TALKIES

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 115, 26 January 1940, Page 7

TALKIES

NEVER BEFORE SEEN FLIGHT SCENES FILMED FOR AIR DRAMA Throe million pounds worth of airplanes, all ol' one model, appear in stirring scenes of "Wings o[ the Navv," and that represents probably the greatest fortune ever tied up in one kind of 'properties' for a motion picture. Those planes are A morion's new, well-armed, giant twin-motoi-ed PBY-2 patrol bombing planes. Tn "Wings of the Navy" the giant PBY-2's thunder into the air from the surface of San Diego Bay, jusl oIV the U.S. navy's North Island air base, where a large portion of the exciting film story was screened. In other scenes they swoop down out of the sky to deposit theiv fourteen tons lightly on the twisv-* ing currents of the bay. In one scene, forty-four of the big twin-motored patrol bombers tilted and swerved in graceful formations overhead, as they came in, in a superb massed flight, to alight in home waters after completing their share in the U.S. Navy's annual summer manoeuvres above the foggy waters of southern Alaska. These fortyfour planes hopped down from Seattle in one long, successful massed Might. The«ir landing at San Diego furnished a dramatic secjucnce fov the picture. Each of the sixty vast PBY-2'S which made its motion picture bow in "Wings of the Navy" is valued at £52.000. when completely equipped with well protected secret devices that render them such potent instruments oC might for war purposes . Altogether there arc two hundred and sixty of these big planes, built and building, which give the United States Navy a voice of real ity in the sky. "Wings of the Navy" features George Brent. Olivia de Havilland and John Payne. NAVY VETERANS "Wings of the Navy" is the fourth big service picture to be directed by Lloyd Bacon. The others were 'Here Comes the Navy,' 'Devil Dog* of the Air' and 'Submarine D-l,' and were striking popular hits, CAMERA TAKES TO AIR Capt. Paul Mantz. veteran flier and aviation trail breaker, flew a special camera plane from Hollywood to Pensacola, U.S.A., to record the thrilling sky shots for the Warner Bros Cosmopolitan epic of the naval air service, "'Wings of the Navy." AIR-MINDED FAMILY Olivia de Havilland, the onh r feminine principal in the cast of "Wings of the Navy" the naval aviation picture, is a first cousin of Capta'lrt Geoffrey de Havilland. famous builder of British planes. Her father and the father ot the plane builder were brothers. LEADING MAN Despite the fact that Columbia's "North of Shanghai'" is practically his first film, James Craig, handsome leading man co-featured with Betty Furness, has appeared opposite nearly every feminine star in Hollywood. After being tested for Rhett Butler in "Gone with the Wind," he w.as retained to act with women testing for the Scarlett O'Hara role. A SUPER-MAN "More women adore Gene Autry than Clark Gable., They write him more love letters than they write Robert Taylor. More kids worship him that Shirley Temple. His screen voice thrills thousands more than Bing Crosby's husky voice, his grin cracks more masculine crusts than Jimmy Cagney's fists ever cracked, his daring deeds are more admired than Errc#l Flymvs. Darryl Zanuck has just laid a cool half million on the line for his contract, and had it laughed back in his lap. Zanuek wanted his magic draw to persuade people to sit through Shirley Temple and, Eddie Cantor and. Tyrone Power and .Mice Faye—so they could sec him in the second feature. He's the most amazing young man in Hollywood —yet not a tenth of Hollywood has ever seen him. More than half of the beglamoured stars of the upper movie crust have never even hoard of him —until quite lately. Today (jone's the most popular Hollywood star in the world. Two to one over Taylor, three to one over Gable. Believe it or not" says an American writer.