Flying Tigers (1942)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

David Miller

Writers:

Kenneth Gamet (screenplay) &
Barry Trivers (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

8 October 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War | Romance

Tagline:

NUNCA COMO HASTA AHORA SE FILMO LA GUERRA EL EL AIRE TAN CRUENTA, TAN REAL, TAN VIOLENTA! (original Argentine poster - all caps)

Plot:

The Flying Tigers are a band of American Mercenaries called upon by China to help fight the Japanese two years before Pearl Harbour

Plot Keywords:

China | Pilot | American | Japanese | Flying Tiger

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars.

Cast

John Wayne	...	Capt. Jim Gordon
John Carroll	...	Woodrow 'Woody' Jason
Anna Lee	...	Brooke Elliott
Paul Kelly	...	Hap Smith - Pilot
Gordon Jones	...	'Alabama' Smith
Mae Clarke	...	Verna Bales
Addison Richards	...	Col. R.T. Lindsay
Edmund MacDonald	...	'Blackie' Bales - Pilot
Bill Shirley	...	Dale
Tom Neal	...	Reardon - Pilot
Malcolm 'Bud' McTaggart	...	McCurdy - Pilot (as Malcolm 'Bud' McTaggart)
David Bruce	...	Lt. Barton - Pilot
Chester Gan	...	Mike - Mechanic
Jimmie Dodd	...	'Mac' McIntosh - Pilot (as James Dodd)
Gregg Barton	...	'Tex' Norton - Pilot

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | West Germany:12 (f) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #8468) | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Curtiss-Wright Aircraft Co., Buffalo, New York, USA

Company:

Republic Pictures (I)

Trivia:

The Flying Tigers' planes were full-size mock-ups made mostly of plywood and balsa wood, not - as has often been thought - real aircraft. The "engine" noises were sound effects added after production.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Woody is taxiing the cargo plane and taking off down the runway, he keeps turning the control wheel left and right, as if he were driving a car. The first lesson of one's first flight is that one does not touch the wheel or stick while on the ground. The rudder, controlled by foot pedals, is used to steer the plane on the ground. Turning the wheel left and right would cause the wingtips to dig into the ground.

Quotes:

Jim Gordon: Get 'er closer!
Woody Jason: If we get any closer to that bridge, we'll have to pay a toll charge!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Raggedy Man (1981)

Soundtrack:

Battle Hymn of the Republic

Wayne,China,dogfights!

Well done action film with good attention to detail.Many critics unfairly derailed this movie as propaganda when it is actually a good peek into that time and place.Mercenaries!Oh my!Many do not want to recall that the U.S. was very much involved in combat with the Japanese long before Pearl Harbor.EGAD!No wonder the backlash.See this one if you like John Wayne and war films.One of the greatest B movies ever as this is the forte of Republic films.There are some historical exaggerations but all done in good taste to condense such large scale events into a short movie......