Last night's movie was "Thunder Birds"(1942), a morale-boosting propaganda flick that could've served as a recruitment poster for the Air Force. Preston Foster stars as "Steve Britt", a flight trainer at Thunder Bird Field, Arizona. Britt was an ace in WW1. He and the base commander are old friends. There's a girl in town (Gene Tierney) who was once sweet on him, but drifted away when flying took precedence over their relationship. So there you have the oft-used theme about pilots loving their craft more than their women, being impossible to pin down, etc. Britt is still in love with Tierney, however, which will bring tension when she meets and is attracted to a English cadet (John Sutton) who happens to be in Britt's group. In addition to the Americans and English, the base also trains Chinese boys as pilots for fighting the Japanese.
The story revolves around a two-fold and interconnected plot : 1) the romantic triangle between Britt, Sutton and Tierney, and 2) the fact that Sutton literally doesn't have the stomach for flying. Every time Britt takes him up (in the two-seater Stearman used for training), he gets sick. It's turns out that he's got a fear of heights, related to a childhood fall. The base commander wants Britt to wash him out, because the war is heating up and they don't have time to waste on incapable candidates. And here's where the romantic triangle connects. It would be easy for Britt to eliminate Sutton from the program - he's got the Commander's orders - and it would also be beneficial to him, personally. With Britt transferred elsewhere, and likely out of state, he'd be away from Tierney and no longer a threat to what Britt hopes will be a rekindling of their relationship.
But then he hears Sutton's personal story and it changes his mind. Sutton is actually a personable and gentlemanly guy. He's not trying to horn in on Tierney, it just happens naturally because she's lost some (though not all) interest in Britt. The romantic angle is played light anyway, so there's never a suggestion that Britt hates or even dislikes Sutton. Though he does have reason to want him out of the way, he appreciates Sutton's efforts to overcome his vertigo. Also, it turns out that Britt knew Sutton's father from the first war. He was shot down, and when Britt asks the young Englishman why he wants so badly to become a pilot, he says that it's not only for his Dad, but also his brother, also a pilot, who was recently killed over Germany. Hearing of this tragedy, Britt becomes sympathetic to Sutton and challenges the base commander's order to can him. Getting Sutton his wings is now a personal mission for Britt, even though he can see it will cost him Gene Tierney in the long run.
It's a simple story, with just those two plot lines and some hijinx in between. The overall tone is "rah rah" for the war effort, with good old American values in the background. The movie was directed by William Wellman, whose "Wings"(1927) was not only the first Best Picture winner, but also featured some aerial combat footage that still dazzles almost a century later. Wellman does an artful job here, in Technicolor, so the flying scenes are fluid and radiant, the Arizona desert vivid and exotic. He also captures Gene Tierney at her most breathtakingly beautiful. She's only 21 in this picture, made two years before "Laura" so she was not yet a huge star. But she's so full of life and talent that it's a little heart rending when you consider the tragedy her life would become (I'm a big fan and wear my Tierney heart on my sleeve, donchaknow....)
Preston Foster is good as the "been there, done that" flight trainer, and Sutton, who would go on to portray numerous British Bad Guys in TV Westerns, is appealing as the humble, would-be pilot.
All told, "Thunder Birds" is a cheer-'em-on winner with no fat in it's 78 minute running time. It gets Two Big Thumbs Up from Yours Truly. ////
The night before, we saw "They Met in the Dark"(1943), a lightly comedic espionage thriller that I hoped would be in the same dry vein as "Secret Mission", which we watched and enjoyed the other night. Like that film, it also featured Chames Mason, this time in a starring role as a Royal Navy Captain who is court-martialed after his ship is sunk by a German U-boat. He suspects foul play, and after his trial results in his dismissal from the Navy, he sets out to prove that a spy was involved in the sinking. He remembers a girl he spoke to just before he sailed, and goes to check on her, in the event something he said was overheard. But when he gets there, she's dead. By coincidence, her cousin from Canada has just arrived at that very moment and sees Mason leaving the building (a theatrical agency and hostel for artists ). The cousin and Mason at first suspect each other in the girl's death, but end up as allies, then lovers, as they set out to solve the murder and expose the spy ring that cost Mason his career.
This is what I call a "kitchen sink" film, where the writer throws in a little bit of everything to round out the mystery, including musical numbers, and what could have been a tight story if limited to 70 minutes unfortunately wears out it's welcome by diverting again and again to the romantic thread, in which Mason hooks not just one but two women. Also, the comedy is neither dry nor witty enough to rouse much interest. The film is bookended with strong plot sequences but feels thin in the middle. Had the director tightened things up, he'd have had a good film, as the leads all perform well, and Karel Stepanek (who we saw as the head Nazi in "Secret Mission") is back, this time as a magician who works out of the artist house.
There is one interesting detail. A code is being transmitted via musical notes, performed by a harmonica player in a nightclub. If they'd played up the codebreaking and the murder mystery, the suspense would've been greater. As it is, it's pretty slack. I was surprised to see the enthusiasm for this movie over at IMDB, where fan after fan raves about it, with many calling it essential, apparently because it represents a style of British mystery in which the clues are revealed through comedy. If so, then call me "clueless" because I missed out on them entirely. I did enjoy Chames Mason, however - how can you not - and the film is recommended on that basis, for Mason Completists. As for Thumbs, I'm afraid I can only go as far as One Up and One Sideways. It was nothing to write home about. /////
That's all I've got for this particular moment in history. I hope you're enjoying your weekend and I send you tons and tons of love. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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