked by his personal touch, he’s strictly a director-for-hire on this particular title.

The film is one of several war-themed Wayne vehicles from this era, a good number of which I’ve yet to catch up with – FLYING TIGERS (1942), THE FIGHTING SEABEES (1944), BACK TO BATAAN (1945) and OPERATION PACIFIC (1951). It’s similar to Wayne’s FORT APACHE (1948), where he’s now portraying the martinet role played in that John Ford cavalry picture by Henry Fonda – though he’s well-matched with the long-suffering Ryan (cast against type as an overly sensitive executive officer dedicated to his squad). The latter element, then, links the film with such archetypal flying pictures as ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS (1939) and TWELVE O’CLOCK HIGH (1949) – where the group leader is constantly forced to make tough decisions in which the life of his men has to be put in jeopardy. For this reason, too, Wayne’s a generally glum presence here – apart from his interaction with Jay C. Flippen as an amiably roguish old-timer; from the remaining supporting cast, Don Taylor is equally notable as the wise-guy crew member who happens to be a relative of Ryan’s.

The action sequences are exciting (domestic asides are unsurprisingly dull but thankfully brief).even if utilizing an astonishing amount of grainy WWII stock footage which, while giving it a sense of raw authenticity, also tends to stick out rather too obviously alongside the soft yet agreeable Technicolor adopted for the rest of the film! In the end, FLYING LEATHERNECKS may be corny but it’s reasonably enjoyable – and occasionally stirring – for all that.

Watching the interaction between Wayne and Ryan took me back to my days in submarines. A captain who remained distant yet caring and an exec who seemed more crew friendly and down to earth. I thought this was played out very well. Ryan only had to look at his own actions to realize why he had been passed over for command. I believe every command had a scrounger and this was a good addition for realism. I overlooked some location errors and airplane types and focused on what was the real story. Young men were trained quickly and sent into combat and as all young people do even now, feel invincible. This movie portrays war as a reality, men die. As long as the earth is inhabited there will be wars. One reviewer termed this movie as a snuff movie. This was war. Men fought and men died. Guadelcanal was not a pristine resort. We were attacked by an enemy who showed no mercy and as sad as it is, men die in war to protect our freedom. This movie shows how new pilots are forced to face the reality that they may be killed and that they must kill. They were led by a squadron commander (Wayne) who was a veteran and knew what it would take to give his men the highest odds of living. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and would recommend it to anyone who has a moral problem with war. The bottom line for the anti-war crowd is, "reality sucks."