markystav Reviews

Sunday Dinner for a Soldier (1944)

uplifting...

[10/10 · 24 January 2008]

I have to agree with all the positive comments here. "Sunday Dinner For A Soldier" is a wonderful family film. I'm very surprised that it isn't in either DVD or VHS release. Everyone in the cast shines, and the plot is simple, yet beautiful, with just enough humor to keep it rolling along. I've always been a big fan of both John Hodiak and Anne Baxter, so this was perfect casting, in my opinion. Baxter was never lovelier than during this period in her career.

It shows up on the Fox Movie Channel every now and then, as it was a Fox Studio production, but I wish it was available for purchase. I'd pull it out every couple of months, just to get spiritually recharged. It is an uplifting film, filled with hope and resolve in the midst of wartime.

Soldier in the Rain (1963)

great cast, great B & W director

[10/10 · 16 March 2007]

This wonderful film has a superb cast, including not only the leads, McQueen, Gleason and Weld, but also the support, like Tony Bill and Tom Poston. Particularly good are Lew Gallo and Ed Nelson as the two MPs, Lenahan and Priest. Those guys still creep me out! Also helping it achieve greatness was the wonderful score by Mancini, which I can still whistle to this day, and the wonderful B&W photography, by a master, Phil Lathrop.

Ralph Nelson managed to direct some really fine B&W films - Requiem For a Heavyweight, Lillies of the Field, Fate is the Hunter, and this gem.

Among my favorites!

Island in the Sky (1953)

superb...

[10/10 · 19 July 2005]

This is a superb film, told by a director who understood his subject. Well-acted throughout, by an outstanding cast of support players, but this is simply the best bit of acting John Wayne ever did. The scene when Wayne realizes that they may have just missed their final chance of being rescued is nothing short of Oscar-worthy. It is so rare to see John Wayne cracking, and breaking down mentally, and this scene will always stay with me.

One of the very best stars of the film is the Douglas C-47, several of which are featured throughout the film. Shot from every conceivable angle, it is a real treat to see so much of this legendary aircraft. It's hard today to remember how important it was to commercial aviation, but it is the "George Washington" of airliners, and Wellman gives us a no-special-effects and shot-on-location look at her.

Batjac has finally given us the goods!

Flying Tigers (1942)

What you people don't know would fill a book!

[8/10 · 14 April 2005]

Many of the posts here are so filled with diatribes and inaccuracies that I had to laugh! One poster complained that the Flying Tigers actually were only flight trainers for the Chinese Air Force, and only lost three pilots in combat. At least two complained that John Wayne was a draft dodger. One stated that the Tigers were in combat two years before Pearl Harbor. One stated that the Japanese were unfairly treated as bad guys in the film. One declared that the Flying Tigers were up against a superior plane in the Japanese Zero....

First off, the Flying Tigers started training in September of '41 and were disbanded in July of '42. In that roughly ten month period they shot down 286 CONFIRMED kills for the loss of 12 Flying Tigers. They were not "Chinese Air Force flight instructors!" Their kill-to-loss ratio remains one of the finest in aviation combat history. Secondly, the Tigers never encountered the Zero in Combat. Their foes were primarily J.A.A.F. pilots, and the Zero was a Navy plane. Third, the Japanese indeed DID SHOOT AT PILOTS in parachutes and in life rafts, whenever possible, because they were taught that the enemy must be killed at all costs, lest he survive to fight you another day. Fourth, the Japanese committed the most UNSPEAKABLE horrors against the Chinese people during WW II, as the book, "The Rape of Nanking" can testify to. Fifth, John Wayne was NOT a draft dodger. He had a bum ear due to an infection which rendered him physically 4-F. Sixth, the outdoor sequences of "The Flying Tigers" were not filmed in Northridge, California, but rather in the high desert area around Santa Fe, New Mexico, in the (successful) attempt to give the foliage a more "foreign" look.

As to the film itself, I would suggest you go to the Fighter Museum in Phoenix, AZ, or the Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH, and find out just how close the film was to reality. The Tigers WERE usually outnumbered about 8 to 1 in combat. The 3 squadrons of the Tigers DID USE outdoor facilities as shown in the film. The Tigers were indeed mercenaries, paid by the kill, as well as by the month. The Tigers WERE frequently short of spares and fuel. The Tigers DID have nicknames, like "Tex" (David Lee Hill) and "Pappy" (Gregory Boyington). The Tigers DID have a few beautiful nurses on station. (In fact one of them, Jane Foster, ended up marrying a Tiger, who was subsequently shot down and killed a week before they were to leave for the States.) Truthfully, the only real overt fiction in the film is the pre-Pearl Harbor combat, as in fact, the Tigers did not start combat operation until after Pearl Harbor, (being in training prior to that.) Why is the film so accurate? Because two guys who weren't able to cut it as Tigers decided to take the story of the Tigers to Hollywood to sell it. They were the "technical advisers" for Republic, which was able to glean much about the unit from them.

Leave your politics at home and take a second look. This is actually an excellent depiction of the organization and the men, backed up with a superior special effects unit and a great score. (Both nominated for Oscars.)

Twelve O'Clock High (1949)

One of the most mature war films ever made....

[10/10 · 14 April 2005]

I've often speculated why "Twelve O'Clock High" stands apart as one of the most mature war films ever made, and I believe the reason is that even though the movie is chock-full of heroics, it stands far apart from the typical WW II propaganda action war movie, because almost none of the heroics are actually depicted in the film! Except for the actual combat footage seen in the film, (only about 20 minutes of the movie,) most of the film takes place on the ground, yet we are told of the heroics of the crews, by their crew mates and commanders. When you think about it, that's really the way we learn about most heroics - Somebody recounts them to us. (There's almost NEVER a cameraman around when you become a hero!) I believe that's one of the reasons this film comes across as so mature and believable. We experience both the terror and the self-sacrificing nature of men in combat the way we usually do - Someone later tells us about it.

Command Decision (1948)

An actor's movie...

[31 July 2004]

"Command Decision" is a wonderful film filled with several great performances. It's Gable's movie, but he's very capably supported by Walter Pigeon, Brian Donlevy and John Hodiak, who nearly equals his "Lifeboat" performance.

Pigeon is especially good in the roll of a senior commander who is more concerned with the political considerations of the war effort than the tactical and strategic goals. (Not without reason - The film correctly details the perilous and tenuous position that the 8th Air Force found itself in during the worst combat period of 1943.)

One of the best scenes in the film is a very long speech given by Pigeon, wherein he explains his reasons for fighting the good fight to keep American air power strong. The scene is a good 6 or 7 minutes long, one camera shot, entirely done without cuts. It must have been rehearsed extensively as it requires about 10 actors to interact with Pigeon at several times, all the while he is moving about the room. Seamless, and very well done! This remarkable scene is followed up with one almost as long, given by Gable.

The drama is occasionally broken up with comic moments provided by Van Johnson, as a savvy sergeant, and Clinton Sunberg as a fastidious aide to Pigeon's General Kane.

If you like to watch actors banging away with words instead of guns, this is the war movie for you.

No Highway in the Sky (1951)

Great drama with a great deal of humor...

[9/10 · 25 July 2004]

This is one of the better examples of how to craft a drama with just enough humor to lighten the load at just the right times. Most of the credit has to go to Jimmy Stewart, who infuses his character with hilarious absent-mindedness. We constantly have a chuckle at Theodore Honey, yet all the while we are witness to his personal metamorphosis from disinterested and detached scientist to caring and energetic activist.

The whole movie uses technology as the vehicle within which the protagonist lives, works, and eventually changes, but this movie is not about nuts and bolts; it is ultimately about personal transformation - Nothing is the same for Mr. Honey by the end of the film. The joy is watching the transformation, bit by bit, as events literally overtake him.