Wings (1927)

Wings (1927)

Director: William A. Wellman
Written by: Hope Loring and Louis S. Lighton

Production Company: Paramount Pictures

Rating: N/A

Starring: Clara Bow,  Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, Richard Arlen

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The first Academy Award winner for Best Picture (and only silent film to win the honor) is a WWI war/romance epic written specifically for Clara Bow - Paramount's biggest star at the time. And that's interesting because her part, Mary, while providing a lot of comedic relief was not the real, narrative draw of the movie for me. 

But first, some background. Filmed in San Antonio at Kelly Field, while most pictures of the day took a month or two to film, this one took nine months. That's nine months on location in San Antonio with a lot of downtime for the hyper-attractive cast. Director William A. Wellman is quoted as saying it was an 'Armageddon of magnificent sexual Donnybrook.' Later it was noted, whether earnestly or as a joke, that by the time the production left town all the elevator girls at the famous Saint Anthony's Hotel (where the cast stayed) were pregnant. 

On top of the star-studded cast - including a small part for Gary Cooper in his early career - the director had real, WWI arial combat experience which helped him create a film by which all other arial combat films were be measured for many decades. On a $2 million budget ($29.24 million adjusted for inflation), Wellman produced a 2.5 hour epic that really is still watchable and impactful in 2022. 

I watched the film with my 8-year-old son who is deep into the YouTube, special-effects, has always

had the internet at his fingertips generation to yet be named. He was intrigued by the idea of a movie with no dialogue at all. He even asked me, 'If they can put music on it, why not speech?' The idea that there just simply did not exist the technology to make movies as he knows them awed him. Some of my favorite interjections from my son as we watched were, 'I'm not used to movies like this, but at least it does have good music.' And, a personal favorite, 'Is Gary Cooper like the olden-times Leonardo DiCaprio?' It's 2022, and I must interject that Leo's allure stands the test of time. After a few viewings of Titanic, my son understands what it is to be starstruck by DiCaprio.

At its core, Wings is a war story with love on the side. It's a buddy flick. In fact, there is some debate about whether or not it features the first LGBTQIA+ kiss in major motion picture history. But that's a topic we'll get to in a moment. To paraphrase Bill Hader's Stefon from SNL, this film has everything. Love triangle (quadrangle?), war, mistaken identity, drunkeness in Paris, the love of brothers in combat, thrilling arial battles, emotional character arcs, it's all there and it all stands up to the test of time. 

*PLOT SPOILERS*

The film follows Cadets Jack (Rodgers) and David (Arlen), two young men from the same town who are both in love with the local beauty, Sylvia. Sylvia's heart belongs to David, but a miscommunication on the part of Jack leaves him believing she's left him a token (her picture in a locket) as he goes off to war to remember her by. Meanwhile, Jack's girl-next-door type buddy, Mary has been in love with him for ages though he's completely oblivious. David, from the richest family in town, resents Jack and Jack resents him right back. At basic cadet training, they scuffle then come to like and respect each other - eventually becoming the best of friends and closest allies. Mary enlists as an ambulance driver where, by chance she meets up with Jack who is on leave in Paris. Only, Jack is drunk as a skunk seeing bubbles in the air as he is wined and dined by a beautiful French woman. Mary, utilizing her skills and wiles coerces him back to his room so that he won't be thrown in the brig for drunkenly ignoring the order to return to camp for that great 'push' into occupied territory in a few days time. When MPs rush into Jack's room looking for him, Mary is changing her clothes and the situation looks as if she was sleeping with a Cadet, so she's fired and sent back home. Just before Jack and David get in their planes for the final push forward to defeat the Germans, Jack drops his locket and the picture falls out. David notices that Sylvia has written a message to him. Fearing Jack will see it, and will be heart broken to know that Sylvia doesn't love Jack, but rather him, David rips up the picture, angering Jack just before they get into their planes and go into battle. In the tragic conclusion, David is shot down behind enemy lines, steals a German plane and tries to return to the American line only to be shot down by Jack who does not realize his friend is flying the plane. David then dies in Jack's arms. When he's gathering David's things to send home, he sees a note from Sylvia and realizes what David did to protect his feelings. Upon return home, Jack seeks forgiveness from David's family - which they grant - and runs off to find Mary. They kiss under a shooting star and live happily ever after. The end.

The infamous 'kiss' shared between Jack and David as David lays dying is the potential 'first' LGBTQIA+ kiss in major motion picture history. I'll be honest with you, I could read this kiss either way. In canon, it's probably meant to be a platonic kiss between two best friends. However, in the age of fanfiction I absolutely believe this story would get the Captain America and Bucky Buchanan treatment. That is to say, if you wanted these two to be forbidden lovers, all the ingredients are there. I'll let you decide. 

*PLOT SPOILERS END*

To say this film is good is an understatement. It's great. I can't say I've seen the other two nominated films, but I can say I understand why this movie was nominated and won. These arial battle scenes are beautiful and terrifying. They never felt hokey or overly amateurish even as we have computer technology to make actual, up close, life arial combat look 100% authentic today. 

Emotionally, it hits all the right notes as well. You are invested in Jack and David's friendship, their battles, their hardships, and their happiness. When David ripped up the picture Jack had been carrying around of Sylvia, I literally gasped. 

If I had any negativity to spread, it would be about Jack in general. His character is immature and somewhat annoying. In fact, David and Mary probably could do better. That said, I think the intention was to portray him that way. He had to grow. He had to learn. He became a better man through the course of the war through grief and sacrifice. 

I also want to mention something I noticed and appreciated while watching the movie. David is wealthy and he comes from a wealthy family, but he's never really portrayed as a snob. His parents are warm and loving. His dad isn't the evil rich guy pushing his kid to 'be a man' like you often see. They were scared. They were sad to see him leave for war. They were also proud of him. And David didn't ask for favors or seek accommodations. The war touches everyone and, at least in this story, there was no special treatment for those with wealth. 

It might shock you to know that the negatives for the first Academy Award winning film were lost. The closest they could find in the vaults was a spare that was intended for the Cinémathèque Française which was badly decayed. The version I watched, digitally remastered and re-orchestrated, was restored in the mid-90s. Thank god for modern technology. 

I highly recommend the film. I give it 4/5 stars. Liam gives it 4/5 stars. It's available for rent on Amazon Prime for $3.99.