FLYING LEATHERNECKS
DIRECTED BY NICHOLAS RAY
PRESENTED BY HOWARD HUGHES
PRODUCED BY EDWARD GRAINGER
RKO RADIO PICTURES
Photo with the courtesy of lasbugas
INFORMATION FROM IMDb
Plot Summary
Marine Major Dan Kirby is tough on his group of World War II aviators,
tougher than his subordinate Captain Carl Griffin thinks is necessary.
But Kirby proves that his method is more suited to the demands of war.
Full Cast
John Wayne .... Maj. Daniel Xavier Kirby
Robert Ryan .... Capt. Carl 'Griff' Griffin
Don Taylor .... Lt. Vern 'Cowboy' Blithe
Janis Carter .... Joan Kirby
Jay C. Flippen .... MSgt. Clancy, Line Chief
William Harrigan .... Dr. Lt.Cdr. Joe Curran
James Bell .... Colonel
Barry Kelley .... Brigadier General
Maurice Jara .... Shorty Vegay
Adam Williams .... Lt. Bert Malotke
James Dobson .... Lt. Pudge McCabe
Carleton Young .... Col. Riley
Michael St. Angel .... Capt. Harold Jorgensen, Ops. Officer (as Steve Flagg)
Brett King .... 1st Lt. Ernie Stark
Gordon Gebert .... Tommy Kirby
Milburn Stone .... Fleet CIC radio operator
Lynn Stalmaster .... Lt. Billy Castle
Charles Brunner .... Navajo father on reservation (uncredited)
Ralph Cook .... (uncredited)
James Craven .... Fleet CIC commander (uncredited)
Gail Davis .... Virginia Blithe (uncredited)
Michael Devery .... (uncredited)
Sam Edwards .... Junior (uncredited)
Fred Graham .... MP sergeant (uncredited)
Douglas Henderson .... (uncredited)
Milton Kibbee .... Indian Affairs clerk (uncredited)
Keith Larsen .... (uncredited)
Harry Lauter .... Freddie (uncredited)
John Mitchum .... Lt. Black (uncredited)
Brit Norton .... Capt. Walter Tanner (uncredited)
Melville Robert .... (uncredited)
Elaine Roberts .... (uncredited)
Harlan Warde .... Admiral's aide (uncredited)
Dick Wessel .... Mess sergeant (uncredited)
Mack Williams .... (uncredited)
Adam York .... (uncredited)
Writing Credits
Kenneth Gamet story
James Edward Grant screenplay
Beirne Lay Jr. screenplay (uncredited)
Original Music
Roy Webb
Cinematography
William E. Snyder (director of photography)
Trivia
This movie is often considered merely another assignment of Nicholas Ray's at RKO for Howard Hughes to prove his political and professional alliance during the Red Scare. A blatant pro-war movie that Hughes cared about and Ray did not, Ray disagreed with the film's politics and is said, along with Robert Ryan, to intentionally over-act. Ryan and Ray, who were leftist liberals, constantly fought against John Wayne and Jay C. Flippen, who were conservatives and supported the Blacklist.
There was some controversy over the casting, since both John Wayne and Robert Ryan were clearly much older than real pilots during World War II.
This was Nicholas Ray's first film in color.
Even though this film is in color, the RKO Studio's film logo seen at the beginning of the movie is in black-and-white.
The film's dedication states: "Dedicated to the United States Marine Corps, and especially to Marine aviation. Appreciation is gratefully acknowledged for their participation and assistance which made this picture possible."
John Wayne's character in this movie, Major Daniel Xavier Kirby, was based on Captain John Lucien Smith, USMC Ace who was Commanding Officer in the Marine Fighting Squadron 223 at Guadalcanal in 1942 during World War II. Smith was a Medal of Honor recipient in 1943 and a leader of the "Cactus" Air Force. Smith, a wildcat fighter pilot, shot down nineteen Japanese airplanes over Guadalcanal in 1942. Smith's achievements and commendations were well known to the public prior to this film being made. Smith was eventually promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and likewise, Wayne's Kirby character is also promoted to the same rank in this movie. Moreover, there is also a physical likeness and resemblance between Wayne and Smith.
The Leathernecks of the film's title is military slang. Leatherneck is a common nickname for marines of the United States Marine Corps (USMC).
Robert Ryan was cast by director Nicholas Ray because he had been a boxer in college and believed that he was the only actor that could play opposite John Wayne and "kick Wayne's ass."
The film utilized actual color aerial battle footage. According to the book "Brassey's Guide to War Films", this movie utilized combat footage from newsreels of the Korean War [the Korean War was fought in its entirety between 1950-1953 but the footage would be circa 1950-1951 due to the production dates of the film]. Yet this is a World War II movie about the Battle of Guadalcanal which predates the Korean War.
This film is about marine pilots fighting in the Battle of Guadalcanal. Guadalcanal is situated in the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean, north-east of Australia. Its local name is Isatabu and contains the country's capital, Honiara. The island is humid and mostly made up of jungle with a surface area of 2,510 square miles or 6,500 square kilometers. Guadalcanal was named after Pedro de Ortega's home town Guadalcanal in Andalusia, Spain; de Ortega worked under Alvaro de Mendana de Neira who charted the island in 1568.
This is a Howard Hughes production as the opening credits declare. It is well known that Hughes himself was an aviation aficionado who also produced Hell's Angels (1930), Sky Devils (1932) and Jet Pilot (1957), the latter of which also starred John Wayne.
The squadron's designation in the movie was VMF-247 but in the real life campaign the movie was based on the designation was VMF-223. VMA 223 stands for Marine Attack Squadron 223. This was the United States Marine Corps fixed wing attack squadron that comprised mainly AV-8B Harrier (V/STOL) jets. It has been active since 1st May 1942 and is still presently today an active air force squadron.
The fighter planes seen in the early part of the film are not the actual Grumman F4F Wildcat planes which were part of the Guadalcanal air campaign but Grumman F6F Hellcat planes. Hellcats were more readily available at the time the movie was made in 1951 as not many Wildcats had actually survived World War II. Moreover, Hellcats painted white and red also doubled as enemy Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter planes of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS).
Marines got the nickname of "Leathernecks" from the fact that early uniforms had a collar made of leather which was intended to protect the throat from knife wounds.
Goofs
* Crew or equipment visible: Wires used to pull the canopy away are visible when Cowboy bails out over point Zebra.
* Anachronisms: When Major Kirby is just home from the war, he takes a letter from a mailbox which in a full-screen shot is shown to have a six-cent stamp. Six-cent stamps weren't issued until 1949, four years after the war ended.
* Anachronisms: Early in the movie, it states the date was summer 1942. This would make the planes and insignia incorrect. After Pearl Harbor, the insignia removed the red circle inside the white star, but didn't have the white sidebars. Further, the planes shown are Grumman F6F Hellcats. In 1942 the Navy/Marines used the Grumman F4F Wildcat. The Hellcat didn't tangle with Japanese planes until the later half of 1943.
* Continuity: During the 1st patrol off Guadalcanal after the nightly ship bombardment, "Jigsaw 4" is returning to base due to an engine problem (assumed cowardice by Pilot). Later in the same patrol, another Pilot is leaving formation and is shot down (later killed by Japanese Infantry) also under codename "Jigsaw 4".
* Continuity: At about the 56 minute mark, the Navajo Indian pilot is shot in a dogfight. In the initial scene he is wounded in the right leg; in subsequent scenes, the wound is in the left leg.
Filming Locations
Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, San Diego County, California, USA
El Toro Marine Base, Lake Forest, California, USA
Watch the Trailer
[extendedmedia]
[/extendedmedia]Some earlier discussion:-