Flight Command (1940)

Absolutely the worst movie.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

ROBERT TAYLOR plays a cocky air cadet who must prove to his commander and teammates that he's really a good guy when their perception of him is unclear due to a few plot circumstances.WALTER PIDGEON plays the commander with his usual poise and elegance, smoothly mature as the husband of RUTH HUSSEY. Hussey has never had a better share of close-ups but her role is really peripheral to the main story of camaraderie among the men.Frank Borzage has directed with a good eye for the aerial sequences during the period just before WWII. Carriers with planes landing on them and various formations while on maneuvers are all well photographed and realistically presented.Taylor gives an admirable performance in the kind of role that would have gone to John Payne if the film had been made at Fox. His subtle awareness of how the men perceive him (after a misunderstanding) shows that he was capable of being more than just a pretty face.Although well done and enjoyable to watch, the script prevents it from being anything more than a routine aerial film with some nice touches.

I gave this movie a look during TCM's Memorial Day Weekend marathon. I'm not sorry. There's nothing new in the plot: it's a typical "cocky kid screws up but finally proves himself" story with one interesting twist -- among the kid's (Robert Taylor, in a decent performance) many screw-ups is a friendship with his boss' wife which others perceive the wrong way.By the way, the "boss" in question is his CO -- did I mention the "cocky kid" has just become a Navy Hellcat? -- and the "others" are his fellow officers.The flying footage -- and there's a lot of it -- is okay but somewhat pedestrian since it's mostly training and search-and-rescue stuff. The movie was made in 1940 and several references are made to the war in Europe, but America had not yet joined in, so there's no combat flying. Still, there are interesting moments including a training and competition mission where the new pilot compounds an error and ends up tangled in a cloth target sleeve which nearly causes him to crash yet another plane.Taylor is okay as the new pilot, although I'm not one of his biggest fans. The first couple of scenes between Pigeon (the CO) and Ruth Hussey (the CO's wife) seem a little awkward and the banter seems forced, but they get better. Pigeon excels in playing "nice guy without a clue about women" roles, whether he's the father or the husband. I wasn't familiar with Hussey before but will correct that mistake as she turned in a very nice performance. Likewise the performance of Shepperd Strudwick as her unfortunate brother -- inventor of a navigational device he hopes will enable planes to land in fog. Red Skelton's role as "Mugger" seemed artificial and forced -- unusual, I thought, as he usually seems very relaxed in front of the camera, but I have heard this was his first movie.It won't win any awards, but it's a fun way to spend a couple of hours, with a likable story & performances.

Hackneyed war drama about a hot shot naval pilot(Robert Taylor) being assigned to one of the Navy's most prestigious squadrons. He must prove his worth and fit into the elite group at the same time live down the assumption he has had an affair with his Commanding Officer's(Walter Pidgeon)wife(Ruth Hussey). For the time period the special effects are above par. The script seems lacking. Interesting supporting cast includes:Paul Kelly, Nat Pendleton and Red Skelton.

"Flight Command" was shown as part of the TCM Memorial Day series, and it deserves to be remembered for its excellent performances by the leads and all the supporting players, as well as the air scenes of single-engine planes flown by the squadron of Navy pilots. There is a lesson in their comraderie which is all the more moving when one considers the 1940 date and the skilful stuntwork of the planes for its time. Walter Pidgeon gives a classic performance, both strong and vulnerable, for which he will become better known in later films, and Ruth Hussey, usually in a secondary role, puts in a sensitive and generous performance as the "skipper's" stalwart wife in a part that could have been given to Myrna Loy. I am not a fan of Robert Taylor, but I felt he gave one of the more honest of his performances, and his good looks did not for once detract. Ruth's brother in the film, Shepperd Strudwick, hardly a known name, was well-cast as the outgoing, daring inventor working on a fog-navigating device. Between Pidgeon's Apollonian personality and Taylor's Dyonisian charm, Strudwick's relaxed and interestingly handsome face reminded me of Joseph Cotton in having a natural sense of gravitas in his manner.Even though the plot was not a complex one, the different character relationships, whether between the pilots themselves, or of the perceived triangle of Taylor, Hussey and Pidgeon, was sensitively handled, and the several tricky maneuvers demanded of the pilots kept me glued to the screen. Credit should be given to the director, Frank Borzage, for coaxing such balanced performances from the cast. As for the supporting roles, Paul Kelley and Red Skelton (apparently in his first film appearance) both deserve mention, as do the script writers. The situations and dialogue appear routine, but nothing that is said or done is hackneyed or banal.Of four ****, I would give it a highly recommended three***.