Flying Tigers (1942)

ethanedwards · 2006-01-22T14:43:36-05:00

FLYING TIGERS DIRECTED BY DAVID MILLER PRODUCED BY EDMUND GRAINGER MUSIC BY VICTOR YOUNG REPUBLIC PICTURES Photo with the courtesy of lasbugas INFORMATION FROM IMDb Plot Summary Jim Gordon commands a unit of the famed Flying Tigers, the American Volunteer Group which fought the Japanese in China before America's entry into World War II. Gordon must send his outnumbered band of fighter pilots out against overwhelming odds while juggling the disparate personalities and problems of his fellow flyers. In particular, he must handle the difficulties created by a reckless hot-shot pilot named Woody Jason, who not only wants to fight a one-man war but to waltz off with Gordon's girlfriend. Summary written by Jim Beaver Full Cast John Wayne .... Capt. Jim Gordon John Carroll .... 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 (pilot killed) Tom Neal .... Reardon (pilot) Malcolm 'Bud' McTaggart .... McCurdy (pilot) David Bruce .... Lt. Barton (pilot) Chester Gan .... Mike (mechanic) Jimmie Dodd .... 'Mac' McIntosh (pilot) (as James Dodd) Gregg Barton .... Tex Norton (pilot) John James .... Selby (pilot) Richard Crane .... Airfield radioman (uncredited) Elvira Curci .... Hindu woman (uncredited) Rico De Montez .... (uncredited) Eddie Dew .... Miller (injured pilot) (uncredited) Dan Dowling .... Pilot (uncredited) Willie Fung .... Jim 'Gin' Sling (waiter) (uncredited) Bill Hunter .... Mechanic (uncredited) Allen Jung .... Dr. Tsing's assistant (uncredited) Charles Lane .... Repkin (airport manager) (uncredited) Charles La Torre .... Armenian passenger (uncredited) Lotus Long .... Children's matron (uncredited) Richard Loo .... Dr. Tsing (uncredited) Dick Morris .... Pilot (uncredited) Nestor Paiva .... (uncredited) José Pérez .... Rangoon hotel clerk (uncredited) Franklin Delano Roosevelt .... Himself (voice) (uncredited) (archive footage) Tom Seidel .... Barratt (new pilot) (uncredited) Bhogwan Singh .... Hindu passenger (uncredited) Eleanor Soohoo .... Chinese stewardess (uncredited) Dave Willock .... Jim's Aide (uncredited) Victor Wong .... Chinese passenger (uncredited) Writing Credits Kenneth Gamet original story and screenplay Barry Trivers screenplay Original Music Victor Young Cinematography Jack A. Marta (photography) (as Jack Marta) Stunts Paul Mantz .... stunt pilot (uncredited) Trivia Actual Flying Tigers Lawrence Moore and Kenneth Sanger were technical advisors. Some clips of the dogfights and Japanese ack-ack guns were from confiscated Japanese newsreels. No scene of the interior of the airplane could be shown for security reasons. The instrument boards shown were fake. This movie broke all boxoffice records for Republic Pictures by a large margin and was one of the top grossing movies of the year. 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. The airplanes seen on the ground in the film are decommissioned P-40Bs, of the type actually used by the American Volunteer Group in China; they have four prominent gunports on the engine cowling (but no guns.) In the aerial sequences the planes are 1941 P-40E's, with six wing-mounted guns and a smooth cowling. Howard Lydecker and Theodore Lydecker, Republic Pictures' special effects wizards, shot all outdoor effects shots around Santa Fe, New Mexico, in order to take advantage of the impressive cloud formations. Theodore Lydecker claimed that no actual aircraft were used in this movie, with the effects being created by Republic Pictures' 15-man special effects department, headed by he and his brother Howard Lydecker. When John Carroll was introduced to a Tiger from Texas, he inquires, "Do you know the McNaught Sisters in Fort Worth?" This was an inside joke by screenwriter Barry Trivers. The McNaught Sisters - Mary, Ruth and Corinne - were actually from Fort Worth and were cousins of Florine McKinney, Trivers' former wife. In 1949, Republic Pictures reissued this film on a double bill with The Fighting Seabees (1944). The opening scene shows a Japanese air raid and in the aftermath a crying child is sitting alone amid debris. This scene virtually duplicates a famous photo taken in 1937 and published in Life magazine following a Japanese air raid on Shanghai. (Located in the National Archives, ARC Identifier: 535557) This film's opening prologue is a quote from Kai-Shek Chiang. It states: "Since the Flying Tigers first spread their wings in the skies above China, the enemy learned to fear the intrepid spirit they have displayed in face of his superior numbers. They have become the symbol of the invincible strength of the forces now upholding the cause of justice and humanity. The Chinese people will preserve forever the memory of their glorious achievements." Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek Goofs * Continuity: When the burning cargo plane is waved off at the Rangoon airport, it has only the right landing gear down. Moments later the pilots are shown raising the left landing gear. * Factual errors: One of the scenes of the "Japanese" anti-aircraft gunners firing actually shows Chinese Troops (recognizable due to their wearing German style helmets.) * Continuity: When Woody crashes the airplane he took up without permission we hear the engine running and see it running (you can't see the propeller) as it passes the camera several times on the way down, but just before he touches down in the crash the engine is not running and the propeller is clearly stopped. * Continuity: When Capt. Jim Gordon releases the three containers of nitroglycerin (over the bridge) he looks back into the cargo area of the plane and we see all three of them release simultaneously. Then we cut to the right side of the cargo plane and we see them drop through the bottom of the aircraft one after the other. * Continuity: Noticeable air scoops on the P-40's top cowling are shown in scenes of the aircraft parked on the ground and during taxi. Up-close engine starting and flying sequences show a clean cowling, without the air scoops. * Continuity: During the night fighting sequence, the aircraft shown passing in "vic" formation and later shown peeling off to the left are spitfires not P-40s. * Factual errors: The AVG did not engage in any combat prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Their first combat mission against the Japanese was December 20, 1941. * Continuity: When Woody takes off in the unarmed ship the rudder of his plane is shown being shot to pieces by a Japanese plane. In the rest of the sequence, the dive and the final landing, the rudder is undamaged. * 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. * Factual errors: The calendar on the desk shows the date 7 Dec 1941. The Presidents speech to Congress took place on 8 Dec 1941. Also Burma/China is to to the west of the International Date Line, that would make the date in that part of the world 9 Dec 1941. Memorable Quotes [URL:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034742/quotes] Filming Locations Curtiss-Wright Aircraft Co., Buffalo, New York, USA (aircraft sequences) Flagstaff, Arizona, USA (action and plane footage) Russell Ranch - Triunfo Canyon Road, Thousand Oaks, California, USA Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

There are 77 replies in this Thread which has previously been viewed 73,124 times. The latest Post (Nov 3rd 2020) was by lasbugas.

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beautiful photo of anna lee
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Well, yesterday I watched old Duke shootin' down the Japanese in "Flying Tigers". It had been so long since I'd watched it that I had completely forgotten the story line.
De gustibus non est disputandum
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