Skunkyrate Gripping story with well-crafted characters

Ceticultsot Beautiful, moving film.

Spoonatects Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Edgar Allan Pooh " . . . because Hap paid the check," Jim says to his girl and the guy who just paved the way for Japan's successful sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. Surprisingly, some FLYING TIGERS viewers haven't put two and two together. They think they're watching a simple war flick, not realizing that this John Wayne vehicle actually is a film noir outing featuring Brooke, the deadliest Femme Fatale in recorded human history. It's clear that Jim's night patrol just before midnight, Dec. 6, 1941, was perfectly positioned to give the U.S. Pacific Fleet a heads up on TORA! TORA! TORA! But hot-to-trot Brooke lures key pilot Woody from his duty station for a night on the town, since Woody is much better looking than Wayne's Jim, her stodgy steady. As a result, visually impaired Hap dies in Woody's place, and Jim's assigned mission is cut short before it can blow the whistle on PEARL HARBOR. As John Wayne stares into the distance while socialist president FDR drones on from the radio about "Days of Infamy," you can tell that he's thinking "Some day my grandchild will drive a Lexus." FLYING TIGERS is a cynical look at war profiteering and mercenaries from beginning to end. Despite its opening on-screen tribute to "Chiang Kai-Shek," viewers soon see that Jim is musing "Just wait till my buddy Ronnie Reagan sells your world council seat to the Commies."

mark.waltz While the planes these American war heroes supposedly have the face and teeth of tigers painted on them, it is very apparent that they look more like sharks. As these military men of the United States protecting the Chinese from invasions of the Japanese, they are involved in combat even before the attack on Pearl Harbor. John Wayne is the jovial commander of the base, in love with nurse Anna Lee (of "General Hospital" fame) and dealing with a brash newcomer (John Carroll) whose arrogant presence is upsetting the other men. Carroll can't be described as a team player; In fact, he takes it upon himself to make his own rules without regards to the consequences. In spite of all that, Wayne remains on his side even though he's breaking a lot of rules. But when one of Wayne's men is killed (after being grounded due to issues regarding a lack of depth perception) while covering for Carroll (out on a dinner date with Lee), the Duke has had enough, and prepares to send Carroll back. Then, December 7th occurs, and the mission that they were previously on becomes more complicated.Not much different than other war stories about the Pacific, but lacking in some of the clichés that made others trite and stereotypical. Wayne is extremely likable, Lee an absolute delight, and the Chinese children she is taking care of totally adorable. Her description of the plight they went through to get through to her is very moving. Carroll's performance is a mix of arrogance, tenderness and insecurity, his cockiness obviously hiding a lack of self-esteem and ability to be part of an important team. The combat sequences are well filmed with some bloodiness thrown in to make them more realistic. This helps make the "Why We Fight" message of the film seem less obvious and results in a genuine crowd pleaser.

wes-connors "They were the terror of the sky, a small daring band of American mercenaries who soared into battle against the Japanese in defense of China's freedom. They were aces, adventurers and heroes, America's hottest fighter pilots - 'The Flying Tigers'! Possessing unmatched skill and bravery, Jim Gordon (John Wayne), the Tigers' commander, is the top gun of China's skies. But he faces a battle on the ground when his good friend Woody Jason is suspected of recklessly causing the death of a fellow pilot and is accused of stealing Jim's fiancée. Jim's fight to retain his respect for Woody while maintaining the solidarity of his pilots is an explosive battle of courage and heroism that lights up the sky with action!" according to the DVD sleeve description.This looks like it was rushed together from other war stories featuring brave flight commanders and his heroic crews, with all the familiar theatrics - the exception that Captain Wayne (as "Pappy" Gordon) doesn't ease his pain with alcohol can be explained as the film's release during wartime necessitated a pro-war slant. Director David Miller and Republic Pictures owe their greatest debt to Howard Hawks, which can be evidenced by viewing "The Dawn Patrol" (1930) and "Only Angels Have Wings" (1939). "Flying Tigers" is usually claimed to be Wayne's first war picture, though he'd been fighting mightily in previous films. Herein, Mr. Wayne is a steadfast but easy to pushover leader, hotshot John Carroll (as "Woody" Jason) gets most of the script action, cute nurse Anna Lee (as Brooke Elliott) cleans up quickly in the bath, and Paul Kelly (as "Hap" Davis) supports the team well. Mouseketeers will recognize a young Jimmie Dodd.The picture should have been titled "Flying Sharks", to match the painted airplanes. It starts with a quote from "Generalissimo" Chang Kai-Shek, who praises United States forces for their glorious support of his invincible Chinese people. So sad, the Chinese are unable to conjure up a plate of roast beef for Captain Wayne. No matter. The first big story stumble occurs when Wayne advises Mae Clarke (as Verna) to have her husband report for duty in the morning without revealing that the two had spoken; hopefully, Ms. Clarke was able to figure something out. The film is so programmed and artificial, it's difficult to recommend - but, many in the cast are enjoyable, and they've included some good, action-packed aerial footage.***** Flying Tigers (10/8/42) David Miller ~ John Wayne, John Carroll, Anna Lee, Paul Kelly

grahamsj3 This film, made in 1942, is naught but a US propaganda film. This is an early John Wayne film and, unfortunately, his acting is absolutely not up to his later standards. The rest of the cast, quite frankly, isn't very good either. While the story is decent and it's quite well-written, I had to give it a pretty low score. It seems that most of the good actors were either already engaged or had joined the US Armed Forces by the time they filmed this. I don't think it was very well directed, either, or perhaps it was very hurried. I think they did everything in one take. It's sad, really, because the Flying Tigers story is epic and heroic. Instead, several of the pilots are shown to be nothing but money-hungry mercenaries whose only motivation is the bounty paid per aerial kill. Oh, well...sorry about that, but it wasn't even a very good try.