Jet Pilot

This was filmed in 1950, and not released until 1957 due to producer Howard Hughes dissatisfaction with the finished film. He tinkered with various scenes for seven years, until the new aircraft he had wanted to showcase in 1950 was outdated by the time of the film's release. Scripted by Jules Furthman, it plays like a airborne remake of "Ninotchka" (1939) and 1950 anti-Communist philosophizing.

John Wayne plays Col. Jim Shannon of the Air Force. He and his squadron spot a Russian plane, flown by Olga (Janet Leigh). After getting her plane to land at the Air Force base, and questioning her, he falls in love with her. After courting her at the Pentagon's behest, so she will let information about Russia slip, he finds out she's a spy. The plot then goes into comic book territory, and loses all credibility and interest.

The script is the main problem. It changes tone from scene to scene, veering from far-fetched melodrama to crude comedy and back. Wayne plays his persona, not his character. Leigh goes from being brainy to being a "dumb blonde", with no explanation. The two do the best they can to be amusing.

I can barely tell von Sternberg directed the movie. The only sign of him is the many loving closeups Leigh is given. Winton C. Hoch directed the beautiful cinematography. Bronislau Kaper's score is much more amusing than the script.

This may be of interest to aviation buffs, and Wayne/Leigh/von Sternberg completists. All others beware.

I viewed this movie today on AMC. Indeed a silly, unlikely plot, but that's not the hook. Janet Leigh is the highlight of this movie. It's obvious there is no attempt at realism, but it was a pleasure to watch a young Ms. Leigh in her younger days as a stunning beauty! This was the golden age of movie screen beauty in my view.

Her line that she liked to view the merchandise before she buys it, is as provacative as it got in 1957 movies.

John Wayne was quite wooden in this movie, but what else is new. His best performance was "The Searchers". Other cast members were hardly visible and served mostly as window dressing in this one.

BFM

So-so film was held up for 7 years , before being finally released , being spoiled by an absurd story , though saved only by the impressive flying scenes . It deals with Air Force Col. Jim Shannon (John Wayne) is tasked to escort a defecting Soviet pilot Lt. Anna Marladovna Shannon / Olga Orlief (cute-pie spy played by attractive Janet Leigh) who is scheming to lure Shannon to the USSR . Maj. Gen. Black (Jay C. Flippen) and Maj. Rexford (Paul Fix) assign Shannon to survey Anna , but things go wrong . Later on , they marry , but our protagonist suspects she is a spy planted to find out US secrets . Then Shannon pretends defect with her back to Russia to watch what he can find out , but they again flee .

This romantic comedy packs thrills , one-dimensional heroics , comic-strip dialogue , spy-game , ludicrous screenplay and a lot of sky-shattering scenes that are flashily breathtaking . Intimate as well as spectacular WWI airplane movie with an agreeable cast , overwhelming aerial scenes , though including a silly romance . It is one of the Greatest Air Spectacle of the Jet Age but it has a ridiculous plot that relies heavily on an ridiculous love story . This is an entertaining as well as showy Dramedy about relationship between two pilots as well as a tough commanding officer determined to improve efficiency , interwoven with nice aerial footage ; it was so big it took years to make with an inestimable help from the US Air Force , still taking advantage of Chuck Yeager's 1947 supersonic flight for publicity , offered his services as a stunt pilot . This was apparently one of the first films in which the US Air Force during the Cold War was featured , including spectacular aircrafts , such as : first Bell X-1 , Glamorous Glennis , Boeing EB-50A Superfortress , serial 46-0007 ,B-36 , F-94 Starfire F-80 Shooting Star , prototype Northrop XP-89 Scorpion ,Lockheed T-33As , B-36B by a Lockheed F-94A Starfire , among others . It appeared in a number of films afterward , notably Bombers B-52 (1957) , A gathering of eagles (1963) , Dr. Strangelove: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), and By Dawn's Early Light . Amiable acting by John Wayne , in real life a staunch anti-communist, who shambles through the action with a permanent sympathetic grin , he plays a jet pilot in charge of Alaskian Air Force base who falls in love with a defecting pilot , a gorgeous Janet Leigh . Support cast is frankly excellent , such as Jay C. Flippen , Paul Fix , Richard Rober , Hans Conried and brief appearances by Bill Erwin , James Brown , Mamie Van Doren , Kenneth Tobey and Denver Pyle .

Brilliant cinematography in Cinemascope and Technicolor by Winton Hoch , John Ford 's usual cameraman , shot on location , the filming for the Russian air base was done at George Air Force Base, a World War II air base with many of its wartime structures still intact, giving the base a primitive appearance . Thrilling as well as rousing musical score by Bronislau Kaper . The film was produced by RKO in 1950 which was owned by Howard Hughes, although this was shot in the fifties , it took seven more years to be released because Hughes couldn't keep his hands off it . As he intended to show off the latest in aircraft technology in 1950 , when this film was shot . By the time it was released to the public, in 1957 , the aircraft featured were already obsolete . The picture was regularly directed by Josef Von Sternberg . His commercial breakthrough was Underworld (1927), a prototypical Hollywood gangster film . With The Last Command (1928), starring the equally strong-willed Emil Jannings , von Sternberg began a period of almost a decade as one of the most celebrated artists of world cinema . Both his film career and his personal life were transformed in the making of Blue Angel (1930). Chosen by Jannings and producer Erich Pommer to make Germany's first major sound picture, Von Sternberg gambled by casting Marlene Dietrich . Josef , subsequently , directed her in various prestigious pictures as Dishonored , The Devil Is a Woman , Blonde Venus , The Scarlet Empress and the greats hit : Shanghai Express ; being Jet pilot his last film .

There is great colour footage of F-86, F-80, B-36 and Bell X aircraft here interspersed with utterly ridiculous lines and a bizarre plot. Typically paper thin film making from Howard Hughes with big stars, high production values and zero aspiration towards making a decent movie. How some reviewers can say Wayne acts well in this film beats me! Janet Leigh is gorgeous though...

The aerial footage is nice, but once people start talking, the film goes into a tailspin. The plot seems as though it was made up as they went along (on a few occasions, I thought a reel must be missing) and I don't think I'm giving anything away (like there was any suspense anyway) by saying John Wayne must really love Janet Leigh to stay with her after she pistol whips him. Twice. It's unintentionally hilarious but unbelievably bad. I always like Hans Conreid, but he doesn't show up until the very end. All of the other actors in the film have a wooden presentation, as though they brought in actual air force officers to appear in the film. And if the U.S. military really hatched a plan like this, there should be courts martial all around.