Flying Tigers
Flying Tigers DVD Cover
Directed by	David Miller
Produced by	Edmund Grainger
Written by	Kenneth Gamet, Barry Trivers
Starring	John Wayne, John Carroll, Anna Lee
Music by	Victor Young
Distributed by	Republic Pictures
Release date	1942
Running time	102 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

Flying Tigers is a 1942 black-and-white war film, starring John Wayne and John Carroll as mercenary fighter pilots fighting the Japanese in China prior to the U.S. entry into World War II. Mayor David Miller David R. Miller (born December 26, 1958) is a Canadian politician. ... John Wayne (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), popularly known as The Duke, [1] was an Academy Award winning, American film actor whose career began in silent movies in the 1920s. ... John Carroll (January 8, 1735 – December 3, 1815) was a priest of the Catholic Society of Jesus. ... Anna Lee MBE (January 2, 1913 – May 14, 2004) was an English actress. ... Victor Young (August 8, 1900 - November 10, 1956) was an Jewish-American composer, violinist and conducter. ... Republic Pictures Corporation (aka Republic Entertainment) is an independent film, television, and video distribution company that was originally a movie production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, best known for its specialization in quality B pictures, westerns and movie serials. ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... The war film is a film genre that has to do with warfare, usually focusing on naval, air, or land battles, but sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training, or other related subjects. ... John Wayne (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), popularly known as The Duke, [1] was an Academy Award winning, American film actor whose career began in silent movies in the 1920s. ... John Carroll (January 8, 1735 – December 3, 1815) was a priest of the Catholic Society of Jesus. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, the use of images on this page may require cleanup, involving adjustment of image placement, formatting, size, or other adjustments. ...

The film was nominated for three Oscars: Best Effects, Special Effects for Howard Lydecker (photographic) and Daniel J. Bloomberg (sound); Best Music for Victor Young; and Best Sound, Recording for Daniel J. Bloomberg. Sound recordist Dan Bloomberg’s first Hollywood credit was in 1934, his last his Oscar-nominated work on John Ford’s “The Quiet Man” 18 years later. ... Victor Young (August 8, 1900 - November 10, 1956) was an Jewish-American composer, violinist and conducter. ...

Plot

Jim Gordon (John Wayne) leads the Flying Tigers, a legendary unit not sanctioned by the American government at the time and run on a shoestring. His men fly Curtiss P-40 fighters against Japanese bombers and fighters in the skies over China. The pilots are a mixed bunch, motivated by money (they receive a set amount for each plane shot down), patriotism or just the thrill of combat. This article concerns the American Volunteer Group, a World War II unit usually known as the Flying Tigers. For other uses of the term see Flying Tigers (disambiguation). ... The Curtiss P-40 was a U.S. single-engine, single-seat, low-wing, all-metal fighter and ground attack aircraft which first flew in 1938, and was used in great numbers in World War II. When production ceased in November 1944, 13,738 P-40s had been produced; they...

One day, old friend Woody Jason (John Carroll) enlists. An arrogant, hot-shot aviator, he starts causing trouble immediately. When the Japanese raid the base, the enthusiastic new arrival goes after them, taking a plane without permission, not realizing until too late that it has no ammunition. As a result, he is shot down. He is unharmed, but the precious plane is a wreck. As time goes on, he shows that he has little use for teamwork, alienating and endangering the other pilots.

In a subplot, he starts romancing nurse Brooke Elliott (Anna Lee), who had been waiting for Jim to notice her. One night, they go on a date. When he is late getting back for a patrol, Jim's right hand man, 'Hap' Smith (Paul Kelly), secretly takes his place. Unfortunately, he had been grounded because his vision had deteriorated, particularly at night. In the resulting dogfight, he is unable to judge distances accurately and winds up dying in a collision with a Japanese raider. This proves to be the final straw; Jim fires Woody. Three famous Australians share the name Paul Kelly Paul Kelly (musician) Paul Kelly (journalist) Paul Kelly (footballer) The three, all with extraordinary achievements in their respective fields of endeavour, were the subject of an exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia in 1999. ...

Then he receives word that a crucial bridge has to be destroyed. The target is so heavily defended, the only way this can be done is by sneaking in undetected with a single cargo plane and bombing it, but this will be a one-way trip. Jim volunteers, but Woody invites himself along, much to Jim's irritation. The bombing fails and Jim bails out of the crippled plane, expecting Woody to follow him. Instead, Woody crashes the plane into the bridge, atoning for his mistakes.

Film Reviews

• Film review 1
• Film review 2

Trivia

• John Wayne's character is nicknamed ‘Pappy’. This was real-life Marine fighter ace Gregory Boyington's moniker. Boyington (the inspiration for the TV series Baa Baa Black Sheep) did in fact fly with the Tigers until early 1942, when he was dishonorably discharged.
• Modified Curtiss P-36's with added surfaces were used to portray the Curtiss P-40's the Tigers actually flew.
• Actual combat footage was used in some of the scenes.