''Flight Command'' is a 1940 American film about a cocky

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

pilot who has problems with his new squadron and with the wife of his commander. It stars Robert Taylor,

Ruth Hussey Ruth Carol Hussey (October 30, 1911 – April 19, 2005) was an American actress best known for her Academy Award-nominated role as photographer Elizabeth Imbrie in '' The Philadelphia Story''. Early life Hussey was born in Providence, Rhode I ...

and Walter Pidgeon. ''Flight Command'' has the distinction of often being credited as the first Hollywood film glorifying the American military to be released after the outbreak of World War II in Europe, a year before the U.S. entered the conflict.

Plot

Hotshot ensign Alan Drake ( Robert Taylor), fresh from flight school at

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal c ...

, gets off to a bad start with the pilots of an elite squadron, VF-8, nicknamed the "Hellcats", to which he has been posted in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. Making a nearly disastrous landing attempt in heavy fog against orders and disqualifying the squadron during a competitive shooting exercise by colliding with the target drogue does not endear him to his fellow pilots. He also asks out a woman he has met, Lorna (

), not knowing that she is the squadron commander Billy Gary's ( Walter Pidgeon) wife. However, Drake is earnest and contrite. He mixes with the Hellcats at the Garys' large house, which the sociable couple have opened as an unofficial officers' club. His flying and his social errors are forgiven, and his fellow pilots accept him, nicknaming him "Pensacola". Drake further proves himself when he helps Lieutenant Jerry Banning ( Shepperd Strudwick) solve a problem in a blind-landing apparatus he is developing. Just after Commander Gary is sent out of town on assignment, Banning decides the apparatus is ready to test in fog — but it fails and Banning is killed. Working with Banning's assistant, Drake soon identifies the problem, but no further testing is allowed until Commander Gary's return. Banning had been a childhood friend of Lorna Gary, and is not her first friend to die. She sinks into a deep depression. She also knows that Gary will expect her to hide her feelings and carry on, something that is very much not in her nature. Drake, appreciating the help the Garys gave him when he arrived, visits her at her home, and convinces her she should not suffer alone. They go for walks, drives, and tennis; he amuses her with jokes. Finally, at a restaurant she reaches for his hand and in doing so realizes she is falling for him. She quickly breaks away, and says she cannot see him any more. As soon as her husband returns, she tells him she needs to leave him for a while. She explains that she cannot again hide her feelings and carry on after a tragedy, as he expects. He is surprised, and says she should have said so before. Not mentioning Drake, she also says that she has changed. He tells her to leave if she must, but that he still loves her and hopes she will come back to him, but only if she loves him. Because Drake and Lorna were seen together, and Lorna went away shortly after, Lieutenant Commander Dusty Rhodes and the squadron confront Drake, accusing him of trying to take Lorna from Gary. Out of respect for her privacy, Drake says nothing. But he is extremely offended that they would accuse him of this, and files a letter of resignation. Commander Gary tries to discourage him, but reluctantly puts it through channels. While waiting for a response, they participate in an emergency search and rescue, during which Gary's engine fails, and he is badly injured in a crash-landing. Drake acts against orders, and goes to his rescue. Learning that San Diego is fogged in, he arranges to use Banning's equipment to land, and then removes his radio and places Gary in the tail of the plane. Drake then uses the new equipment to lead his group of five down through the fog to a safe landing. In response to a telegram about Gary's crash, Lorna Gary returns to San Diego and visits her husband in the hospital. Rhodes witnesses her praying for him, their tearful reunion, and her promise to come home. Rhodes tells Drake that his resignation has been turned down, and apologizes to Drake for his behavior. But, Drake is still angry and says he will get a transfer. Mugger Martin says, "Come on Pensacola, give in!" and the rest of the squadron urge him to stay. He agrees. F3F-1 4-F-7 Jax

Cast

* Robert Taylor as Ensign Alan Drake *

as Lorna Gary * Walter Pidgeon as Squadron Commander Billy Gary * Paul Kelly as Lieutenant Commander "Dusty" Rhodes * Shepperd Strudwick as Lieutenant Jerry Banning *

Red Skelton Richard Red Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program ''The Red Skelton Show''. He has stars ...

as Lieutenant "Mugger" Martin *

Nat Pendleton Nathaniel Greene Pendleton (August 9, 1895 – October 12, 1967) was an American Olympic wrestler, film actor, and stage performer. His younger brother, Edmund J. Pendleton (1899-1987), was a well-known music composer and choir master ...

as C.P.O. "Spike" Knowles * Dick Purcell as Lieutenant "Stitchy" Payne *

William Tannen William Tannen (November 17, 1911 – December 2, 1976) was an American actor originally from New York City, who was best known for his role of Deputy Hal Norton in fifty-six episodes from 1956 to 1958 of the ABC/Desilu western television ser ...

as Lieutenant Freddy Townsend * William Stelling as Lieutenant Bush * Stanley Smith as Lieutenant Frost *

Addison Richards Addison Whittaker Richards, Jr. (October 20, 1902 – March 22, 1964) was an American actor of film and television. Richards appeared in more than three hundred films between 1933 and his death. Biography A native of Zanesville, Ohio, Rich ...

as Vice Admiral * Donald Douglas as 1st Duty Officer * Pat Flaherty as 2nd Duty Officer * Forbes Murray as Captain * Marsha Hunt as Claire *

Lee Tung Foo Lee Tung Foo (also known as Frank Lee) was a Chinese American Vaudeville performer born in California who performed in English, German, and Latin.

as Jung (The Gary's Servant) (uncredited) *

Reed Hadley Reed Hadley (born Reed Herring, June 25, 1911 – December 11, 1974) was an American film, television and radio actor. Early life Hadley was born in Petrolia, Texas, to Bert Herring, an oil well driller, and his wife Minnie. Hadley had one ...

as Admiral's Aide (uncredited) *

Gayne Whitman Gayne Whitman (born Alfred D. Vosburgh; March 19, 1890 – August 31, 1958) was an American radio and film actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1904 and 1957. In some early films he was credited under his birth name. He was born ...

as Doctor (uncredited) * John Hamilton as Pensacola Commander (uncredited)

Production

''Flight Command'' had impressive aerial scenes due to the full cooperation of the US Navy, with the loan of VF-6 squadron, flying

Grumman F3F The Grumman F3F was a biplane fighter aircraft produced by the Grumman aircraft for the United States Navy during the mid-1930s. Designed as an improvement on the F2F, it entered service in 1936 as the last biplane to be delivered to any Ameri ...

biplanes.Nixon, Rob
"Articles: Flight Command (1940."
''Turner Classic Movies.'' Retrieved: August 3, 2014. Noted film pilot and aerial sequence director

Paul Mantz Albert Paul Mantz (August 2, 1903 – July 8, 1965) was a noted air racing pilot, movie stunt pilot and consultant from the late 1930s until his death in the mid-1960s. He gained fame on two stages: Hollywood and in air races. Early years Ma ...

was the "air boss" on the production, in charge of all the flying scenes. The ''USS Enterprise'' based in California and operating during maneuvers off Hawaii, also featured prominently in the production. The setting of the film is

Naval Air Station North Island Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado ...

. Taylor was especially busy in 1940, with three films in production. He also starred in MGM's ''

Escape Escape or Escaping may refer to: Computing * Escape character, in computing and telecommunication, a character which signifies that what follows takes an alternative interpretation ** Escape sequence, a series of characters used to trigger some s ...

'' and ''

Waterloo Bridge Waterloo Bridge () is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges. Its name commemorates the victory of the British, Dutch and Prussians at t ...

''.

Reception

''Flight Command'' was received as a mild attempt to bolster patriotic spirits, but as

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' observed, the film had some obvious strengths as well as annoying encumbrances."... as usual in these big flying pictures, the actual air shots are beautiful— the scenes of planes flying in tight formations above the majestic clouds, dropping away in screaming power dives, taking off and landing on a carrier's deck. Then you feel it really has wings. Otherwise, 'Flight Command' is just a routine adventure film— exciting for the youngsters, no doubt, but rather pulpy for a grown-up's taste."Crowther, Bosley
"Flight Command (1940); Emphasis on defense in "Flight Command" at the Capitol."
''

'', January 17, 1941. According to MGM records, the film earned $1,445,000 in the US and Canada and $847,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $707,000.

Nominations

A. Arnold Gillespie and

Douglas Shearer Douglas Graham Shearer (November 17, 1899 – January 5, 1971) was a Canadian American pioneering sound designer and recording director who played a key role in the advancement of sound technology for motion pictures. The elder brother of ac ...

were nominated for the Oscar for Best Special Effects."Nominees and Winners: The 14th Academy Awards (1942)."
''oscars.org''. Retrieved: June 21, 2013.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Crosby, Francis. ''Fighter Aircraft''. London: Lorenz Books, 2002. . * Eames, John Douglas. ''The MGM Story: The Complete History of Fifty Roaring Years.'' London: Octopus Books Limited, 1982, First edition 1979. . * Maltin, Leonard. ''Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia''. New York: Dutton, 1994. . * Orriss, Bruce. ''When Hollywood Ruled the Skies: The Aviation Film Classics of World War II''. Hawthorne, California: Aero Associates Inc., 1984. . * Wynne, H. Hugh. ''The Motion Picture Stunt Pilots and Hollywood's Classic Aviation Movies''. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1987. .

External links

* * * * {{Frank Borzage 1940 films 1940 romantic drama films American romantic drama films American aviation films American black-and-white films Films scored by Franz Waxman Films directed by Frank Borzage Films set in 1940 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films about the United States Navy Films produced by Frank Borzage 1940s English-language films 1940s American films Films shot in San Diego Films set in San Diego