Flying Padre

One of the first short films made by Stanley Kubrick, made years before he stepped up to feature films. This cheerful little film, about a padre/pilot who works well beyond his normal call of duty, has such a Middle American tone, a wholesomeness not found in the dark worlds of Kubrick's later films. Like FEAR AND DESIRE, the shooting is mostly textbook ordinary. The shot compositions are mostly learned thru one of those "Kodak's tips for better picture taking." I saw this via a very runny video copy. One wishes Kubrick was more at ease at having these early films shown.

Unlike the earlier Day of the Fight in which one can see inklings of Stanley Kubrick's later achievements, this film is a minor piece of hackwork with little to be said in its favour. Indeed, the most telling feature is that Kubrick, who would later be known as an obsessive perfectionist, here displays indifference. Almost all documentaries are set up to some extent, but here it would have been clear to the slowest of the audience that the episode of the padre flying a mother and sick baby to a hospital was acted out specially for the film. The clumsiness is compounded by the narration, which goes out its way to inform us that the episode was spontaneous and shot as it happened. With a little more inventiveness, Kubrick could have made the sequence at least partially convincing. (This assumes that Kubrick was responsible for the commentary; perhaps he wasn't, and this was an early lesson for him on what producers can do if you don't insist on full control!)

A Story about a priest who flies with plane wherever he is needed could have been fresh and exciting in the fifties, but looking this today it certainly feels very dated and a bit clumsy, still interesting view in to the past nonetheless. The Reverend is portrayed as very sympathetic and kind man as he flies long distances for aid people and asks nothing for his help.

It's really hard to find any Kubrick's later trademarks here, in fact it's nearly impossible even recognize it's directed by him if you don't know it already nor catch his name in the opening credits. I really wouldn't recommend this except for its curiosity values.

This, one of Kubrick's very first commercial film making efforts, is a stepping stone but not much more.

It follows two days in the life of priest Father Fred Stadtmuller whose New Mexico parish is so large he can only spread goodness and light among his flock with the aid of a mono-plane. The priestly pilot is seen dashing from one province to the next at the helm of his trusty Piper Club administering guidance to unruly children, sermonizing at funerals and flying a sickly child and its mother to hospital.

In the light of Kubrick's later deeply ironic works, one is tempted to view these events in a slightly sinister, mischievous light. However its ironic sense can only be derived from its ludicrous, super-earnest newsreel format - commonplace at the time. Kubrick was to put such a format to good, unsettling use with the voice-over introduction to Dr Strangelove, Alex's voice-over in Clockwork Orange, Michael Horden's instructing tones in Barry Lyndon, and Private Joker's darkly humorous commentary in Full Metal Jacket. With this film, no such irony was intended (I think).

This is a strictly by-the book programmer; a second feature documentary made by a twenty-three year old future maestro for money, experience, and industry kudos. There are no real signs of Kubrick's later talent for pictorial composition (even though he was at this point a noted photo-journalist) or razor sharp narrative intellect. Although it is a perfectly competent piece, Flying Padre is virtually indistinguishable in form and content from any other programmer of the period.

Yet it is Kubrick and as such it's a valuable document in the early development of one of film's greatest artists. But for a real hint of what was to come, one should look at Kubrick's Day of the Fight made a year earlier. Invention, control of form, photographic dazzle, and energy. It's all there... except the irony. That was to arrive with Fear and Desire (1953).

Its 8 minutes long and is about the flying priest who helps wherever he is needed, he just jumps into his plane and flies there. The main focus is about the kind and understanding padre that teaches the kids to not bully each other and a episode with a mother having a sick child on a ranch many miles away from a hospital. Padre is to the rescue.

This is only for curiosity value, being made by Kubrick it has none of his mark on it. Its just for getting a foot in the industry I guess, or money. Situations are clearly staged and not so very well done, the voice-over is one sided and the shooting is diverse, but serves no special purpose. Kubrick the perfectionist turned up later I guess.