Ships with Wings

Yes, this is British wartime propaganda. Yes, the story-line often seems cartoonish. Yes, some of the special effects seem as though they're out of a 1930s serial. While all those points are granted, "Ships With Wings, does score on featuring a lot of well-known British film and stage personalities of the period, along with some others; including Michael Wilding (Elizabeth Taylor's first husband) and Michael Rennie(The Day the Earth Stood Still) who would become well-known later on. However, "Ships with Wings" scores the most points for its' inclusion of many scenes of air operations on board the Royal Navy's famous aircraft carrier, HMS Ark Royal, with Blackburn Skua dive bombers, Fairey Fulmar fighters and Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers. HMS Ark Royal had actually been sunk by the time this film was released in 1942, but not before the Fleet Air Arm's Swordfish torpedo bombers, the immortal "String-Bags", had crippled the Italian fleet at Taranto. Look also for historic scenes of the real "Force H" operating in the Mediterranean, showing HMS Ark Royal accompanied by the Battleship HMS Bahram and battle-cruiser HMS Renown.

Rate this one an "8"; not for it's story, acting or special effects, but for it's value as an historic curio of the times in which it was produced.

With good live footage of the British Royal Navy's first purpose-built aircraft carrier - HMS Ark Royal - and her aircraft, this film dedicated to the Fleet Air Arm was slated by some critics when released, although it was popular with cinema audiences, even in naval ports. The carrier was called HMS Invincible for the purposes of this film.

But today this film seems so poor that it is almost embarrassing to think it was made. The story is so over the top, with a hopeless mix of love story and war, and the characters wooden and stereotypical. The models used made me laugh out loud - they are terrible! Still, it's propaganda and the home team win in the end, so that's all right then.

Lieutenants get involved in Gunroom horseplay - that would not have happened. A Chief Petty Officer is called "sir" by a Sub-Lieutenant and referred to as Petty Officer by a senior officer! And the Admiral and Captain give most of the orders from the bridge of the carrier, giving the impression that only they would do so; indeed, the admiral is so involved with the running of the air squadrons that the Commander (Air) - who is allowed a few moments of duty to camera - might as well have stayed turned in. All of the foregoing are nothing like life in the real Royal Navy, now or then, and it is amazing that the naval adviser at the time did not so advise the film's makers. Worse still, one gets the impression that it is only the officers who do anything! Apparently, the criticisms made of this film at the time of release were well taken by the studio and later propaganda feature films tried to be more realistic.

The film has some interest but it's not worth a detour. I have the video but won't bother buying the DVD if one is ever released.

"Ships with Wings reminded me of three other war films. Three years earlier, John Clements in "The Four Feathers" had played another disgraced British officer who redeemed himself, and "Casablanca" also portrayed Italian officers as ineffective popinjays.

Most strikingly, though, just as "Air Force" depicts an instant United States naval victory days after Peal Harbor, SWW portrays a mass sinking of German ships by the Royal Navy at a time when Axis forces were sweeping across the Eastern Mediterranean. Such fictitious achievements may have been designed to raise morale, but I wonder how contemporary cinema-goers reacted to the preposterous antics shown in the last part of SWW, which today look risible. Another reviewer has described them as "comic-book".

To avoid "spoiling", I won't list all the half-dozen improbable actions, though I do wonder why there was no attempt by the carrier's crew to deal with the burning aircraft that had crashed on its deck.

The film did start well, with some good scenes of the launching of HMS Ark Royal and of aircraft of the early 1940s.

As always with films of this period, there are some interesting names to look out for among the cast.

Trying to compare the production values of this film with a modern day blockbuster is stupid! It is like trying to compare a Ford Model T with a Ferrari - pointless. This film was made in 1941 two years into WW2. It was made on a low budget by actors trying to bring a little enjoyment and entertainment to an audience facing agonising uncertainty. I think it did that admirably! Remember also that if Hitler had won the war most of the cast would probably have been either shot or sent to a concentration camp for making this film. It was a film made for it's time. When you view it today try to view it in that context and you will not be disappointed. I grew up on these films and enjoy them as much today as I did in my childhood. If I want to watch a multi million dollar blockbuster then I watch a modern film.

Ships With Wings made in 1941 tells the story of the British flagship aircraft carrier the Ark Royal in battle in the Mediterranean theater. The first thing to compliment in this film is the judicious use of editing real battle newsreel footage into the film, integrating it with the plot of the film. I doubt very much if Ark Royal was being used for location shooting, the Royal Navy kept her quite busy in those years.

Three pilots take the lead here, John Clements, Michael Wilding, and Michael Rennie. Of the group Clements is an easy going, but reckless type. Some dereliction of duty gets him washed out of the Royal Navy's pilots.

But when war comes, Clements who is now working for a spitball Greek Airliner in the Mediterranean gets hold of German plans and flies to Allied territory to bring the world. The former Three Musketeers are united and Clements lends a helpful hand to the others at a critical moment in battle.

Ships With Wings is a nice rousing tribute to the men who served on Great Britain's Naval Air Arm and on the Ark Royal in particular. And this review is dedicated to everyone who ever served on that most gallant ship of the British Royal Navy. You folks kept us all free.