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The Worst Film Ever

One of my all time favorites.

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Don't listen to the negative reviews

As much I as tried to like this movie, I could not, not because of the subject of the the story nor because of how the movie was made, but because of John Wayne. Mr. Wayne was miscast for the role. His performance as a hot-headed naval aviator who battles adversity was unconvincing. Not that his performance is poor, he just did not seem right for the role and to me that proved to be the movie's undoing. Dan Dailey's performance also stretches credulity, but one can make allowances for a supporting role. There is no doubt that Frank Wead had a dynamic life, but there was more to him then that. He seemed to be a complex person who was much more than an acting out swashbuckler as portrayed in the movie. He was trying to juggle his devotion to duty with the needs of his family, which proved to be insurmountable for him. John Wayne's attempt to portray such a person comes off as phony because Mr. Wayne plays characters who are bold and decisive, an image that Mr. Wayne cannot shake in this movie.

John Ford remarked that Wings of Eagles was the last really good film he directed and though I disagree with that, Wings of Eagles does rank as one of his and John Wayne's best films.It's a loving tribute to a great American hero and friend of theirs, Frank W. "Spig" Wead. Wead was an early Navy flier who sustained a broken back during a fall down a flight of stairs in his home. Washed out of the Navy, Wead turned to writing and became a noted screenwriter on mostly military subjects. For John Ford he did the screenplays for his films Airmail and They Were Expendable.After Pearl Harbor Wead applied for and got active duty though he was desk bound at first. And eventually he did get to the Pacific Theater and served on one of the carriers he fought so valiantly for in and out of uniform.Wayne gives one of his best screen performances and he's equally matched by Maureen O'Hara as his wife and Dan Dailey as his good friend who sees him through the paralysis and eventual recovery.There's no happy ending here for the Duke and Maureen, unlike Rio Grande and The Quiet Man. Spig is a flawed human being, as dedicated to partying and carousing as he is to the Navy and Naval Aviation. The carousing gives John Ford an opportunity to do some of the rough house comedy his films are known for. As for Maureen who has to deal with the death of one child and the raising of two daughters, it does become too much for her. O'Hara is not given enough credit for her performance in Wings of Eagles. She calls him, "Star Spangled Spig" but from a term of derision it becomes one of admiration.Wings of Eagles proved to be the last film for character actor Henry O'Neill who plays one of Wead's Navy doctors. And it is the last film that Ward Bond did for John Ford and the last film the trio of Ford, Wayne and Bond worked together on. They did an episode on Bond's Wagon Train series which he was starting right after the shooting of Wings of Eagles. The episode aired right after Bond died in 1960.And wouldn't you know it. Bond's role was as director John Dodge which in fact was John Ford. Rather unique in the annals of Hollywood that a noted director had a broad characterization of himself in his own film. Was this how John Ford saw himself?As long as America produces men and women like Spig Wead this country will endure. And hopefully films about them will be made to record their deeds and courage.

I feel like I'm missing something...Spig sacrifices his personal life with that bad-ass Maureen O'Hara because of his sense of duty to the Navy. Maureen is smoking all the time because she's frustrated. His daughters are these barely - seen cutie pies. His real love affairs are with the Navy, and by extension with his colleagues. Dan Dailey does the kind of Ford extension of the Walter Brennan surrogate wife thing. And plays the hell out of the Ukelele. Ward Bond does a cool John Ford impression. The Army vs. Navy fights are that kind of usual Ford free-for-all that later becomes the subject of Donovan's Reef. They're very stylized but not particularly compelling. Some people put this one up with Ford's best. Why?

This movie surprised me when I first saw it-I wondered where had it been? This movie is just flat out terrific, Wayne, O'Hara, all the supporting cast members, the story, the fact it's true(based on a true story), and that John Wayne is human make for a 9 in my book. (I give The Shootist a 10, as the best John Wayne western.)This is also a great love story, between Wayne and O'Hara-which is more realistic than most of these "guys in war" stories. Also, a tip of the hat to the part of the story dealing with nerve injuries and rehab, and the backdrop of America's unpreparedness in air power post-WW I, think about Billy Mitchell while you're watching this movie.Must see for Wayne, O'Hara, or John Ford fans.