Flying Tigers

A man (John Wayne) leads a squadron of American mercenary pilots fighting the Japanese in China before America’s entry into World War II.

Flying Tigers is a solid war picture buoyed by nice special effects and a good supporting cast.

John Wayne is somewhat uneven as the lead. At this point in his career, Wayne had honed in on the “Duke” persona that he would more-or-less carry through his entire career but, as his early dramatic scene with Mae Clarke shows, Wayne still had some work to do. Their scene is downright awkward, as was the costumer’s decision to dress Wayne in a trench coat and pith hat. Thankfully, this is the only real bump in the road, as the rest of his dramatic scenes, and the rest of his wardrobe, work much better.

The real change here for Wayne is the presence of a good supporting cast. After years of having to carry pictures by himself at Lone Star Productions, Wayne’s contract with Republic brought him bigger budgets and better casts. John Carroll, who more or less reprises his role from Only Angels Have Wings, is quite enjoyable as a poor man’s Clark Gable, and is able to keep the picture moving even when Wayne is off-screen. Anna Lee is passable as Wayne’s love interest, and, even though her role is little more than a plot device, she registers, which is a huge step up from most of Wayne’s leading ladies up to this point.

The special effects, by brothers Theodore and Howard Lydecker belie the film’s low budget. Interspersed with actual confiscated Japanese news footage, their work convincingly depicts not only several great dogfights, but also a believable airbase complete with planes and hardware. Further, the liberal use of blood is a refreshing change from the typical bloodless entries in the genre.

Thus, Flying Tigers is a solid war picture that, while not a classic, should please both John Wayne fans and fans of the genre.