Wings for the Eagle

Unemployed Corky Jones (Dennis Morgan) and Gil Borden arrive in town. They get jobs at the Lockheed aircraft factory. Corky lives with his jobless friend Brad Maple (Jack Carson) and his wife Roma (Ann Sheridan). Brad's jealous pride is hurt and Corky leaves. Next, Corky rents from his friend Jake Hanso (George Tobias).

It's a fine wartime effort. It's fine as a love triangle melodrama. The actors are fine although I'm not taken with any of the relationships. It closes with a very, very short flying action scene. It's extremely short. This is fine. It's all rather fine. It's nothing that good.

I cannot disagree with the previous reviewer's assessment that this is not a particularly outstanding movie. It was made during war time about the war effort as opposed to strictly being made for entertainment, however, there are some very positive attributes about it. The aspects of the movie that do not center around Sheridan, Morgan and Carson are a little slow and convenient for a war flick. The aspects of the movie that do center around the three stars, however, are outstanding. Ann Sheridan was one of the most beautiful women ever on screen and she is glowingly gorgeous throughout this movie. Additionally, she was a bright, sharp-witted women who in this movie gets to frequently throw verbal-barbs at her co-stars. This is one of my favorite aspects of movies that she stars in. Also, Morgan and Carson play off each other well and have several good scenes including a hilarious confrontation in a bar. This is better than most movies out there.

"Wings for the Eagle" is a wartime propaganda film from Warner Brothers. It's generally good and worth watching, but the writing is extremely inconsistent....frustratingly so.

The story begins just before the US entered WWII. Dennis Morgan plays Corky Jones...an unlikable and annoying guy. He is not the least bit patriotic and obtains a job with Lockheed building airplanes...but not because he adores the USA but because he figures when the US goes to war, the assembly line workers will be exempt from the draft. And, to make him even more unlikable, he's an obnoxious cad and sexual harasser who spends most of the movie trying to steal his best friend's wife!! I really wish the writing of this character was better. I don't think they needed to make him super nice but in the film he's just a jerk....and so the expected transformation at the end just seems obligatory and not exactly believable.

So is it all bad? No. Many of the characters are quite good, especially the immigrant supervisor played wonderfully by George Tobias. And, the story when it's not focused on Corky is quite nice as well. Overall, worth seeing but a highly flawed film.

A good cast goes to waste in this story of two pals, Dennis Morgan (qv) and Jack Carson (qv), dueling for the affections of Ann Sheridan (qv).

Make no mistake about it -- Ann Sheridan is definitely worth fighting for. It's just too bad that Wings for the Eagle doesn't put up much of a fight when it comes to telling a story.

If you want to see the starring trio in a much better movie then check out _Shine On, Harvest Moon (1944)_ (qv). Or, to a lesser degree, _One More Tomorrow (1946)_ (qv).

It is a period piece that was designed to tug on American heartstrings. It did the job. Let it transport you back to that horrible time. Don't "me too" the 1940's.