L'ultima squadriglia

By now, everyone knows that this film is significant to anyone writing a dissertation on obscenity in popular culture because of the flipping of the bird. However, this is not the film's only claim to modernity. The collaboration of many skilled film makers at the beginning of the talkie era, it has several imaginatively crafted scenes, with one (you will know which one I mean) being positively Jarmuschesque. The sound track in particular is brilliant. I can't get the song of the wind out of my head.

Plus, if you love Erich von Stroheim, and who doesn't, his character is based on him, or his reputation. Of course you love von Stroheim, who doesn't love Max from Sunset Boulevard? Here, he gets to show his directorial style, while giving the sort of all out performance he was trying to get out of his actors. If you like this, try "The Great Flamarion".

I am not surprised to read that the ending was re-shot. My husband and I were both mystified the first time we saw it. Some of the plot is hackneyed, but the acting and production values transcend.

This film is an entertaining and well-produced drama about the lingering effects of war, about lost love and betrayal, and about self-sacrifice. Nineteen-thirty-two was the year before Robert Armstrong went on to bigger things with King Kong (1933), and nine years before Mary Astor played the role of femme fatale again in The Maltese Falcon (1941).

Also appearing are Joel McCrea – on his way to be a star of the western genre – and Richard Dix, a well-known star of the silent screen who successfully continued in films when sound came to the movies. Capping such a stellar line-up is Erich von Stroheim, the actor-director appearing as Von Furst, the dictatorial film director everybody loved to hate.

Mixing the camaraderie of The Three Musketeers (1921) with the romantic heroics of Beau Geste (1926), the story follows three ex-air force fliers (Armstrong as Woody, Dix as Gibson and McCrea as Red) cashiered at the end WW1 and who wind up at Hollywood as stunt men for war/action movies produced and directed by a menacing Von Furst. The three friends call themselves part of The Lost Squadron, in memory of those who gave their lives in France; and each is looking for fame and fortune. And, why not?

Gibson, though, is looking for more: having been rejected by his former girl friend, the film star Follette Marsh (Mary Astor), he forms what seems to be a mutually promising attachment to The Pest (Dorothy Jordan), Woody's sister. At the same time, Follette – now married to Von Furst in a typical Hollywood union – gives the impression she is flirting with Gibson; so much so, Von Furst makes it clear he wouldn't be unhappy if Gibson was injured or killed during any one of the stunts in the air. Personal tensions mount; relationships begin to sour; trust is inevitably eroded between Von Hurst on the one hand, and Gibson and his buddies, Red and Woody, on the other.

Gibson, all the while, tries to maintain a sense of honor and decorum. But, his efforts to dispel Von Furst's jealous rage are in vain. Matters come to a head when Gibson is once again rejected in love by The Pest who favors Red, sending Gibson into quiet, controlled despair; at the same time, Von Furst's insane jealousy results in tragedy for all of the friends, setting the stage for a plan to exact revenge upon Von Furst. The denouement, although highly contrived, is nevertheless in the finest tradition Wren's classic story of the Foreign Legion.

Overall, while the sound was scratchy at times, the cinematography, editing and direction are up to the mark. Of the actors, von Stroheim towers over them all with the intensity of his presence; while Dorothy Jordan overshadows Mary Astor, for sure – no mean feat, I think. The dialog is particularly good for the first and second acts; only during the final act does the script seem to fall into a deep, unbelievable hole. Still, the final scenes make up for those shortcomings, in my opinion.

Of further interest is the fact that this is very much a self-referential – perhaps even self-parody – film about Tinsel Town with much of the action being directed by Von Furst as we look on, thus giving the viewer a look at how things were done back in the thirties and hence allowing for some occasional, comic relief. Special mention goes to the aerial stunts and battle scenes.

Von Strohiem, of course, went on to star in Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard (1950) where he again played the part of a film director, but reduced to working as a chauffeur for Gloria Swanson and her part-time gigolo, William Holden.

The Lost Squadron is not a great movie, but it is well worth watching; and it's suitable for all to see. Give this a solid seven out of ten.

October 3, 2012

I found this pre-code movie a tad predictable but still enjoyable on several levels. I thought the behind-the-scenes look at the making of a World War I movie in 1930's Hollywood were quite fascinating. Erich Von Stroheim's autocratic director was both menacing and acerbically funny at the same time, although bordering on the campy. Richard Dix as 'Gibby' was only adequate as the central character, but Joel McCrea's naturalism shone through as 'Red'. I found it interesting too, that one of the central themes of this movie was the inadequacy the flyers suffered in civilian life, becoming tramps before riding the rails to Hollywood. They were trained to fly in war, and they end up flying in war movies...the difficulty of adjusting to peacetime was an issue not touched upon much in Hollywood until "The Best Years of Our Lives", almost 15 years later. Finally, to the delight of those of us who love pre-code movies, we are treated to Robert Armstrong giving Dix the bird as Dix tries to coax Armstrong into landing his sabotaged plane!

You should probably know that I love airplane films--particularly one with vintage planes. So, I have a bias towards this sort of film and some may NOT be excited in seeing the biplanes flying about during the movie (even though many are post-WWI planes when they are supposed to be WWI aircraft).

Richard Dix, Robert Armstrong and Joel McCrea play three buddies who served in the Air Corps during the war. However, now that about a decade has passed, they are forced to make a living working stunt flying for a sadistic film director (Eric Von Stroheim). Eventually, just how evil the director is and the depths of his evil come to light and this leads to a dandy, though grisly, conclusion.

Interestingly, of the three pilots, the least famous and important was McCrea, as he was not yet an established star. The other two (Dix and Armstrong) were big names, though only a short time later they were relegated to "has-been" status. All did a decent job and the film, though a bit tough to believe, was entertaining and was more than just a time-passer.

Lost Squadron, The (1932)

*** (out of 4)

When WW1 comes to an end, three pilots (Richard Dix, Robert Armstrong, Joel McCrea) find themselves on hard times but they wind up in Hollywood where they work as stunt fliers for a sadistic director (Erich von Stroheim). Problems come up when the director learns that his wife (Mary Astor) had a flame with Dix. When people think of weird movies from 1932 it's usually FREAKS that pops up in the mind but that Browning film has absolutely nothing on this movie. I don't want to react too strongly and call this the weirdest movie I've ever seen but it's certainly one of the most shocking. This movie starts out as a rather light-hearted comedy but quickly it changes pace as murder, suicide and abuse comes into play and in the end we're left with an incredibly dark tragedy. I'm really not sure what the screenwriters or producer David O. Selznick were thinking but they've left a rather bizarre final product for film buffs to enjoy. No matter what half is your favorite I think the film manages to remain very entertaining thanks in large part to the terrific cast. Dix is certainly strong enough as the lead and he manages to turn in a good performance. Armstrong is probably the weakest as the screenplay pretty much makes him play a drunk, which is something he did way too many times. His comic timing as the drunk is alright but at times it feels out of place. McCrea has the smallest of the three pilot roles but he manages to be entertaining as is Astor who is a major part of the film but then her character disappears during the finale for some reason. The stuff with von Stroheim is rather interesting because people obviously know about the sadistic director aspect of his reputation and that's on full display here. As an actor he turns in a very good performance and it's fun to see him "going mad" as you can't help but wonder if that's how he really directed his own pictures. The screenplay throws a couple rather mean spirited gags at him including a minor subplot about him being called away from the set due to his wife being injured, which is something that happened to him in real life. The aerial flights are all rather amazing to watch as the stunt work is quite effective but at the same time the twist in the story is a little disturbing as there were many, many stunt pilots who were killed during this era so seeing that plot in the film was a tad bit hard to take as entertainment. Again, I'm not sure why the film took such a dark and twisted turn but it certainly made for an interesting film. This certainly isn't a classic but the film has such a great cast and bizarre story that most will find themselves entertained.