IMDb RATING
6.3/10
1.6K
YOUR RATING
An American pilot impulsively joins His Majesty's Royal Air Force in Britain in an attempt to impress his ex-girlfriend.An American pilot impulsively joins His Majesty's Royal Air Force in Britain in an attempt to impress his ex-girlfriend.An American pilot impulsively joins His Majesty's Royal Air Force in Britain in an attempt to impress his ex-girlfriend.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 win & 1 nomination total
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaTyrone Power's flying stunt double in this movie, RAF pilot Lt. Harold Barlow, was shot down by German aircraft and taken prisoner, according to a 20th Century-Fox press release of 24 January 1942.
- GoofsThe following items are 'goofs', but may have been made deliberately by the filmmakers in the interests of war-time security: The real 61 Squadron flew Hampden bombers, not Lockheed Hudsons. Hudson bombers were not used in bombing missions over Berlin, with the main role for these bombers being in Coastal Command in Europe. The real 32 Squadron, which Baker flies with in the Dunkirk scenes, flew Hawker Hurricanes and not Spitfires. When Baker gets in the Spitfire, it carries the squadron code 'LO' which was the code of the 602 Squadron and not the 32 Squadron he is supposed to be flying with (it used KT and GZ). 602 Squadron aircraft were used for shooting the film at Prestwick
- Quotes
Tim Baker: Well, I haven't looked at another girl since you left.
Carol Brown: Well, I've looked at other men.
Tim Baker: Maybe, but I'll bet you didn't look at them the same way you looked at me that first night in Kansas City. Remember?... You were going east, and I was going west; then we saw each other, and I was going east!
- ConnectionsEdited into All This and World War II (1976)
Featured review
This watchable flagwaver (made prior to the Pearl Harbor attacks) actually the first of seven films I'll be watching to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Tyrone Power's death has a cocky American mail flyer itching for action and joining the R.A.F. in England; though his first mission consists in merely spreading anti-Nazi leaflets across Berlin skies, he then hits upon the idea of throwing out the packages outright in order to smash the German searchlights underneath!
While stationed in London, he conveniently runs into dancer-cum-nurse Betty Grable (amusingly drawing her attention by affecting a Cockney accent conveniently filmed from behind, so that the actor could be dubbed! soon after his arrival) and, despite the girl's 'reluctance', rekindles their affair from back home. Of course, during the course of the film, she also contrives to perform a couple of brief musical numbers and show off her famous legs a lot. Equally predictable, though, is the romantic complication wherein Power's British superior (John Sutton) also falls for the heroine, going so far as to propose to her while amiably pompous/cynical sidekick Reginald Gardiner provides the comedy relief (just as obligatory in films of this era).
Even if the film is nowadays rightly criticized for the unrealistic depiction of war-torn England, the film succeeds well enough at what it set out to do entertain (via action, drama and laughs), but also instill in home-grown audiences a sense of duty for the war effort in Europe. During aerial sequences, shots of the actors in the studio are skillfully blended via special effects with stock footage of actual battles; still, having Power bloodily shot down at Dunkirk and then making a mockery of his so-called war wounds simply to dupe Grable into submission is a bit much! Director King helmed several of the best vehicles tailored for Fox's reigning male star of the era but, being essentially lightweight, this isn't one of them if still emerging to be "not essential but very enjoyable" (to quote a line spoken by John Sutton in the film in respect to his invitation to walk Grable home) and that's mainly due to the undeniable Power-Grable chemistry displayed via their comic/romantic banter throughout the film.
While stationed in London, he conveniently runs into dancer-cum-nurse Betty Grable (amusingly drawing her attention by affecting a Cockney accent conveniently filmed from behind, so that the actor could be dubbed! soon after his arrival) and, despite the girl's 'reluctance', rekindles their affair from back home. Of course, during the course of the film, she also contrives to perform a couple of brief musical numbers and show off her famous legs a lot. Equally predictable, though, is the romantic complication wherein Power's British superior (John Sutton) also falls for the heroine, going so far as to propose to her while amiably pompous/cynical sidekick Reginald Gardiner provides the comedy relief (just as obligatory in films of this era).
Even if the film is nowadays rightly criticized for the unrealistic depiction of war-torn England, the film succeeds well enough at what it set out to do entertain (via action, drama and laughs), but also instill in home-grown audiences a sense of duty for the war effort in Europe. During aerial sequences, shots of the actors in the studio are skillfully blended via special effects with stock footage of actual battles; still, having Power bloodily shot down at Dunkirk and then making a mockery of his so-called war wounds simply to dupe Grable into submission is a bit much! Director King helmed several of the best vehicles tailored for Fox's reigning male star of the era but, being essentially lightweight, this isn't one of them if still emerging to be "not essential but very enjoyable" (to quote a line spoken by John Sutton in the film in respect to his invitation to walk Grable home) and that's mainly due to the undeniable Power-Grable chemistry displayed via their comic/romantic banter throughout the film.
- Bunuel1976
- Nov 19, 2008
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $200,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 38 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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