The Lost Squadron

Man, he is evil in this. And he really wants you to know that. He plays a film director who directs WWI scenes where he demands such realism that people are regularly killed on set. If you are injured, he wants to hear you screaming, and these were silent movies! If you are supposed to be dead, you'd better not move or he'll probably kill you.

That aspect of the movie is overdone, although interesting for fans of movies about moviemaking. But where the movie really shines is in its opening sequence when a group of soldiers literally clock out of WWI and head back to the States, only to find their business partners have swindled 'em, their girls have cheated on 'em, and there ain't no jobs to be had. So, it's Hobo City, until they make it to Hollywood and the lives of stunt pilots.

I thought Richard Dix was good in this, Joel McCrea seems a little wimpy. The whole last 20 minutes are pretty bad with the "good guys" showing such poor judgment and idiocy that the ending is sheer nihilism.

Definitely worth a view though and watch for the middle finger!