I have just downloaded "Wings" a move from 1927 - the first Oscar winner. It stars Clara Bow (who is very pretty!), Charles Rogers, Richard Arlen and Jobyna Ralston. It is in black and white of course but is also a silent movie. It helps if you can lip-read a bit. The flying sequences were shot in Texas and are all 'real' as there was no computer generated stuff in those days. The blurb said that the actors flew the aeroplanes - they were actually 'in' them but with another unseen pilot doing the flying.
The movie has become somewhat famous because Gary Cooper has a very small role in it before he became famous. Rumour has it that he was having a thing with Clara Bow - lucky man!
The movie starts with a quote from Lindbergh who flew the Atlantic in the same year. The whole of the USA became flying mad that year and some people say that is why 'Wings' got the Oscar.
It is directed by William Wellman who flew in France in WWI.
I haven't seen much of aeroplanes yet but will have a look to see what planes they used. Hopefully not all Curtiss Jenny's.
Oh no. You will be impressed with the aircraft. Some real, some not but still good. And I didn't know Gary Cooper was in it. Funny you bring him up - according to a blurb on him I just read he had an affair with just about every leading lady in his movies. High Noon...lucky man!
True. Gary Cooper came by his reputation honestly.
The planes are not all Jenny's, but most of the flying comes toward the end.
Gary Cooper is the tent-mate for the two rival guys. They meet him when they report in to flying school. He then leaves for a flight over the training field and has a fatal accident. (off camera)
"Wings" is now available on Netflix.
Last edited by Hauksbee; 03/25/1506:23 PM.
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But in practice, there is.
I'd heard it was Coop's first role. Supposedly, after his scene was shot nearly everyone on the set remarked that he would be big some day. Of course that could all be Hollywood hocum, but still...
As for having an affair with Clara Bow, I doubt it...at least not in conjunction with this film. As said, he had only one very brief scene of which she was not a part. Nor was she ever filmed on that set, so it's likely that they never even met during the shooting. Afterwards, of course, anything is possible. However, she retired from movies in 1932 or '33 to be a wife and mother (and partly because of these very rumors...not Cooper, specifically, but nearly everyone else in Hollywood). Not sure when Coop's career got hot, but the timing just doesn't seem to be there.
I recall reading a biography of Louise Brooks, who knew Clara in the day. Louise claimed that Clara had a deathly fear of doing 'talkies', fearing that her voice was weak and that she'd sound 'cartoon-silly'. On screen she was the bouncy, cheerful, "IT" girl, but off screen she was a mess of anxieties with an exploitive father. .
Last edited by Hauksbee; 03/26/1512:54 PM.
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But in practice, there is.
She also had a heavy Brooklyn accent that she thought wouldn't play well in Peoria: might not mesh with her girl-next-door onscreen image. But the audiences loved her so much that they didn't mind. Or possibly, since so much of America was rural and her voice embodied the exotic city life they embraced it.
Getting "Page cannot be displayed" on your link, Hauksbee. Three tries, no success.
When the pilots get medals given by a Frog General, he salutes them with his LEFT hand. I know they are peculiar in that they have the wings on the wrong side but I thought their salute was normal. Maybe he was a boy scout General
When the pilots get medals given by a Frog General, he salutes them with his LEFT hand. I know they are peculiar in that they have the wings on the wrong side but I thought their salute was normal. Maybe he was a boy scout General
He was missing his right arm. That is why he saluted with the left.