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FLIGHT


shrapneldude
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Watched this interesting film tonight. Pretty good movie -- decent story, attrocious placement of EGAs on some of the uniforms. haha

 

Wonder if anyone else has seen it and what their thoughts were.

 

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title.jsp?stid=3774

 

I'm watching it at this moment (I'm in California) and I have to say I never knew there was a movie about enlisted Marine pilots in Nicaragua. I am recording it on the digital recorder and will try to get some still images from it to post here.

 

It was a bit hard to believe that one scene where the airplane crashed nose down but the two Marines still lived, one of them apparently without injury.

 

This is a 1929 Frank Capra film and an early "talkie." TCM has a page about the film at http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?c...rticleId=274266 and it notes:

 

"Although crashes were staged with miniatures, the aerial shots were all real, with the actors actually going up in the air for their scenes, shot by intrepid cameramen from planes flying close by."

 

The film's first flight scenes are supposed to be at Pensacola, but anyone who has lived in Southern California will recognize the hills:

 

"Flight was shot in the summer of 1929 at the Columbia studios, at a Marine air base in San Diego, and in the foothills of La Mesa, California, standing in for Nicaragua. The production employed 220 men to build a complete flying field and a permanent 20-foot bridge in La Mesa. The Marines put 28 airplanes and numerous personnel, including Nicaragua veteran Francis Pierce as adviser, at the company's disposal."

 

La Mesa a very hilly, but now fairly well populated community located on San Diego's eastern border.

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Really neat film. Was flipping through the channels and caught a Marine with the old-style Gunnery Sgt stripes and aviator wings on and had to check it out.

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Really neat film. Was flipping through the channels and caught a Marine with the old-style Gunnery Sgt stripes and aviator wings on and had to check it out.

 

I'm tired this morning from staying up late to watch it. I could have just waited since I recorded it on the DVR but a movie about the Marines in the banana wars was just too compelling. It does have the usual love triangle seen in so many military films, but the period uniforms and aircraft alone make it worth watching.

 

Flight is not on DVD and probably only shows up on TV every couple of years.

 

Capra had earlier done a film called "Submarine" that had the same two lead actors as sailors (also with a love triangle).

 

SubmarineCapra.jpg

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The more I think about the more I wonder if this is only movie that portrays Marines during the Banana Wars era, especially Marine aviation?

 

I grabbed some frames from the movie today to try to give an example of what's in this. As noted above, this movie is not on DVD and interestingly the print that TCM shows is a British release of this very American movie.

 

The movie opens with two Marine enlisted pilots at a football game where they watch a player run the wrong way, which gives the game to the opposing team.

 

IMG_0006.JPG

 

After the game the hapless footballer runs unto one of the Marines, who explains he is a Marine Corps pilot - the film actually cuts to a closeup of the Marines' wings:

 

IMG_0009.JPG

 

The football player sees a poster as he leaves:

 

IMG_0010.JPG

 

Since the movie is supposed to be set in Pensacola, they show us a sign, but when we see the first aircraft land, we can see the hills of San Diego, where most of it was filmed:

 

IMG_0011.JPG

 

IMG_0012.JPG

 

Here's another shot that really gives away the San Diego location: that long ridge in the background is the Point Loma peninsula, located west of MCRD San Diego and the North Island air station, which seems like the probable location for this shot:

 

IMG_0019.JPG

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The first aircraft shown in the movie have Marine Corps markings including one for the fictitious "Flying Devil Squadron."

 

IMG_0015.JPG

 

IMG_0014.JPG

 

Having recalled his meeting with the Marine pilots and the recruiting poster, the footballer shows up as a new pilot trainee (notice the neckties - called scarves - that only go about half way to the belt):

 

IMG_0017.JPG

 

The trainees first assignment is to wash the aircraft so they put denim coveralls on over their khakis:

 

IMG_0022.JPG

 

Here's our hero:

 

IMG_0020.JPG

 

His instructor is of course the guy he met after the game:

 

IMG_0023.JPG

 

Notice the training aircraft have Navy markings:

 

IMG_0024.JPG

 

I believe that it is one of the Boeing NB-2s assigned to reserve squadron VN-7D11 at NAS North Island: most of the NB-2's in service then were in fact used as trainers at Pensacola, so even though they filmed in California they were able to use a correct trainer.

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Newspaper headlines let us know of trouble in Central America:

 

IMG_0025.JPG

 

But first there is a graduation ceremony for the new pilots, but our hapless hero washed out after he panicked and crashed during takeoff for his solo flight.

 

The ceremony looks like it was filmed at what is now MCRD San Diego:

 

IMG_0030.JPG

 

IMG_0031.JPG

 

Remember, this is a love triangle so the NCO pilot goes to visit the nurse who is at the center of everyone's lust. He gives her his biggest smile and we can see his droopy wing EGA's:

 

IMG_0027.JPG

 

And then another headline:

 

IMG_0032.JPG

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The "Nicaraguan" base was built in a San Diego suburb - I was at an estate sale within a mile of this spot last weekend:

 

IMG_0037.JPG

 

IMG_0038.JPG

 

The Marines used their truck to rescue the nurses whose bus got stuck in the creek enroute to the Nicaraguan base:

 

IMG_0042.JPG

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WOW!!!!

 

It didn't look that clear on television! haha

 

The collector in me cringed during the scene with the trucks -- those guys went charging into the water with Original 1920s Marine uniforms and campaign hats on!

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WOW!!!!

 

It didn't look that clear on television! haha

 

The collector in me cringed during the scene with the trucks -- those guys went charging into the water with Original 1920s Marine uniforms and campaign hats on!

 

I recorded on the DVR/cable box and then played it back and paused it to shoot photos with my little Canon digital still camera: I was really pleased at how the screen shots came out.

 

Yes, didn't they realize that water was not good for preservation of all that valuable historic militaria?

 

Here's sections from a 1929 Navy report showing the status of actual Marine squadrons when this movie was filmed:

 

marines29a.jpg

marines29b.jpg

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Great photos, Bob. Thanks for sharing. Sorry I missed this flick; had never heard of it. The doc you posted shows how small the USMC Aviation section was back in the 20s and 30s. A lot of current collectors are not aware of how rare material is from that period.

 

Semper Fi.....Bobgee

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Great photos, Bob. Thanks for sharing. Sorry I missed this flick; had never heard of it. The doc you posted shows how small the USMC Aviation section was back in the 20s and 30s. A lot of current collectors are not aware of how rare material is from that period.

 

Semper Fi.....Bobgee

 

A very good friend of mine has a very interesting grouping from a Marine aviator -- if memory serves me, he served 1916 to 1925 or 1926. Anyhow, the grouping has his wings, dog tags, some paperwork, and a stack of letters home, each one angrier and angrier aout the decline in maintenance and care for the aviation program of the Marine Corps. The sad part of the group is that the aviator was killed in a plane crash. If I can do it, I'll take some photos of the group next time I see him and post them on the forum. Apparently, the Marine Corps wasn't very fond of its aviation program during this time and put their funding towards other programs.

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Have any of you guys seen the movie "Tell it to the Marines" starring Lon Cheney? It was filmed in like 1928 or so and it involves the Marines in China. I have this movie as well that I recorded off of TCM.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Marchville1918

There are several scenes from What Price Glory (1926 silent version) on youtube. I saw this movie years ago and it is not commonly available today. The battle action in the silent version is very impressive, and just as good as that other great WW1 silent, The Big Parade. Lawrence Stallings (who was himself a wounded WW1 Marine officer) and Maxwell Anderson wrote the popular 1924 stage play later adapted to the movie in 1926. Stallings also wrote Plumes on which The Big Parade was based. What Price Glory has a lot of behind the lines comedy which leaves me cold, but over all I like the silent version very much. It was remade in 1952 with James Cagney and I didn't care for this version at all. I think it flopped at the box office. Marchville

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Marchville1918

I see you found it. The terrible ground war and the battle of Boureches (sp) are the two battle clips. Boureches was part of the Belleau Wood battle. Enjoy. Marchville

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  • 4 years later...

There are several scenes from What Price Glory (1926 silent version) on youtube. I saw this movie years ago and it is not commonly available today. The battle action in the silent version is very impressive, and just as good as that other great WW1 silent, The Big Parade. Lawrence Stallings (who was himself a wounded WW1 Marine officer) and Maxwell Anderson wrote the popular 1924 stage play later adapted to the movie in 1926. Stallings also wrote Plumes on which The Big Parade was based. What Price Glory has a lot of behind the lines comedy which leaves me cold, but over all I like the silent version very much. It was remade in 1952 with James Cagney and I didn't care for this version at all. I think it flopped at the box office. Marchville

 

I found the 1926 version on youtube.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrRcNio9fmM&list=FLSzNOM7Hi6vO6KDSPTr0T3A&index=2

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