FLIGHT COMMAND
(MGM.)
HEN Howard Hughes made Hell’s Angels 10 years ago, he set a standard in air films which looked at the time as if it could never
be surpassed. I saw a revival of the Hughes production a year or so back, however, and I cannot imagine that the task of outdoing it would present. any great difficulty to a producer these days. By this I do not suggest that Flight Command sets out to rival Hell’s Angels, but -it is at its best while it is in the air. When it hits the tarmac it lands with a solid bump and cruises leisurely round and about the aerodrome until called upon to take the air again. The story is stereotyped, but made interesting by the stars, Ruth Hussey (remember her in Philadelphia. Story?), Walter Pidgeon, Robert Taylor, et.al. I confess that I have no particular admiration for Mr, Taylor the actor, but here he has a Yank at Oxford type of part, and he makes quite a good job of it. He is shown as a young pilot fresh out from training school at Pensacola, who is ordered to join a celebrated squadron, "The Hell Cats," flying them a new ’plane. He crashes the ’plane in a fog, makes the acquaintance of his chief’s wife without knowing who she is, and so bungles his arrival as to create a generally bad impression among his new companions. However, he manages to make himself popular with them and also with the captain’s wife. Their friendship proceeds apace till it reaches a stage where, to coin a phrase, it begins to ripen into something deeper than friendship. Frightened at this prospect, she leaves her husband, thus exposing "Pensacola" in the accusing eyes of the "Hellcats." Denying any knowledge of what has happened, he nevertheless resigns, but first has to go on air exercises at sea, where he redeems himself by rescuing his chief, whose wife returns immediately and proves his innocence. As all this unfolded, I had an uneasy suspicion that I had seen it somewhere before-and more than once. I forgot that, though, whenever the aeroplanes took off-they are the real stars of the picture, which is only right, since it was made with a view to speeding up recruiting for the American Air Force.
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19410926.2.42.1.1
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
New Zealand Listener, Volume 5, Issue 118, 26 September 1941, Page 17
Word count
Tapeke kupu
386FLIGHT COMMAND New Zealand Listener, Volume 5, Issue 118, 26 September 1941, Page 17
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Material in this publication is protected by copyright.
Are Media Limited has granted permission to the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa to develop and maintain this content online. You can search, browse, print and download for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from Are Media Limited for any other use.
Copyright in the work University Entrance by Janet Frame (credited as J.F., 22 March 1946, page 18), is owned by the Janet Frame Literary Trust. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this article and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the New Zealand Listener. You can search, browse, and print this article for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from the Janet Frame Literary Trust for any other use.
Copyright in the Denis Glover serial Hot Water Sailor published in 1959 is owned by Pia Glover. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this serial and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the Listener. You can search, browse, and print this serial for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from Pia Glover for any other use.
Log in