Movies Again

[Barrett]

Brad: Yup, The Duke was in 1943's "The Flying Tigers" which only peripherally reflected reality (in the film they'd been in combat almost a year before Pearl.) A couple of AVG pilots I know got caught trying to sneak out of the premiere where they were guests of honor. Still, it's a first-rate shootemup and more authentic than, say, "My Darling Clementine" which John Ford always said was based on W Earp's testimony.

I believe that TFT's taxiing mockup P-40s were used in a postwar UFO flick but only saw a few clips.

IMO "Paths of Glory" should be required viewing every year at every military academy.

[mike_baram]

I don't believe I forgot to mention the best movie of the 70s.
"They Shoot Horses, Don't They?".
First of all, it's got horses. (Ok, the horses are only in the title, but HEY!, it's better than nothing.)
And most of all, it's the film where Hanoi Jane gets shot. That alone is worth the price of admission.

[WFS]

I don't believe I forgot to mention the best movie of the 70s.
"They Shoot Horses, Don't They?".
First of all, it's got horses. (Ok, the horses are only in the title, but HEY!, it's better than nothing.)
And most of all, it's the film where Hanoi Jane gets shot. That alone is worth the price of admission.

Maybe they should reissue it as "They Shoot Traitors Don't They?"

I heard that J.F. is now claiming to be a devout Christian and that her breakup with Ted Turner was at least partly because he's an atheist. I'll try to believe that she's truly accepted Christ when she publicly repents and begs forgiveness from the Vietnam veterans against whom she sinned.

Wayne

[Shooter]

Tell her "sorry 'bout that" Wayne.

I cannot forgive and I will not forget. I don't care if she dons a saffron robe, shaves her head, and dances through airport terminals with a pair of finger cymbals. She can eat shite and die, as far as I am concerned.

CNN took a left-tilt the day she hooked up with Captain Outrageous. Glad to see that she is gone.

Semper Fi,

Shooter sends

[WFS]

I don't blame you Shooter. The only thing that Jane Fonda believes in is Jane Fonda. Frankly I think it's a sad statement on the values of this country that she's still a national celebrity instead of a national pariah.

Best Regards,
Wayne

My two favorites from 1938 were "The Dawen Patrol" and "Gunga Din." The Dawn Patrol was a story of the boys of the RFC and the presures of command decisions.
"The Great Waldo Pepper" invistigated the mechanics of escalation between individuals, and it explained some things about a pilot's obcession with score.
"Aces High" was an intellectual film (and Barrett hated it for that reason) that delved into the way the British upper crust played WW-I as a game for the game's sake. That explained a lot about needless and senseless charges across no man's land and in the air.
"Full Metal Jacket" was mostly nonsense. The "gunny" was really an Army drill sgt. and he overplayed the part. If Marines are dumb enough to react the way they did in the second half, thank heaven for the Army! They broke every rule and only survived by pure luck.
"Zulu" showed graphically that when an upper cru;st Brit officer is outranked (even by time in grade) there is a chance for survival by resorting to the basic rules in the Infantry Manual. Even the little peacock learned a thing or two. And, gents, the technique of firing from three ranks with single shot rifles was every bit as deadly as Maxim guns mowing down the tribesmen...and while originally only armed with an assegai, they werre bested at musketry by well thought out tactics and some basic damned good marksmanship...things all but forgotten today.
"The St. Valentine's Day Massacre" was well researched (mostly from thee book "Rattling the Cup on Chicago Crime" by Edward Sullivan.) Plenty of blood and gore for most of us.
"The Lost Patrol" once again showed Vic McLaglen firing a machine gun, this time a Lewis that he had removed from a landed SE5a. Puts one in mind of his cranking the Gatling and mowing down row after row of Thugs.
"Vertigo" showed that Kim Novak was about three times the woman that Elke Somer could ever be, and she didn't have to bare her butt to prove it. Furthermore, she was a Chicago girl, and not a foreign import. The towel, it is rumored, was made under sweat shop conditions by child labor. So Much for Barrett's choice.
Oh, I could mention "Hitler's Children" and "Bride of Buddha", but nobody would know what I was talking about.
Personally, I'm waiting for a good movie that covers the life of Frank Luke...if they could find somebody who would tell the unvarnished truth about him.

[Barrett]

John's admiration of 19-ought-38 films is spot on, but we'll never see another year like '39. To wit:
GWTW,
Wizard of Oz
Stagecoach
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Goodby Mr. Chips
etc, etc,
Wow!

[WFS]

John L.:

I'd love to see a movie made about Frank Luke. *

Unfortunately I don't think that Hollywood would even try to portray the "unvarnished truth". *First, they'd have to find some way to work in a love story or women wouldn't go to see it. *(In their opinion) *Next, they would change FL's personality to make him more likable and sympathetic. *They would also want to cast a "big name" in the lead roll regardless of whether he even comes close to portraying the real FL. *The final product would probably be a tragic figure, misunderstood by his peers and hounded by insecurities and guilt. *His last flight reduced to a pathetic attempt to finally prove himself. *His death would be portrayed as a type of suicide to escape his inner demons and/or to atone for the death of Joe Wehner. *

Wayne

First, they'd have to find some way to work in a love story or women wouldn't go to see it. *(In their opinion) *Next, they would change FL's personality to make him more likable and sympathetic. *They would also want to cast a "big name" in the lead roll regardless of whether he even comes close to portraying the real FL. *The final product would probably be a tragic figure, misunderstood by his peers and hounded by insecurities and guilt. *His last flight reduced to a pathetic attempt to finally prove himself. *His death would be portrayed as a type of suicide to escape his inner demons and/or to atone for the death of Joe Wehner. *

Wayne

[chomping cigar] That's perfect! I'll pay you $1.5 million for the option on your outline. You'll go far in this town kid! Call my people, we'll do lunch.

Back in the 1940 era, I remember a man in our neighborhood who had been an Army sergeant and had actually witnessed Luke's last flight. It is really odd that he and a good number of the members of the original Cross and Cockade were aware of his humal frailties, but portrayed him as a brave pilot and avoided most of the unpleasant aspects of his final days. Any way you cut it, he was larger than life and it was a sad episode for everyone who witnessed his final victories when he "went West."
As for 1939, Barrett, don't forget "The Thin Man" with William Powell and Myrna Loy, "Andy Hardy Meets a Debutante" with Mickey Rooney and Lewis Stone, various "Charlie Chan" episodes with Keye Luke as Number One Son, "Blondie Meets the Boss" with Arthur Lake and Penny Singleton and a copule of "NBoston Blackie" episodes with chester Morris.
Yes, it was a banner year, even though it was a harsh time in America. We had a tendency to escape the harsher realities by attending a Saturday matinee at the local movie house for our hard-earned eleven cents and maybe a dime's worth of candy or popcorn at intermission. I was in the fourth grade in 1939. However, 1938 is memorable for "The Dawn Patrol" and "Smashing the rackets." For months, we pretended that our bikes were "crates" and we had numerour "dog fights" on the way home. ANd, yes, even the illustration on the video cover of Dawn Patrol shows the hokey plywood handles on the mockup Lewis guns, but it remains my all time favorite.
And, barrett, we all forgot "Gone with the Wind", which I didn't appreciate until a decade had passed.
My favorite scene of all time is the dogfight in "Hell's Angels."
My favorite infantry scene of all time is from Zulu" when Bromhead shouts: "First rank, FIRE!"