Jet Pilot

At the ripe old age of 50, I was amazed to see JET PILOT today for the very first time. Not many Wayne films have escaped me, but this one had. As I was watching the film, it occurred to me that ol Duke must have enjoyed being a fighter pilot (as he should) because he played a pilot in at least 6 films I could think of off the top of my head. Janet Leigh was not overly convincing as a Soviet, but WOW is she gorgeous... WHO CARES. Still, if she had a convincing Russian accent and some leather this would have been the Duke's best effort! Great film of some wonderful machines, and such a treat to see them as well. I became a fighter pilot because of the F-86 though I was too old to fly one... this film features them constantly. Chuck Yeager stunted for the film and broke a tail in a Sabre pressing the envelope. Overall, just a nice film, that was totally unlike any Wayne film I had ever seen. Normally, you know exactly how the plot will go, and that Good, Truth, and the American Way will prevail... but this one... actually makes you wonder if that is going to be the case?!?! Maybe not for the Duke, you know he has a trick up his sleeve, but Janet Leigh?? She is a wild card and you never know till the end who will win out. This movie was akin to finding a $20 bill in your pocket from last year... it has been there a long time, and just a nice treat to come across it.

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...

I don't see why so many people hated this film, i actually sort of liked it. It's much better than several other John Wayne movies like The Sea Chase and Blood Alley. This was Joseph Von Sternberg's last film and he didn't like it either. This was made in 1950 but wasn't released until 1957. It stars off with a landing on an air force base and the pilot turns out to be Janet Leigh. The air force just want to get information out of here and give John Wayne the job. Wayne falls in love with her pretty quickly but you don't know about Janet Leigh. The air force find out she's a spy and are going to deport her but John Wayne marries her first. The air force doesn't like it but decides to send John Wayne over to Russia to get information out of them. John Wayne is good as usual and Janet Leigh is very sexy in this movie, just watch the first scene in John Wayne's office, you'll see what i mean.

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.

Unless you're willing to concede that the the movie was made as a farce, which I don't happen to believe, then the plot and acting are one cringeworthy moment after another, starting with Janet Leigh's improbably striptease after landing her Soviet fighter at a US airbase, not that there's anything wrong with her stripping, of course. The improbabilities pile on higher and deeper to the point that being probable is no longer even the point and you just don't care anymore.

That said, the true star of this movie is the period hardware, some of it seldom seen anywhere else. The scene of the night interception of the Convair B-36 showed an early model in flight in such detail that if you look closely you can see that the retractable weapons, usually seen retracted on this rather rare machine, are extended. Also other fighters of the era are portrayed including the Bell X-1 that fills in for the Soviet parasite fighter that is actually the rocket plane that Chuck Yeager flew on the world's first supersonic flight. If you are an aviation enthusiast I highly recommend this movie. If you are fan of The Duke or are looking for action adventure or suspense entertainment, pass this one by, it's not for you.