Wings (1927)

 

The grand-daddy of all Air force war movies, (and the winner of the first academy award), Wings follows two of our boys as they join the US Air Corps and take on "Von Kellerman" and his Flying Circus. The exceptional quality of Wings lies in its spectacle and realistic WWI flying conditions. The stunt work is amazing with numerous extras, and real-life explosions/plane crashes.  No CGI here.  The battle of St. Michael is re-created on grand scale.  The aerial footage is so good, it was re-used in countless B&W WW1 movies. Much of the authenticity is due to Director William Wellman a former WW1 pilot.  

As for the acting, the cast is excellent.  You have Clara Bow - who disliked the role, saying "Wings is a man's picture and I'm just the whipped cream on top of the pie" -  Richard Arlen (a WW1 Pilot) and Charles Rodgers.  The real surprise is Gary Cooper, who leaps off the screen. It was his first movie, and Cooper already has STAR written all over him. Its sad that this charismatic young buckaroo would turn into a tired old man in only 25 years. 

Summary:  An excellent war movie despite being a silent picture and a bit too long.  I hope to see it in a movie theater one day, since its massive battle scenes and flying sequences really need to be seen on the "big screen" with musical accompaniment.  Rating *** 1/2