A film that makes some pretty strong anti-war statements, yet revels in aerial battles, the footage for which is stunning. It's also a film that gives Jean Harlow's character independence and power, and yet judges her for it. It's a bit contradictory, and has some scenes at the beginning and end that aren't as strong, but it's also very entertaining. In some sense, this is Howard Hughes' answer to Wings (1927), and it's darker in probing the violence of war and sexual suggestion off the battlefield.
The film follows two brothers (Ben Lyon and James Hall) as they go from Oxford students to pilots in the Royal Flying Corps, while a friend (John Darrow) is drafted in to the German Air Force. The two brothers couldn't be more different - Hall's character is straight-laced and believes in honor, even fighting a duel for his licentious brother after the latter was caught with a married woman. (As an aside, that's a duel scene which may have been referenced by Kubrick in 'Barry Lyndon' in the way it was shot, since Kubrick cited this film as one of his influences). Anyway, the brother also gladly enlists when war breaks out, whereas his brother only does so after being duped by a booth that promises a kiss from a young woman to sign up.
Hall's character naively trusts his brother with his girlfriend (Jean Harlow), which turns out to be a mistake because neither are trustworthy. Harlow oozes sexuality, threatening to spill out of the plunging necklines of her various outfits at any moment. "Would you be shocked if I put on something more comfortable?" she asks, to which Lyon's character quips "I'll try to survive."
Harlow is definitely being shown as a "loose" woman here - she carries on with other men later in the film, and spurns her honorable suitor's love, which I'm sure was meant to appear as a huge mistake. On the other hand, she also represents a woman comfortable with her own sexuality who dares to defy society's expectations of her. "Roy's love means marriage, and children, and never anyone but Roy. I couldn't bear that. I want to be free. I want to be gay and have fun. Life's short, and I want to live while I'm alive," she says. These sentiments along with the implied sex, and several instances of open mouth and ear kissing from others were scandalous at the time. Most of the film is black and white but not all of it - and it includes the only color footage of Harlow, which was a bonus treat.
The battle footage is extraordinary, and includes the inner workings of a German dirigible, its fiery crash, and dogfights featuring scores of planes. It seems as dangerous as it was thrilling, and notable that Hughes himself fractured his skull in a crash after attempting one of the more difficult stunts.
Several aspects speak to the inhumanity of war, starting with the German dirigible commander ordering his men to jump to their deaths in order to reduce weight in the effort to escape, and it was eerie and stunning as they did so, silently dropping through the clouds. Later we see close-ups of pilots screaming as they're dying after they've been hit in the air. Then there's this impassioned speech, delivered very well by Lyon:
"That's a lie, I'm not yellow! I can see things as they are, that's all, and I'm sick of this rotten business! You fools, why do you let them kill you like this? What are you fighting for? Patriotism, duty, are you mad? Can't you see they're just words? Words coined by politicians and profiteers to trick you into fighting for them! What's a word compared with life, the only life you've got? I'll give 'em a word. Murder, that's what this dirty rotten politician's war is! Murder, you know it as well as I do. Yellow, am I? You're the ones that are yellow! I've got guts to say what I think! You're afraid to say it! So afraid of being called yellow, you'd rather be killed first! You fools, you poor, stupid fools!"
Now, this guy is dishonorable one in the film, and ultimately his desire to stay alive threatens acts which would risk the lives of others, so he's clearly not the "good guy" by any means. On the other hand, he has a point, and I'm sure resonated with filmgoers who had endured WWI, an especially idiotic war. Harlow and Lyon's characters are both tarnished, but I loved how they brought subversive aspects to a war film, and Hughes got several instances of profanity into it as well. Overall it's certainly not a perfect film, but it's pretty impressive for 1930, a transitional year where I've always felt average film quality to be a little lower. Regardless, there are so many elements of interest that I really enjoyed this one.
The film follows two brothers (Ben Lyon and James Hall) as they go from Oxford students to pilots in the Royal Flying Corps, while a friend (John Darrow) is drafted in to the German Air Force. The two brothers couldn't be more different - Hall's character is straight-laced and believes in honor, even fighting a duel for his licentious brother after the latter was caught with a married woman. (As an aside, that's a duel scene which may have been referenced by Kubrick in 'Barry Lyndon' in the way it was shot, since Kubrick cited this film as one of his influences). Anyway, the brother also gladly enlists when war breaks out, whereas his brother only does so after being duped by a booth that promises a kiss from a young woman to sign up.
Hall's character naively trusts his brother with his girlfriend (Jean Harlow), which turns out to be a mistake because neither are trustworthy. Harlow oozes sexuality, threatening to spill out of the plunging necklines of her various outfits at any moment. "Would you be shocked if I put on something more comfortable?" she asks, to which Lyon's character quips "I'll try to survive."
Harlow is definitely being shown as a "loose" woman here - she carries on with other men later in the film, and spurns her honorable suitor's love, which I'm sure was meant to appear as a huge mistake. On the other hand, she also represents a woman comfortable with her own sexuality who dares to defy society's expectations of her. "Roy's love means marriage, and children, and never anyone but Roy. I couldn't bear that. I want to be free. I want to be gay and have fun. Life's short, and I want to live while I'm alive," she says. These sentiments along with the implied sex, and several instances of open mouth and ear kissing from others were scandalous at the time. Most of the film is black and white but not all of it - and it includes the only color footage of Harlow, which was a bonus treat.
The battle footage is extraordinary, and includes the inner workings of a German dirigible, its fiery crash, and dogfights featuring scores of planes. It seems as dangerous as it was thrilling, and notable that Hughes himself fractured his skull in a crash after attempting one of the more difficult stunts.
Several aspects speak to the inhumanity of war, starting with the German dirigible commander ordering his men to jump to their deaths in order to reduce weight in the effort to escape, and it was eerie and stunning as they did so, silently dropping through the clouds. Later we see close-ups of pilots screaming as they're dying after they've been hit in the air. Then there's this impassioned speech, delivered very well by Lyon:
"That's a lie, I'm not yellow! I can see things as they are, that's all, and I'm sick of this rotten business! You fools, why do you let them kill you like this? What are you fighting for? Patriotism, duty, are you mad? Can't you see they're just words? Words coined by politicians and profiteers to trick you into fighting for them! What's a word compared with life, the only life you've got? I'll give 'em a word. Murder, that's what this dirty rotten politician's war is! Murder, you know it as well as I do. Yellow, am I? You're the ones that are yellow! I've got guts to say what I think! You're afraid to say it! So afraid of being called yellow, you'd rather be killed first! You fools, you poor, stupid fools!"
Now, this guy is dishonorable one in the film, and ultimately his desire to stay alive threatens acts which would risk the lives of others, so he's clearly not the "good guy" by any means. On the other hand, he has a point, and I'm sure resonated with filmgoers who had endured WWI, an especially idiotic war. Harlow and Lyon's characters are both tarnished, but I loved how they brought subversive aspects to a war film, and Hughes got several instances of profanity into it as well. Overall it's certainly not a perfect film, but it's pretty impressive for 1930, a transitional year where I've always felt average film quality to be a little lower. Regardless, there are so many elements of interest that I really enjoyed this one.