Flight Command

Aviation buffs will love Flight Command. The special effects are outstanding for 1940, very much like Howard Hughes's classic Hell's Angels.

If this were made at 20th Century Fox, Tyrone Power would have been cast as the lead. Power had a patent on hero/heel types over at that studio. Robert Taylor who plays the lead here usually played straight up heroes in his films. Taylor played hero/heels, but not as often as Power did. Taylor debuted in that kind of part at MGM with A Yank at Oxford and wouldn't play one again until his classic Johnny Eager.

Taylor is a wiseacre fresh naval cadet straight out of the flying school at Pensacola, hence the nickname the others give him. Because of deaths an opening occurs at the elite Hellcats fighter squadron and Taylor is brash enough to think they requested him personally.

His attitude doesn't make him too many friends, among them being the squadron leader Walter Pigeon, his wife Ruth Hussey, and her brother Sheppard Strudwick. Strudwick is working on an instrument that will enable planes to land in fog, but gets killed trying to test fly it.

That opens all kinds of complications and misunderstandings among the men of the squadron and Taylor gets to feel mighty unwelcome. But he gets a chance to redeem himself in the end.

A few days earlier I did a review of another aviation picture Ceiling Zero and commented how Warner Brothers played on the cheap with the special effects. MGM did just the opposite, Flight Command got two Oscar nominations for visual special effects and sound, both well deserved.

Carrier based aircraft was still an unproven tactic for war, although aircraft carriers had been developed since the early twenties. But it hadn't yet been shown to be effective in war. It's almost quaint to watch the cast using ancient World War I era biplanes as training vehicles. But that's what the United States Navy had available back then. It was two years until the battle of Midway and less than two years until Pearl Harbor when Flight Command came out. A whole lot of aviation progress was made in that period, it had to be.

Flight Command out of necessity has to be dated, but it is still a good film to watch bearing in mind what these men were training for.

"Flight Command" was shown as part of the TCM Memorial Day series, and it deserves to be remembered for its excellent performances by the leads and all the supporting players, as well as the air scenes of single-engine planes flown by the squadron of Navy pilots. There is a lesson in their comraderie which is all the more moving when one considers the 1940 date and the skilful stuntwork of the planes for its time. Walter Pidgeon gives a classic performance, both strong and vulnerable, for which he will become better known in later films, and Ruth Hussey, usually in a secondary role, puts in a sensitive and generous performance as the "skipper's" stalwart wife in a part that could have been given to Myrna Loy. I am not a fan of Robert Taylor, but I felt he gave one of the more honest of his performances, and his good looks did not for once detract. Ruth's brother in the film, Shepperd Strudwick, hardly a known name, was well-cast as the outgoing, daring inventor working on a fog-navigating device. Between Pidgeon's Apollonian personality and Taylor's Dyonisian charm, Strudwick's relaxed and interestingly handsome face reminded me of Joseph Cotton in having a natural sense of gravitas in his manner.

Even though the plot was not a complex one, the different character relationships, whether between the pilots themselves, or of the perceived triangle of Taylor, Hussey and Pidgeon, was sensitively handled, and the several tricky maneuvers demanded of the pilots kept me glued to the screen. Credit should be given to the director, Frank Borzage, for coaxing such balanced performances from the cast. As for the supporting roles, Paul Kelley and Red Skelton (apparently in his first film appearance) both deserve mention, as do the script writers. The situations and dialogue appear routine, but nothing that is said or done is hackneyed or banal.

Of four ****, I would give it a highly recommended three***.

'Flight Command' may not be the type of film that would be typically seen on a regular basis by me, but the story did sound really interesting and there are films that have similar subjects that are very good. Frank Borzage was also a very gifted director, though 'Flight Command' is more serious than what was usually characteristic of him. The cast are similarly talented, have always liked Walter Pidgeon especially and one of the interest points was seeing Red Skelton in his second film.

Seeing 'Flight Command', it struck me as a very good and overlooked film with many truly great things. Not a masterpiece by all means or perfect, though actually flaws are few. It is a good example of somebody doing something different doing it well (with Borzage actually seeming at ease with a serious story), which is great considering that there have been a lot of misfires when people step out of their comfort zone (i.e. Sidney Lumet with 'The Wiz', as an at the top of my head example).

There really isn't that much wrong at all here in 'Flight Command'. It is routine at times, the ideas here are not novel even for back then and are executed more than dependably if lacking in freshness.

Did think too that Skelton had too little to do, meaning that he doesn't really register in a role that doesn't play to his strengths, and felt out of place.

Borzage's direction though is professional and as said he doesn't seem uncomfortable with the material and engages with it. The acting is very good, with Robert Taylor's sincerity being quite touching here and Pidgeon plays the type of role that he always did beautifully and better than most at the time with a lot of authority and dignity. The biggest revelation for me though was Ruth Hussey in one of her best performances, one of her meatiest character played with intense poignancy.

While the script is not extraordinary, it is still very solid and honestly written with characters that may be cliched but are worth investing in. What are extraordinary are the truly impressive special effects and the exciting flying sequences, staged with much tension and emotion. 'Flight Command' is well made visually, especially good in the flying sequences, and beautifully photographed. The story does have a good deal going on and did risk being over-crowded and bloated, but the way the subject is handled has much sincerity and packs an emotional wallop. While not being dreary or taking itself overly seriously.

Overall, didn't completely bowl me over and was actually still very impressed. 8/10

ROBERT TAYLOR plays a cocky air cadet who must prove to his commander and teammates that he's really a good guy when their perception of him is unclear due to a few plot circumstances.

WALTER PIDGEON plays the commander with his usual poise and elegance, smoothly mature as the husband of RUTH HUSSEY. Hussey has never had a better share of close-ups but her role is really peripheral to the main story of camaraderie among the men.

Frank Borzage has directed with a good eye for the aerial sequences during the period just before WWII. Carriers with planes landing on them and various formations while on maneuvers are all well photographed and realistically presented.

Taylor gives an admirable performance in the kind of role that would have gone to John Payne if the film had been made at Fox. His subtle awareness of how the men perceive him (after a misunderstanding) shows that he was capable of being more than just a pretty face.

Although well done and enjoyable to watch, the script prevents it from being anything more than a routine aerial film with some nice touches.

Robert Taylor plays a flier assigned to the famous "Hell Cats" in "Flight Command" from 1940.

Taylor plays Alan Drake, who excitedly joins the Hell Cats and then realizes he has a lot to learn from his commander, Billy Gary (Walter Pidgeon) - Alan met Billy's wife Lorna when he landed off-course en route to join the Hell Cats.

Though he feels left out by the guys, he finds acceptance at a party given at Billy's and Lorna's (Ruth Hussey) house and blends in well. He helps Billy's brother-in-law Jerry (Shepperd Strudwick) with a device he's working on that allows one to fly in the fog; unfortunately, Jerry is killed testing the device, leaving his sister Lorna devastated.

While Billy is out of town, Alan does what he can to cheer Lorna up. She starts to fall for him, and in a panic, she leaves Billy. The Hell Cats assume that Alan is having an affair with her and turn on him.

Pretty routine with some wonderful flying sequences and some lovely performances, particularly from Pidgeon and Hussey. Strudwick, a young man here, was a Broadway actor who went on to continue on Broadway and also prime time television and soap operas, best remembered as Victor Lord in One Life to Live. He gives an energetic performance.

Taylor is handsome and debonair and does a good job as Alan. He was a solid actor, not given to introspection, and capable of better work than he was often given. He loved being at MGM, took the pathetic money the studio gave him (he was supposedly the lowest paid contract player in history), and played whatever parts he was handed.

Taylor's roles were better after the war. We lost so many of these leading men way too young, thanks to the habit of smoking. Taylor was a three-pack-a-day man who died at the age of 57.

Pretty good, nice performances, great effects for 1940.